Our Directors

Neil Yorke-Slader

Neil Yorke-Slader retired in June 2016 as a Superintendent of Instruction with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is the former Head of Music at Earl of March S.S. and J.S. Woodsworth S.S. and began his teaching career at Meadowlands M.S. Neil has composed over 50 works at various levels for jazz ensemble, available through UNC Jazz Press and Burnihla Music Publishing; several are preserved by the National Library of Canada (Archives).  His music has been played on five continents. He has written commissions for elementary and high school jazz ensembles, and was one of the eight contributing composers to the inaugural Canadian "New Sounds of Music Project". He was a contributor to "Jazz Pedagogy, A Canadian Perspective".

Neil Yorke-Slader is well known throughout Canada for his dedication to education and the arts.  He was the recipient of the 2000 Ottawa International Jazz Festival's "Achievement Award". He was named to the MusicFest Canada Hall of Fame in 2016.  In 2018, he was selected as the inaugural winner of the Tommy Banks Most Outstanding Jazz Director Award. In 2020, he was named an Honourary Life Member of the Ontario Music Educators Association.

Neil is the Associate Director of MusicFest Canada and Chairman of its Instrumental Jazz Division. He is widely sought after as a jazz clinician and adjudicator. He is considered one of the leading Canadian authorities on the teaching of stage band fundamentals and rehearsal techniques. 

Stephen szabo

STEPHEN SZABO is currently a music teacher at Nepean High School in Ontario, Canada.  He studied trumpet at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of Eric Rupp, where he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree.  During his studies, he performed with several musical ensembles including the University of Ottawa Wind Ensemble, the University of Ottawa Orchestra, the University of Ottawa Jazz Ensemble, the Calixa Lavalee chamber choir, and the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra.

Since starting his teaching career, Stephen has performed with various ensembles. He competed in the United Stated and Canada as part of Canada's only competitive drum and bugle corps out of Kingston, Ontario. He performed and recorded as part of the fusion duo, Trumped!, he was a member of the Ottawa-based acapella choir, Harmonic Generation, and he was the founding director of the Barrhaven Community Concert Band, a band he conducted until September 2016.  Stephen was also the co-director of the O.C.D.S.B Secondary All-Star Jazz Ensemble until 2017.

Now in his fourteenth year of teaching, Stephen’s school ensembles have achieved many successes, including being awarded multiple Gold Standards at Musicfest Nationals and being named Best Jazz Band at the 2015 Capital Region Music Festival. His bands have performed with guest artists that include Brian Asselin , Petr Cancura, and Ed Lister, and they were invited to perform at the Ottawa Jazz Festival from 2016 - 2019.  Stephen's ensembles have performed at the National Music Monday Showcase, and were invited to perform a feature concert at Musicfest Nationals in 2017.    Stephen has also composed and arranged numerous pieces for his various jazz ensembles.