Pro Team Categories Archives: Youth Campus Education Centre Student Support
Ms. Cindy Fortin
Ms. Margaret Dahlberg
Margaret Dahlberg is dedicated to inspiring joy and connection through music. Born and raised in Calgary, she is an active teacher, composer and pianist.
An award winning classical pianist, Margaret studied piano performance at Mount Royal Conservatory (A. Mus.), Cleveland Institute of Music (B.Mus.) and University of Calgary (M. Mus). She has been on faculty at the Mount Royal Conservatory and the Mount Royal Academy as a teacher, chamber musician and coach and has performed throughout Western Canada and the United States.
Margaret injured her hand in 1998, bringing her classical piano performing career to an unexpected halt. She then combined her musical knowledge and her love of children to create a music program for pre-school aged children. Her program, Music Kids at Chinook School of Music, has a team of teachers and sees hundreds of children every year from babies to 5 year olds.
In recent years, Margaret has become a singer-songwriter and has written songs and albums that have been on the Grammy Awards long-list for both popular music and children’s music.
Currently, Margaret is a teacher and Director at Music Kids and Chinook School of Music, as well as the Choral Music Specialist at Calgary Arts Academy. Side projects include writing music for Meditative Massage as well as creating a musical of original songs.
Mr. Allen Doell
Allen is passionate about children and the arts and has been an active volunteer at Calgary Arts Academy for over 9 years, prior to taking on the position of Student Logistics Coordinator. As an enthusiastic supporter of CAA, he believes whole-heartedly in CAA’s education methods and community culture, having seen first-hand the incredible benefits his 3 sons have received from attending.
As a professional musician for over 35 years, Allen has many highlights including performing for the Prime Minister of Canada and touring internationally with country recording act Jo Hikk. He has shared the stage with some of music’s biggest names, earned 4 CCMA nominations and released several songs to radio and videos to CMT.
Allen has actively embraced opportunities that allow him to be a positive role model in children’s lives including his past experience as a school bus driver for 7 years. He enjoys providing a safe, supportive environment for the students at CAA and encourages random acts of kindness every chance he gets!
Ms. Susanna Walker
Ms. Walker started at Calgary Arts Academy in 2017.
With the “Abitur” (High school matriculation equivalent / international baccalaureate) she earned an apprenticeship as a ladies’ custom tailor at the Hiberniaschule in Germany.
After studying violin privately in Amsterdam, Cologne and Berlin and playing in several orchestras, she focused more on chamber music and being a freelance violinist.
Teaching has always been a big part of her life and she gave private lessons. She also earned a Teaching Certification as Junior High School English / Textile Science / Home Economics major at the Hochschule, a university in Freiburg, Germany.
She is very excited to teach at Calgary Arts Academy!
Ms. Josie Drever Chu
Josie’s passion with art started on paper at the age of 2 and continues to intertwine in her everyday life. Her love for drawing, sculpture and photography has earned her a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture and Photography, as well as a Masters of Fine Art Graduate degree in Photography. Her extensive experience in photography is demonstrated in a portfolio of hundreds of portrait, weddings and events spanning 19 years of professional photography experience. Josie shares her love for photography, not only creatively but way of instruction at the University of Calgary as an instructor of Film and Digital photography since 2000. She is a mother of two incredible boys and loves to document their everyday journeys with film and digital media and can be found in her studio shooting, editing, writing, creating photographic mixed media pieces, dancing like no one is watching and sipping on coconut lattes.
Ms. JoAnne Collins
Mr. John McLean
Mr. McLean joined Calgary Arts Academy in 2013.
John has 21 years of guitar playing experience and 11 years of guitar teaching experience. John has played in blues bands in the Calgary music scene, studied jazz guitar at Humber college in Toronto, ON and acting at Mount Royal College/University here in Calgary. During his time as a working musician/actor, John acquired a perhaps unusual day job as a nanny and discovered that teaching kids was far more rewarding to him than performing in theatres and clubs. In the last 10 years he has built his door-to-door guitar teaching business which he continues alongside his new and exciting work at Calgary Arts Academy.
Mr. Drew Smith
Mr. Smith joined Calgary Arts Academy in 2013.
He arrived in Calgary in 2006 and has enjoyed performing, arranging, conducting and singing locally with a variety of concert bands, jazz combos and big bands, pit orchestras and symphonies. Recent international performances include tours to Austria, Australia, France, England, New York, Nashville, Cuba and New Orleans. His latest music projects include a live 8 piece funk R&B band “Get It!” and a jazzy swing combo, the Rhythm Barons. At Calgary Arts Academy, Drew focuses on trumpet, trombone, F horn, tuba, baritone, drum kit, and bass guitar as a band instructor.
Mr. Jason Lindsay
Jason has been with Calgary Arts Academy since the beginning in 2003.
He first met Dale Erickson when he did his student teaching and subsequent contracts at Willow Park Elementary School in 2000. In his teaching career, Jason has taught at an emerging arts school (Willow Park,) a traditional school (Pineridge Elementary) and finally and most significantly, at Calgary Arts Academy!
Mr. Lindsay has taught most subject in Years Kindergarten to Year 9 and he is well versed in the history and nuances of the school.
He cherishes the fact that teachers and artists are encouraged to take creative risks with their program planning and delivery. Every day is a new day at Calgary Arts Academy!