Martha Hill Duncan is an award-winning composer, piano teacher and conductor of the Kingston women's choir, She Sings!. A transplanted Texan, now residing in Canada, many of her piano, vocal and choral compositions celebrate Canadian themes and texts. Several of her piano and vocal compositions appear in the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada Conservatory and Canadian National Conservatory of Music publications and syllabi. She has choral and vocal works published with Cypress, Graphite and Abundant Silence music publishers. Her opera, Searching the Painted Sky, with Waterloo librettist Janet Windeler Ryan was premiered by The El Paso Youth Opera in New York City in 2014 and in Toronto in 2015. She is a founding member of Red Leaf Pianoworks and is a piano examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music. A frequent clinician and adjudicator, Martha enjoys sharing her musical experience with students, teachers and colleagues. She is married to Queen's University astronomy professor Martin Duncan and has two grown children - Alex, a math professor, and Claire, an actress and voice over artist.

Susan Griesdale is an award winning Composer, Piano Teacher, Clinician, and Adjudicator. She earned her ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto and studied Composition and Theory with Composers Michael J. Rudman and Julian Miran. An Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC), Susan has published collections for piano, violin, flute, chamber music for toy pianos and choral works. You will find her violin music in the 2013 RCM Violin Series and her piano music in the 2015 RCM Piano Syllabus and Celebration Series as well as the ACNMP Contemporary Showcase Syllabus. She also has many pieces published in the Canadian National Conservatory Northern Lights Publications. Her piano music has been chosen as required repertoire for Music Festival Composer Classes and is also included in the MusIQ Club software program - an after school program developed for schools across the USA and Canada. Susan is a founding member of Red Leaf Pianoworks - a composer collective that provides a web source to access new piano repertoire. Susan has been teaching piano for over 30 years and has worked as a clinician, performing and presenting piano repertoire at both National and Provincial Conventions. She also runs Composition Masterclasses for local teachers and their students.

Beverly Porter was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Vancouver. By age 19, she had completed the requirements for both the ARCT and LTCL pedagogy diplomas. She studied at the Banff School, and with Soulima Stravinsky at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. This was followed by studies with Albert and Clifford Poole in Toronto. Beverly and her family moved to Kingston Ontario, where she obtained a Bachelor of Music at Queen's University. Her composition teachers were Clifford Crawley and David Keene. She continues to compose and teach piano in Kingston.

Janet Gieck grew up surrounded by rural Saskatchewan culture and landscape, a fact which has profoundly affected her musical output. After completing music degrees from Prairie Bible College (Three Hills, AB) and the Royal Conservatory of Music, she has had her compositions performed at many concerts, new music festivals, and on CBC radio. Her pedagogical compositions are now listed on many different syllabi across the country. Passionate about Canadian music, Janet was the centre coordinator for the Saskatoon branch of Contemporary Showcase until 2015. She is a member of the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects, the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers Association, and the composer's collective Red Leaf Pianoworks. Currently, Janet works as a member of the fine arts department at Millar College of the Bible in Pambrun, SK where she lives with her husband and three children. She is also in demand as a piano teacher, adjudicator and clinician.

Rebekah Maxner is a well-respected Nova Scotian composer whose piano solos are listed and published by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), the London College of Music Examinations in London, England (LCM) and the Canadian National Conservatory of Music (CNCM). Rebekah maintains an independent piano studio in Hantsport, Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband and three growing children. She attended Acadia University ('95) where she studied piano with John Hansen, and completed her music degree with a major in composition under Owen Stephens. A member of the NSRMTA and Red Leaf Pianoworks, Rebekah is an active member of the Canadian music community as a clinician and adjudicator.

Teresa Richert grew up in the Vancouver area. She began piano lessons at age four and has since earned Associate Diplomas in Piano Performance, Piano Teaching, Theory and Composition from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She also holds Bachelor of Science and Applied Science degrees from Simon Fraser University. She studied composition with Stephen Brown at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. An award-winning composer of piano and vocal music, she has also written for orchestra and chamber ensembles. She taught piano and theory for over 30 years. Her piano pieces appear in the syllabi and instructional materials of music education organizations in Canada, Australia, the UK, and the USA. Teresa retired from teaching in 2016 but continues to compose and adjudicate composition competitions.

Joanne (Elligsen) Bender was born in 1950 and grew up on a farm near Stratford, Ontario. She received her ARCT in Piano Performance, B. Mus.from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and M. Mus. in composition from University of Toronto. Joanne is an active piano teacher, adjudicator, ensemble and church musician in Waterloo, Ontario. Her students have won many awards both locally and provincially. Her piano pieces have been published by CFMTA, Royal Conservatory of Music, and Canadian National Conservatory of Music. Joanne is passionate about music and its importance in the community. She received the Laurier Centre for Community Music award in 2011.

Irene Voros holds Diplomas in Piano Performance and Piano Teacher from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario; and an Associate in Music Theory Diploma from the London College of Music. She studied under Ira Swartz and Nan Curzon, and has been a member of the British Columbia Music Teacher Association since 1982. She has been actively involved in church music as a print music transcriber, teacher, choir conductor, and music director. She has maintained a private piano and theory studio since 1981. She has composed numerous songs and piano pieces. Born and raised in Vancouver, she resides in Surrey, B.C.

