President & Artistic Director

Recently featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “2024 Edition: 30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30", emerging Korean-Canadian cellist, Solina Lee, is recognized for her musical sensitivity and sincerity. Solina has been a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships. Recently, she was awarded the Persons Case Scholarship from the Alberta Ministry of Arts, Culture and Status of Women. Ms. Lee was a semi-finalist at the 2023 Concours Prix D’Europe, and a semi-finalist in the 2022-2023 Golden Violin Competition. Solina was a selected participant of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal “Orchestral Immersion Project” in 2022, where she had the opportunity to perform in the orchestra at the Maison Symphonique under the baton of Maestro Rafael Payare. As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Lee was a founding member of the 8PM Piano Trio. During her time in the trio, they were awarded the grand prize at the 2021 McGill Chamber Music Competition, which included a residency at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria. Summer festivals she has attended include Morningside Music Bridge, Orford Music, Encore Chamber Music Institute, and Toronto Summer Music. Solina recently obtained her Master in Music at McGill University, where she was a fellowship recipient studying under the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s principal cellist, Brian Manker.

Treasurer

Shaun brings a unique blend of musical experience and business acumen to the role as Treasurer of the Wild Rose Chamber Music Institute. With formal musical training at Macewan University and years of performance experience, Shaun understands the needs of the artistic community. Additionally, he has successfully managed and worked at various small businesses, honing his skills in financial management, budgeting, and strategic planning. Passionate about supporting the arts, Shaun is committed to ensuring the organization’s financial stability and fostering its mission to make a meaningful impact.

Secretary

An honours student of MacEwan University, Zach Johanntges is a social worker with an expertise focus on organizational social policies; qualitative and quantitative social research; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) social development initiatives. During his undergraduate at Red Deer Polytechnic, Mr. Johanntges was the first- and second-year Social Work representative member of the Agora Undergraduate Conference, and a peer reviewed author of the Red Deer Polytechnic 2020 Agora Journal. During his baccalaureate studies at MacEwan University, Mr. Johanntges wrote multiple literature reviews surrounding the topics of social equity and social development, and facilitated the “Empower Your Future: Insights & Inspiration from Professional Social Workers 2023” event during his graduation year.

Zach Johanntges presently works in the Government of Alberta under the Ministry of Children and Family Services. He also conducts qualitative and quantitative social research on the Be My Voice research team created by the City of Edmonton’s Social Identity & Social Inclusion sector.

Executive Director

Mackenzi Johnston is an engineer and welder with formal education completed at the University of Alberta and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Mackenzi is passionate about the Edmonton community and dedicates herself to offering programming to respond to the needs of underrepresented people. In 2022, Mackenzi co-founded The Red Bench Women’s Workshop, a not-for-profit organization that provided women and diverse people with a shop space and accessible programs to further their technical skill development in welding and metalworking. The Red Bench assisted its members in achieving lifelong financial independence and sense of purpose by eliminating barriers to pursue trades such as welding, pipefitting, and machining.

Mackenzi’s efforts in giving back to her community were recognized and awarded by several organizations including the University of Alberta, the Government of Alberta, the Canadian Welding Bureau, and the American Welding Society. Most notably, Mackenzi received the Government of Alberta’s Leaders in Equality Award: Women in STEM for her work creating The Red Bench. Mackenzi commits her business experience and acumen to assist Wild Rose Chamber Music in document preparation, business decision making, and scouting for corporate sponsors and partners.