Catherine Wilson, PhD, Founder and Artistic Director

Concert pianist Catherine Wilson has performed internationally and nationally for all kinds of audiences for more than three decades in countless locales. In tandem with concerts as a soloist, and with her chamber group Ensemble Vivant, she has always given outreach performances for children and for those in retirement homes and care facilities.

Several years ago, Catherine founded Euterpe: Music Is The Key so that Canadian school children and others, who might not have the chance to be enriched by the joys and benefits of LIVE and VIRTUAL high calibre, interactive music education/performance programs of Classical, Jazz, and related musical styles, are given that opportunity. It is well documented that most children in Canada are not exposed to these musical forms, yet these genres are known to provide multiple benefits for the young developing brain, and to facilitate healing in people of all ages. Catherine knows how much music has enriched her own life and she has personally witnessed the tremendous inspiration and joy that Euterpe’s music education/performance programs give others.

Catherine’s research on Music and Healing, for which she received a PhD, corroborates the importance of this mission, and parallels the tangible responses and reactions received from children and others wherever Euterpe’s world-class musicians perform.

For over 15 years Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s music education performance programs have had a tremendously positive impact on children of diverse cultural backgrounds. Our invaluable programs inspire and enrich the lives of children and their communities nationwide. Catherine is passionately dedicated to ensuring that more and more children and others in underserved communities are exposed to these life-enhancing opportunities.

Norman Hathaway, Strategic Advisor

Norman Hathaway graduated with a performance degree from the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, where he was privileged to study violin with David Zafer, and chamber music with the Orford String Quartet. He has been a member of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stratford Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra. Norman has performed frequently with musical theatre orchestras, including as co-concertmaster of the Toronto productions of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Miss Saigon’ orchestras. Norman plays viola with Canada’s brilliant Ensemble Vivant, hailed as “Canada’s Chamber Music Treasure” (Toronto Star); “Ensemble Vivant – Chamber Music at its evocative best!” (The WholeNote).

Norman served as President of Euterpe: Music Is The Key since the charity’s founding. In May, 2022 he resigned from that role and assumed the role of Strategic Advisor for the charity. Along with Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s Founder and Artistic Director, pianist Catherine Wilson, Norman is committed to Euterpe’s mission of ensuring that our children and others are exposed to highest level LIVE and VIRTUAL music education performance programs of Classical, Jazz, and related musical styles. Euterpe: Music Is The Key plants musical seeds among those who lack the opportunity to experience these life enriching opportunities. It is thrilling to witness first-hand the profoundly positive impact, inspiration, and joy that Euterpe’s invaluable programs have on children of diverse cultural backgrounds. Norman is dedicated to Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s critically important cause.

Meet Our Board Members

Dr. Roger Sarty, President

Dr. Roger Sarty served as a director on the board of Euterpe: Music Is The Key since the organization was founded. In the fall of 2022, he assumed the role of President of the organization. A retired professor of Canadian Military History at Wilfrid Laurier University and the author of several books and articles, Roger is also Chair of the editorial board of The Northern Mariner, published by the Canadian Nautical Research Society.

Growing up Roger was surrounded by music and played the trumpet at school, in the Northlandia Concert Band, and in the Buster Brown Big Band, which was founded by his father, Glenn Sarty, a renowned former CBC executive producer. Having been nurtured by music throughout his formative and teen years, Roger has always recognized how beneficial his background in music was for his academic studies and for his profession as an internationally renowned Canadian historian and author. Roger is a staunch supporter of everything Euterpe: Music Is The Key stands for and is dedicated to furthering Euterpe’s noble efforts throughout Canada.

Bob Weir, Director

Bob Weir has been a board member of Euterpe: Music Is The Key since its founding. He served as Assistant Vice-President of Canada Life Assurance in the Reinsurance Division until his recent retirement. Bob has also served as President of the Canadian Institute of Underwriters, as Contributing Editor of On the Risk and as Curriculum Coordinator with The Academy of Life Underwriting. 

Bob was fortunate to grow up in a musical family (his father was a professional musician), which exposed him to different types of music. He was also active in his high school music program which gave him the foundation to later make his mark as a bass player in Toronto’s Jazz Scene. Bob continues to actively perform with various jazz groups. Through his own experience Bob understands the important role that music can play in one’s life and enthusiastically supports the aims of Euterpe’s efforts.

Deborah Noble, Director

Deborah Noble has a degree in Environmental Design from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. Her major was in Architecture and Interior Design underpinned by Art History, Colour Theory, Musicology and Life Drawing. She worked as an Interior Designer with Network Design, then as a Business Developer with office furniture dealerships: Steelcase, Herman Miller, and Knoll for over 15 years. Currently, she is President/Owner of the agency Workhive Inc. representing Nienkämper, Klaus and Unika Vaev. Her passion for art and design has always been enveloped with the salvation of music. 

In her childhood, music soothed, comforted, and delighted her. In the rebellious teen years, music rescued, liberated, and empowered her to find her true identity. In adulthood, music was a haven, medicine, and a tool for art/work. In motherhood, it protected, nurtured, and bonded her with all her children. Immersing her children in music at home, has given them strength to get through life’s challenges, brought creativity to their ideas and joy in simple daily pleasures.

In the words of Plato, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” 

Deborah is honoured to serve on Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s Board of Directors, inspiring children, and others, helping them feel, heal, and grow through exposure to Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s invaluable LIVE and VIRTUAL music education performance programs of Classical, Jazz, and related musical styles.

