Music Director – Dr. Adam B. Robertson
A native of Burnaby, British Columbia, Adam is active throughout Alberta as a conductor, choral and vocal clinician, adjudicator, and teacher. He holds a BMus in vocal performance from the University of Lethbridge, and two degrees (MMus, DMus) in choral conducting from the University of Alberta. While in Edmonton, Adam has directed several ensembles including the Sherwood Park Festival Singers, Da Camera Singers, and Edmonton Children’s Choir.
Though primarily a conductor, Adam remains active as a vocalist, maintaining an associate membership with Pro Coro Canada.
A full-time Assistant Lecturer at the University of Alberta, Adam teaches courses in conducting, choral repertoire, aural skills, music theory, and music history.
In addition to Greenwood Singers, Adam directs two choirs at the University of Alberta: The University of Alberta Concert Choir and the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus (the longest-standing non-athletic club on campus). He is also the Artistic Director for All Points West, a chamber vocal ensemble he founded in 2019. Adam is thrilled to be the Music Director of Greenwood Singers for the 2023–24 season.
Founder & Music Director Emeritus – Dr. Robert de Frece
Robert de Frece retired in 2008 as Professor of Music and Music Education in the Faculties of Education and Arts at the University of Alberta. Dr. de Frece directed choirs at Archbishop Jordan High School in Sherwood Park, Alberta for nine years and spent six years as a Music Consultant with Alberta Education. He is Music Director of Greenwood Singers and the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus and founder and music director of the University of Alberta Faculty of Education Handbell Ringers.
Dr. de Frece served for two years on the National Board of Directors of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and is a past-president of the Alberta Choral Federation. He served as Alberta’s Assistant Provincial Carillonneur from 1971 to 1979 and Provincial Carillonneur from 1979 to 1996.
In 1993, Dr. de Frece was awarded the Faculty of Education’s Undergraduate Teaching Award and the University of Alberta’s A. C. Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In 1998, he was awarded the Alberta Choral Federation’s Con Spirito Award in recognition of dedication and commitment to choral music. In 2002, he received the University of Alberta Alumni Association’s Alumni Honour Award in recognition of his work with the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus and, in 2004, he was named to the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame and also received the Alberta Choral Federation’s Richard S. Eaton Award of Distinction for exemplary service to choral music in the Province of Alberta. In 2005, he was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal.
As the author of a number of textbooks, he has presented music education workshops throughout Canada and the United States and in the People’s Republic of China, and has established a wide reputation as an adjudicator.