2025 Music Adjudicators
Dr. Kevin Zakresky - Choral, Voice & Band
Dr. Kevin Zakresky is a touring orchestral and choral conductor who has directed the Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses, National Geographic Symphony, Heroes Symphony, Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Picasso Symphony, five shows that have seen him conduct orchestras throughout North America, South America, and Europe.
He is Music Director of the Pacific Spirit Choir and Maddalena's Descant in Vancouver. Previously he was Music Director of the Prince George Symphony and conductor of the Pacifica Singers. Kevin received his Doctorate in Choral Conducting from Yale University in 2012 and has taught voice and piano at the VSO School of Music since 2013.
Michelle Mares - Piano
Michelle Mares began her musical life as a child prodigy in Vancouver and drew the attention of many notable musicians, including András Schiff, Ivan Moravec and Gaby Casadesus.
Ms. Mares has enjoyed the rare privilege of studying with some of the world’s most eminent musicians including Canada’s own Jane Coop, Leon Fleisher, Karl Heinz Kämmerling, György Kurtág, and Alfred Brendel. Her approach to music is deeply rooted in the treasured legacy of her teachers, and her own teaching is deeply influenced by it.
In her youth, she won many international and national competitions and has performed internationally as a soloist and a chamber musician for most of her adult life. She draws from a deep reservoir of professional experience.
Ms Mares is currently based in Victoria where she is on the piano faculty at the University of Victoria. She has also served as Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia in addition to her private piano studio. She is a popular guest adjudicator at regional competitions and festivals and is frequently invited to perform and give masterclasses.
Jeffrey Plotnick - Strings
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Plotnick retired after completing his thirtieth season as Principal Second Violin with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Mr. Plotnick performed with orchestras in Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; and Caracas, Venezuela before assuming his position in Calgary.
In addition to performing in the Calgary Philharmonic, Mr. Plotnick also served as concertmaster of the Calgary Bach Society and the Calgary Festival Chorus Orchestras. Mr. Plotnick often appeared as violin soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic as well as the Calgary Bach Society, and has been heard in frequent performances as a solo and chamber recitalist. In October of 1998, Mr. Plotnick participated in a cultural mission to Kazakhstan, which included solo performances for its President.
Mr. Plotnick has been a member of the faculties of the University of Calgary, Mt. Royal College and the Amici String program in Calgary, and was the founding director and conductor of Mt. Royal’s Intermediate String Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Plotnick has been a faculty member of the Banff International Youth Orchestra Festival, the Valhalla, Nelson, Strings and Keys, and Los Angeles Suzuki summer music institutes, and has appeared as guest artist and clinician at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is currently in demand as a string adjudicator at numerous music festivals.
