The Hnatyshyn Foundation Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting

Aug 17

The Hnatyshyn - Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting at the Schulich School of Music, valued at $18,000 (previously $15,000), began in 2018. All Canadian applicants to the Schulich graduate conducting program will be considered for the Fellowship – no separate application is necessary.

Please see the program information on McGill's website: Hnatyshyn Foundation - Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting.

Matthew Boutda (he/him)
Photo: Danielle Sum
Featured on CBC’s list of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” Matthew Boutda is a Lao-Canadian conductor, tenor, and organist in pursuit of his Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée.
Matthew is a Course Lecturer and Conductor of the McGill University Chorus. He is also the Director of Music at Leaside United Church in Toronto, where he conducts the Chancel Choir. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.
As a conductor, Matthew has worked with choirs such as the Elmer Iseler Singers, Ontario Youth Choir, National Youth Choir of Canada, Pax Christi Chorale, Schulich Singers, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the Western University Singers.
Matthew holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Toronto, and an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. In addition to our Fellowship, Matthew is a recent recipient of the Clifford Evens Graduate Conducting Award, Gerald Wheeler Award, Helen Hall Prize, and Wayne Riddell Choral Award.
Photo: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
“Beyond the practical support, this fellowship affirms the importance of music in Canadian culture and reinforces the belief that conducting, as a powerful and transformative art form, is worth nurturing and celebrating.”
“I am immensely grateful to the Hnatyshyn Foundation for this remarkable vote of confidence in my potential. This fellowship strengthens my resolve to contribute meaningfully to the world of conducting, and I am deeply inspired to carry forward the spirit of this award in everything I do. Thank you for helping me realize my dreams and for making a lasting impact on the future of Canadian music and conductors.”
Jeremy Ho (he/him)
Conductor, violinist, and pianist Jeremy Ho distinguishes himself through his keen sense of integrity, his passion for excellence, and his relentless pursuit of musical mastery. He is working on building up his national reputation.
A graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Violin, earned under the instruction of Jasper Wood, Jeremy has also studied under David Gillham, Eric Wilson, Marina Thibeault, Rena Sharon, and Terence Dawson. As a soloist, Jeremy participated in the violin masterclass with Axel Strauss, a violin professor at McGill University, and competed in UBC’s concerto competition where he was placed as a finalist. Jeremy was a member of the UBC Symphony Orchestra for six years under the instruction of conductor Jonathan Girard. Throughout his involvement, Jeremy was appointed as a principal player and the concertmaster. Alongside UBC, Jeremy participated in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute and UBC Chamber Orchestra Festival as a violinist in 2019. In 2021 and 2022, Jeremy participated in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute as a conductor where he studied with Jonathan Girard and Otto Tausk, Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
In 2022, Jeremy was appointed as a substitute conductor for the Brock House Orchestra. He has also conducted for the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra. In the summer of 2023, Jeremy participated in the conducting program And Other Duties in Manchester, UK, where he conducted rehearsals for Chetham’s School of Music. In the same year, he received several offers to study for a Master’s of Orchestral Conducting. Ultimately, he decided to pursue his studies at McGill University under Alexis Hauser, winner of the 1974 Koussevitzky Prize. At McGill, Jeremy conducts the Beethoven Orchestra as well as Hauser’s Graduate Conductor’s Concert.
“The support from the Hnatyshyn Foundation is beyond phenomenal. I am incredibly honoured to have been acknowledged to further my ambitions in musical learning. The Foundation’s financial assistance is the greatest opportunity to show my dedication to the arts and education. A single quote is not enough for me to show my appreciation and gratitude toward this support. Instead, I will continue to improve myself as The Hnatyshyn Foundation has allowed me to have more time to focus on my studies, as well as being able to thoroughly plan and rewatch my rehearsals.”
Frédéric-Alexandre Michaud
In September 2021, Michaud began doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at McGill University studying with Jean Lesage and Maestros Guillaume Bourgogne, David Itkin and Jonathan Dagenais. At the same institution, he also completed two Master’s degrees, one in 2021 in orchestral conducting and one in 2019 in violin performance. As a conducting student, he greatly impressed with the quality and audacity of his recitals, conducting some of the most challenging repertoire for conductors such as The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and La mer by Debussy. He had the privilege of participating in two inspiring conducting masterclasses organized by the Schulich School of Music, one with Alexander Shelley in 2021, through a partnership with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and one in 2019 with internationally acclaimed French maestro François-Xavier Roth, through a partnership with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
During the summer of 2022, he had the opportunity to be the assistant conductor of Maestro Alain Trudel at the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and, in July 2021, he studied conducting at Domaine Forget with Maestros Bramwell Tovey and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In April 2022, he received the Scarlet Key Award given to students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and extracurricular achievements at McGill University. In November 2021, he received the first award by the new Program to Support Graduate Conducting Students in the Study and Performance of Music by Composers from Underrepresented Groups which allowed him to perform the Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” by William Grant-Still with the McGill Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his academic path, he is the artistic director of his own ensemble the Brownies Concerto Orchestra and, since July 2020, of the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Joliette (OSJJ).