David Crichton, Director

David Crichton is the proud principal of Rose Avenue Public School in Toronto, located in St. Jamestown, the most densely populated neighbourhood in Canada. A community of new Canadians, Rose Avenue is a diverse school with over 700 students from around the world. An experienced educator, David has worked as Principal at Dundas Public School, Market Lane, and now Rose Avenue Public School.

David is skilled at developing partnerships with for profit and not-for-profit organizations in order to support the students and parents. Over the years, the school has worked with Manulife Financial, Canadian Dance Company, Inner City Angels and Mariposa in the Schools and Euterpe: Music Is The Key, to name a few. Arts is a powerful learning tool at Rose Avenue PS and helps level the playing field for our many ESL students. This is one reason why Music Is The Key to helping engage and promote a sense of community. Furthermore, Rose Avenue PS is viewed as the heart of the neighbourhood and is the place where many students learn about the diversity and acceptance that Canada is known for.

Since 2011 a key partnership has been with Euterpe: Music Is The Key that has delivered music education performance programs on multiple occasions at Rose Avenue PS, providing students with inspirational top rate musical experiences. All students have been participants in these interactive programs of Classical, Jazz, and related musical styles delivered by Euterpe’s world-class musicians from Toronto’s Classical and Jazz communities. David is thrilled to support Euterpe: Music Is The Key in its goal to reach greater audiences within the GTA as well as across Canada.

Dwayne G. White, Director

Dwayne White earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Toronto. During his time at U of T, he was a reporter at The Varsity, University of Toronto’s Newspaper. This experience has trained him in effective communication and time management skills. Dwayne joined Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s Board in 2014 and serves as its Director of Communications.

Dwayne explains why he joined Euterpe: Music Is The Key. “I am committed to community service, and there is no better cause than enriching young minds with music, free of charge. It is with great pride that I contribute my expertise to this cause: to create awareness of the tremendous benefit music has on the minds of young people.”

John Gibson, Director

Dr. Charles Daellenbach, O.C., Honorary Board Member

Chuck Daellenbach has brought music, imagination, and humour internationally through his world-renowned group The Canadian Brass since the group was formed in 1970. He has played a key role in all the group’s ground-breaking projects. Chuck comes from a long line of German and Swiss musicians and, during his upbringing in Wisconsin, his father gave him daily music lessons.

After earning a PhD at the age of 25 from the Eastman School of Music, Chuck headed north to teach at the Music Faculty at the University of Toronto. Possibly the most recognized tuba player in the world, having appeared on over 100 recordings, Chuck has performed with many of the greatest musicians and conductors of the last 40 years. Among his various projects is a series of 200 brass works published by Hal Leonard, many accompanied by CDs, played by music students around the world. He is President of Canadian Brass Publishing.

Chuck is pleased to be an Honorary Board Member of Euterpe: Music Is The Key, which echoes his own views and philosophy about the importance of music and its enriching benefits for people of all ages, with the ideal being to begin this journey of life-enrichment at the earliest ages.

Rick Wilkins, C.M., Honorary Board Member

Rick Wilkins, C. M., has been steeped in music since early childhood and began his musical career in Toronto in 1957. A Canadian jazz legend, Rick has written countless arrangements and original scores for numerous artists, from Oscar Peterson, The Boss Brass, Oliver Jones, Guido Basso, Peter Appleyard, Anne Murray, Moe Koffman, Ensemble Vivant and many more. He has conducted his charts with The National Arts Centre Orchestra, The Calgary Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony Orchestras and many more. As a saxophonist, Rick has appeared as a soloist with many artists including The Boss Brass, Phil Nimmons, Ed Bickert, and many other renowned artists. He has travelled internationally extensively with his music.

Rick has been a passionate supporter of Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s mission since the organization’s inception and is very pleased to be an Honorary Board Member of this vitally important registered not-for-profit charity and all it has done and continues to do for children and others in Canadian communities.

Dr. Laurel Trainor, PhD, Honorary Board Member

Dr. Laurel Trainor, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, is the founding director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM). She is also the Director of MIMM and of the LIVELab at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She has done ground-breaking neuroscience research on musical development in children and infants and her research spans perceptual, cognitive, and social aspects of pitch and rhythm.

Dr. Trainor’s endorsement of Euterpe: “Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s invaluable music education performance programs realize in action what cognitive psychologists and other researchers have determined to be beneficial for children and others through ongoing experimentation whose results have been documented and widely disseminated. Without Euterpe’s work, for example, the scientific findings in and of themselves are not able to benefit our children and youth. The wonderful interactive high-caliber music education performance programs of classical and jazz music that Euterpe: Music Is The Key brings to our children and youth are of vital importance for planting the seeds of music in our lives and putting people on a path to be enriched by the benefits of music.”

Dr. Trainor is pleased to be an honorary board member of Euterpe: Music Is The Key and to have an ongoing collaboration with this vitally important organization.

Mark Wells, Honorary Board Member

Mark Wells studied violin from an early age and later earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto, going on to complete his Masters Degree in Music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. He has performed professionally and taught violin for decades in Toronto and for years was the Music Director of the Courtenay Youth Music Centre in B.C.

Mark understands first-hand how important music is to the development and well-being of individuals and society overall. Choosing to follow in his Father’s footsteps and continue the family enterprise of The Britton House Retirement Centre and Wells Gordon, based in Toronto, Mark has recognized how critically significant his many years of studying violin from his youth, and later performing violin on a professional level, has shaped his life, and contributed significantly to the tremendous success he has achieved in his professional life.

For that reason, Mark is a strong advocate of the LIVE and VIRTUAL high caliber musical initiatives offered by Euterpe: Music Is The Key and has been a supporter for many years. He is delighted to be an honorary board member.