Meet the Adjudicators

Autumn Debassige mezzo-soprano of First Nations heritage with a ‘rich and expressive’ voice, whose performances have been described as ‘lovely and stylish…wonderful, varied and consistently engaging.’A versatile, freelance soloist/recitalist, Autumn has featured with The Cellar Singers, Bach Elgar Choir, Chor Amica, Spiritus Ensemble, Guelph Chamber Choir, Symphony in the Barn, and the Elora Festival in their inaugural Vocal Academy. Most recently, Autumn was alto soloist for the world premiere of Justin Lapierre’s oratorio The Gatherers. And, in October 2026, she is looking forward to originating the role of Greenstockings in Snowblind, a new opera by Canadian composer Boyd McDonald.

Autumn teaches voice at Uptown School of Music and is a core member of the professional Parish Choir of St. John’s Elora. She is a graduate of Leslie Fagan’s studio (WLU 2016), an alumna of The Ontario Youth Choir (2017), and holds an Advanced Diploma in Music Theatre Performance (St. Clair College 2019).

Autumn was raised in Orillia taking piano lessons from Barb Vessey and Blair Bailey, and singing in The Cellar Singers under their late artistic director, Albert Greer. The support, encouragement, and love she has received from these pillars of Orillia’s musical community, as well as from her family and friends, has been instrumental in shaping more than just her career. She could not be more grateful to be where she is today.

Catherine Robertson has had a long and remarkably versatile musical career. She has distinguished herself as a pianist, chamber musician, conductor, singer, teacher and lecturer. For over thirty years Catherine has been a piano, choral and instrumental adjudicator at music festivals across the country. She has received B. Mus. Piano Performance (Queen’s University), Piano Licentiate LRAM (Royal Academy of Music, London, UK) and her M. Mus. Piano Performance (WU) degrees. Catherine taught piano and piano literature courses at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo for twenty-one years.

For four years she conducted the College Chapel Choir. Prior to this, she was a collaborative pianist at Wilfrid Laurier University, and taught piano at Redeemer University College. More recently she has taught and examined at the University of Guelph. Wide-ranging musical interests and experiences are evident in Catherine’s many collaborations. She regularly performs with DaCapo Chamber Choir, an ensemble committed to the performance of contemporary works.

Her dedication to new music is also seen in recordings, including piano and chamber compositions of Leonard Enns and Michael Purves-Smith. A love of early music was shown over the fifteen years in which Catherine was music director and sang with TACTUS Vocal Ensemble. This professional octet specialized in music of the European Renaissance. Catherine sang as a consort member with the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and has had a long association with the Elora Singers as pianist, singer and flautist. In addition, she has twice served as interim conductor, and frequent guest conductor with the professional Parish Choir of St. John’s Anglican Church, Elora. Catherine is delighted to return to the Orilla Kiwanis Music Festival.

Sharon has been involved in music in some way since she was four (she wanted to be the conductor of the orchestra that played for the cartoons) and began learning piano with her mom at age six.

At a young age she was headed towards a career as a concert pianist, but took a divergent path, becoming a multi-instrumentalist, conductor (not for the cartoons), chorister, music teacher, and workshop leader. 

At various stages of her life she played in the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, the London Concert Band and Encore, the Concert Band, and sang in the Fanshawe Symphonic Chorus. She currently plays upright and electric bass in the Railway City Wind Ensemble in St. Thomas.

During her teaching career, she taught vocal, strings and band, and wrote and arranged variety shows for her choirs.

Her private music studio included students learning piano, guitar, woodwinds, strings and brass. She continues to teach a small number of students. 

Sharon founded and directed the Treble Makers Women’s Choir, which was open to any woman, whether they had experience or not. For nearly twenty years she directed the West Elgin Community Band and its offshoots, an adult beginners’ band and the Joyful Noise Youth Band.

For nearly 40 years she was on staff and faculty at the National Music Camp of Canada; for more than 30 of those years, she was the staff coordinator, hiring the music students who lived and worked with the campers.

She’s a graduate of the Musicianship and Leadership Program of Music for People, a nonprofit organization, which believes that everyone is musical, and that making music is a birthright. Much of her personal music making these days is totally improvised, from the inside out.

At the heart of her life is the belief there is deep music and  inside every one of us, and that her work is to foster that creative self-expression through groups  and individuals, helping people to find their music.

After 44 seasons in the double bass section of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Dawson has begun a new chapter in his musical life. He now devotes more time to the Kingston Road Village Concert Series, a passion project he founded with his wife, Kim, in 2013.

This chamber music series grew out of the rich network of musical connections Timothy built over the years—through his work with the Toronto Symphony, as an instructor at the University of Toronto, with his Bach Consort (1995–2015), the Toronto Symphony Double Bass Quartet (BASStiality), and many joyful summers at the National Music Camp of Canada.

The series reflects the wide range of music he loves: classical chamber repertoire, music inspired by Toronto’s cultural mosaic, jazz, contemporary works, and improvisation. Timothy is proud to bring “downtown-quality” performances to Toronto’s east end and to play an active role in his community.

Outside of music, he sings in his church choir and, with Kim, enjoys traveling, spending time with their children, tending their vegetable garden, and looking after Zeus, their energetic Husky/Great Pyrenees.