“I am honoured to receive the Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting from the Hnatyshyn Foundation at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. I would like to share with you my sincere gratitude for the financial assistance that you granted me and which will allow me to improve myself further in the mastery of my art. Since my early days as a student from Gaspésie studying at the Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski and then in Montreal at the Schulich School of Music, I always took great pride in the dedication to my education and my social involvement in the community. It is very heartwarming to be recognized for the numerous years that I invested to work on my craft and in my volunteer work. As a conductor, the pandemic has been a source of stress, doubt and limitation in my musical ambitions. I must say that this award inspires me enormously and has given me renewed vigor and encouragement in the next steps for my future in the musical world. I conclude by thanking you once again for this wonderful gift which acts as a real springboard for my learning and ambitions.”
Dr. Gohar Manvelyan
Dr. Gohar Manvelyan began her music studies at the age of four and at five years old, was accepted into the Tchaikovsky Music School for gifted children in Yerevan. At ten, she moved with her family to Moscow where she pursued her studies at the Myaskovsky Music School in both piano and organ. After completing her studies there, Gohar entered the P. I. Tchaikovsky Academic Music College of the Moscow Conservatory where she double majored in piano and choral conducting, graduating with Distinction in both subjects.
In 2005 she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Music Performance Studies, with Great Distinction and a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Music Performance Studies, specializing in Piano Performance at Concordia University, Montreal. She was the piano finalist in the Canadian Music Competition of 2008. In 2013, she acquired her first Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Sherbrooke and in 2014, her second Master’s degree in Piano Performance at McGill University. May 2019, Gohar obtained her Doctorate in Choral Conducting with her thesis on Makar Yekmalyan’s Divine Liturgy: The Introduction of Polyphony in Armenian Sacred.
Dr. Manvelyan has been teaching piano in her studio since 2012, and enjoys working as a collaborative pianist, accompanying singers and instrumentalists at festivals, recitals and auditions.
Since 2019, Dr. Manvelyan has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of Les Muses Chorale and the Saint-Bruno Carousellers Community Choir. Most recently she has been appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of La Chorale Harmonia (an upper voice community choir). In 2021, Dr. Manvelyan was among the top applicants accepted by McGill University to pursue a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting with Maestro Alexis Hauser.
“Gohar Manvelyan is a uniquely well-rounded musician, holding graduate degrees in both piano performance and choral conducting. Further studies in Orchestral Conducting will now contribute to round off an already highly accomplished set of skills and prepare her for a successful future on the musical stage. Again, we thank the Hnatyshyn Foundation for its generous support which helps us further the development of young Canadian conductors,” said Stéphane Lemelin
Kelly Lin
Kelly Lin is a Canadian conductor and concert pianist who enjoys an active career performing internationally throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Among her recent piano engagements include recitals with the Oasis Musicale Concert Series in Montreal and the Steinway City Hall in Guangzhou. She holds a Bachelor and Master’s degree in piano performance from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music where her teachers were Marina Mdivani and Sara Laimon. As a conductor, Kelly has worked closely under the mentorship of Guillaume Bourgogne and has conducted the Missouri Symphony Orchestra in the United States and the Szolnok Symphony Orchestra in Hungary. This coming fall, Kelly will pursue graduate studies in conducting at the Schulich School of Music.
“We are very pleased to welcome Kelly Lin to our graduate conducting program. An accomplished pianist, Ms. Lin has rapidly demonstrated outstanding potential in conducting. In the words of Prof. Guillaume Bourgogne, world-renowned conductor and leader of McGill’s Contemporary Music Ensemble: “Kelly Lin’s talent is truly exceptional. I had never seen before anyone else capable of becoming a conductor in just one year! Miss Lin’s conducting is magnetic, captivating and inspiring.” We are thankful to the Hnatyshyn Foundation for their continuing support of the development of talented young Canadian artists,” said Stéphane Lemelin.
Francis Choinière
Francis is a versatile musician active as a choral and orchestral conductor, concert producer, pianist, composer, and baritone. Co-founder of the OPCM with Elie Boissinot, (Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes), Artistic Director of L’Ensemble Vocal Trame Sonore, Conductor of the Choeur Fernand Lindsay for the Festival de Lanaudière, and chorus master for several concerts at the Bell Center (with Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, Hans Zimmer and Ramin Djawadi), Francis is highly engaged in Montreal’s music scene. Francis is the co-founder and President of GFN Productions, a production company that presents several high caliber concerts in Montreal’s finest venues such as the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring concert presented at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier, Place des Arts with more than 250 musicians and singers on stage. Francis has received many scholarships and prizes including the Helmut Blume Memorial Scholarship and the Barbara Ann (Smith) Pennie Prize for Musicianship.
“My passion for the choral and orchestral repertoire is what has always driven me to become a conductor. Receiving The Hnatyshyn Foundation Conductor’s Fellowship is a great honour, and allows me to dedicate my time to meaningful projects that help advance my career.”
Adam Keeping
Adam Keeping is passionate about the promotion of opera and symphonic music. The young conductor holds an honours degree in music from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Juris Doctor degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. He has also studied conducting in France and the Czech Republic, piano at Centre d’Arts Orford (Québec), and international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Adam has taught piano and music theory, chaired legal education programs for the Ontario Bar Association, and instructed at Osgoode Hall Law School.