John Burge grew up in Calgary studying the piano with Dorothy Hare and received his RCM Associate Diploma in Piano Performance before finishing high school. He holds three degrees in Composition and Theory from the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia and since 1987 has been teaching at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he is a full professor. One of his most popular works is Flanders Fields Reflections, a five-movement piece for string orchestra that received the 2009 Juno Award for the Best Canadian Classical Composition. In 2014, for his success as a composer and a general supporter of the Arts in Canada, he was inducted as a Fellow into the Royal Society of Canada. Burge loves working with young musicians and is in high demand as a music festival adjudicator and clinician. In recent years he has been performing solo piano recitals of his own compositions often in a lecture/demonstration format.

Peter Rudzik , a Master of Music in piano performance from the Academy of Music in Gdansk, has won many awards in Poland, where he was born. In 1984 a scholarship from the Chopin Society in Warsaw led to numerous recitals and appearances on national television and radio. Of special acclaim was a performance at the National Piano Festival in 1987. In 1989 Peter received a scholarship for post graduate studies at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark. His love of teaching soon led to a position teaching piano at the Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary, and his own private studio. Many of his students, which cover all levels from beginners to the licentiate, have achieved top levels of excellence both provincially and nationally. His collection for children Truly Astounding Animals was very well received internationally with excellent reviews in International Piano, The Canadian Music Teacher, Tempo and The American Music Teacher. The International Piano magazine published Hot Springs which is part of the Wild Rose Suite, in its 2015 January/February issue. It was the subject of a piano competition for a best recording organized by the magazine. International Piano also featured two pieces from The Book of Piano Magic in its 2017 January-February issue, "A Troll's Rag" and "An Ogre and a Mermaid". Peter Rudzik joined the Red Leaf Pianoworks collective in 2016.

June Armstrong studied music at Queen's University Belfast, graduating with a BMus and an MA in composition and twentieth century analysis. After working as a peripatetic violin tutor with the City of Belfast School of Music, she moved with her husband to the Albany region of New York State, where she lived for six years, during which time both her sons were born. On returning to live permanently in Belfast in 1984, she began teaching both her sons to play the piano and discovered a previously unsuspected passion for the piano and for piano teaching. This quickly led to a diploma in piano teaching and a full-time teaching career. She is actively involved with the European Piano Teachers' Association (EPTA), both as an organiser and speaker. Her pupils are regular high achievers at the national EPTA (UK) Piano Competition, music festivals and at examination level. She also organises an annual Piano Festival in Belfast. A desire to compose piano music focussing on atmospheric playing, developing both a tonal palette and pedalling technique led to the creation of Strangford Sketchbook, which was published in 2011. Her piano compositions range from beginner to advanced level.

Wynn-Anne Rossi is a dynamic composer whose works have inspired audiences across North America and around the world. She has a respect for all genres of music, and her diversity of experience and love of discovery reflect in her expressions as a composer and presenter. She has over 150 publications, primarily for piano, which are widely distributed online and in music stores. Her repertoire also includes works for vocal and chamber groups, concert band and orchestra. Commissions include works sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Composers Forum. Wynn-Anne has a strong commitment to musical education. She has presented numerous workshops and residencies with a strong emphasis on the value of creative expression for all ages, all levels. Wynn-Anne manages a private piano/composition studio in Wayzata, Minnesota. She loves making wild plans, reading quirky books and taking long walks in the Minnesota marshes with her husband Greg and Luigi, the forever puppy. Wynn-Anne is new to Red Leaf Pianoworks and looks forward to the many adventures ahead!

Pianist Amy Stephens is a Third Stream composer in San Francisco. Her award-winning solo piano suites include Becoming, Scenes of San Francisco, and A Day at the Beach. Her Childhood Excursions series help students master technique and fluidity at the piano. She has recorded several critically-acclaimed albums of her jazz ensemble compositions with her quartet, Amy Stephens Group. Teaching privately since 1993, Amy is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music. Amy earned several degrees in classical and jazz piano from Indiana University School of Music. She serves as a clinician for jazz festivals and an adjudicator for piano exams and competitions. She grew up in Detroit and loved exploring Ontario with her family, and her piano suites reflect those experiences and more, helping students become excellent storytellers at the piano!

A native of Kyoto, Japan, Ayumi Okada is a New York-based composer, pianist, and educator. Her passion for composition was found and fostered in her childhood piano studies through the Yamaha Music Education System. She studied music education at Kyoto University of Education and earned a Master's degree in Composition from Mannes School of Music in New York. Her chamber music pieces have been performed by numerous ensembles, including American Wild Ensemble, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Listen Closely, A.W. Duo, Musica Verto Novo, and Alaria Chamber Ensemble. Several of her pieces for string instruments were featured at the 2024 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) Conferences. She is a member of Red Leaf Pianoworks, a collective of award-winning composers, and the Publication Review Committee of Abundant Silence, the publishing imprint of the Festival for Creative Pianists, a nonprofit arts education organization of which she is a board member.