Anna Baignoche

Music has always been a major part of Anna’s life. After living, writing, performing and studying in Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and Turkey and seeing how the arts are integrated into the culture, Anna decided to make music her full-time profession.

Returning to Canada, she completed a degree in Contemporary Voice, specializing in jazz and world music at Vancouver Community College. Anna has performed for 16 years in the Vancouver music scene in various musical projects -- She has released four albums (Heartbones, Mental Moonlight, A Deal With the Wind and Becoming) of original material with her band, Anna B. and the Heartbones. Her compositions are a mixture of her musical loves and influences – Latin, jazz, and folk music. She writes in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Anna has performed for CBC’s Canada Live Studio One Mother Tongue series, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Harrison Music Festival, and Festival Vancouver.

Besides performing, Anna has established an extensive teaching career, sharing her love and knowledge of world music and singing. She has led three choirs in Vancouver, Local Vocals, a 60-member singing group in Vancouver, Everybody’s Choir for all-ages, and the Jewish Community Centre World Music Choir. She taught at Sarah McLachlan School of Music, a music program for women living with addiction and poverty in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, as well as a choir program for at-risk teens at an alternative high school in Surrey, BC. She has been the voice, dance, and musical theatre facilitator at Jam Camp for many years.

Stefan Bienz

My name is Stefan and I mainly play upright and electric bass, and dabble in acoustic guitar.  I started off as a classical guitarist, but was lured to bass by friends in high school who needed me for a Led Zeppelin cover band.  It turned out to be a good fit and accidental life changer.  Just owning a bass is sometimes like an entrance pass which allows me to join in as a supporting player in a wide variety of groups.  I've mainly been a sideman in my music career- always a bridesmaid, never the bride.  Years ago I was brought into the wonderful Jam Camp world by longtime friends Celina and Thomas Tumbach and I discovered that I enjoy teaching music, especially to eager people who are just starting.  And it's always great fun to meet and play with all the amazing musicians who come out each year - facilitators and campers alike.  I feel very lucky.

Bobby Bovenzi

BS African Studies, MEd.

Bobby is a full time Master Rhythm Circle Facilitator contracting with Central and South Okanagan School Districts. His work is well known throughout the valley as highly engaging, easily accessible and incredibly fun! Bobby works with all ages and abilities, from pre school to Pro-D teacher sessions, physically and mentally challenged adults as well as seniors. His main instrument is the West African Djembe and Dunun stick drums, but he is also versed in Congas, Darbuka, Cajon, Kponlogo and hand held percussion instruments. Bobby teaches West African dance and songs, as well as Body Rhythms. His Jam Camp workshops are a real treat for everyone, and provide a great community building session! No experience necessary and workshops cater to the beginner through advanced participants.

Theresa Bovenzi

Theresa Bovenzi is a singer / songwriter, strummer of guitar and ukulele, mama and homeschooler of 3, and one of the original founders of Jam Camp Society. Theresa's original songs are inspired by nature, relationships, and her journeys around the world and in mental health. She desires to inspire people to live in peace with themselves and each other. Theresa has shared music with children as a music director at summer camps, leader of community choirs, in individual lessons, in childcare work, and as therapy in shelters for homeless children. Music is a source of comfort and emotional release for Theresa, and her goal is to facilitate that process for others by sharing music with them.

Cari Burdett

Burdett’s multifaceted education spans a number of disciplines that include; classical voice, new music, vocal improvisation, art song, dance, acting and musical theatre. She holds a music degree in Opera from McGill University, Montreal and a Master’s in Performance Voice from the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, London UK.

Cari released her first full length album ‘Magnolia’ in 2015, receiving nomination for World Album by Western Canada Music Awards. ‘Magnolia’ recorded with Grammy and Juno winner Joby Baker was awarded ‘Producer of the Year’ and Burdett ‘Vocalist of the Year’ 2016 by Vancouver Island Music Awards (VIMA).

Cari resides in the Cowichan Valley, BC and shares her training as the Director of Lila Music Centre (www.joythroughmusic.com) where she joyfuly leads a community choir, parent and child music and offers private voice lessons. Cari joined the Victoria Conservatory of Music faculty in late 2017 as a Vocal Coach, and is the first faculty member to have a firm foothold in both the School of Contemporary Music and the Classical Music School departments.

Genevieve Charbonneau

Genevieve is a Vancouver-Island based singer-songwriter, crafting tales of love, loss and rural living in between raising her three sons, harvesting veggies from the garden and hauling firewood to fuel her earthen home. Her music is rooted in folk and old-time country but incorporates bluegrass rhythms, Americana and pop. Her songs turn effortlessly from insightful love ballads to rollicking political hootenannies. As a trained actress, dancer and long-time member of the multi-award-winning Balkan Babes, she is an accomplished singer and performer, bringing a lively stage presence and charisma to the stage.

Genevieve’s song “Down Down Down” won the 2017 BC Musicians Songwriters Contest and was a finalist in the 2017 International Acoustic Music Awards. Genevieve’s albums “Updraft”(2014) and “Fine Line”(2016) both garnered Producer of the Year Awards at the Vancouver Island Music Awards, as well as multiple nominations. Her third album “Heart is a Tower” was released March 2019 and reached #15 on the Folk Charts. She plays regularly with her band Genevieve and the Wild Sundays, having toured Vancouver Island, BC and Ireland. Most recently she has joined forces with singer-songwriter Jack Connolly to create the folk power duo “Heartwood” releasing a live album in 2020. She has played numerous festivals including Rifflandia, Islands Folk festival, Coombs Bluegrass Festival, and Artswells.

Colin Hamilton

Colin grew up listening to the sounds of piano, and moved on to make use of his musical ear through a degree in mass communications, specializing in audio engineering. He has been mixing for live concerts over the past 25 years. He finally committed to the banjo at the same time as he started a family with Wendi (18 yrs ago), being determined to make music a family pastime instead of having a television. His ultimate goal is to live at a beach with a great surf break, switching between the banjo and a surfboard with family, friends and bare feet. Jam Camp comes in remarkably close to this dream - and while it is only 4 days and there is no surf, he will be making the most of this fantastic time sharing his clawhammer banjo skills with anyone who wants to learn, and spreading the joy of family music making. Colin has been involved with Jamcamp for 10 years and is currently co-managing Jam Camp By the Sea with his wife Wendi.

Barry Jones

Barry is a no-limits multi-instrumentalist and an explorer of all aspects of music. Using a vast array of sound-twisting equipment, Barry approaches playing with invigorating passion, spontaneity, adventure and fun. In his blank-canvas approach, Barry receives creative inspiration in the moment, which he teases out into a cascade of live, cutting edge experimental music. His facilitation of explorative jams has brought inspiration and creative awakening to musicians of many genres and backgrounds. His original works of art have been performed on tour independently and in collaboration with a variety of other musical artists over the past 20 years. He has performed and recorded albums with a number of artists and bands. Barry is the owner-operator of Sincerity Sound Studio located in the Slocan Valley and completed training in audio engineering and recorded music production through Trebas Institute.

Robin Layne

Robin has become a regular fixture on the B.C. festival circuit, collaborating with a wide spectrum of folk and world artists. His recent touring engagements have led him to Europe, Mexico, China, the U.S. and Canada. His love for music, rhythm and culture have led him to study with master percussionists in Cuba, Guinea, Mali, and Mexico.

Robin currently performs with Locarno, Mazacote, Tambura Rasa and his own group Robin Layne and the Rhythm Makers. He just released his debut marimba record Memories this spring and has been touring the province in support of it. He is also in demand as a freelance percussionist for recordings, performances and tours. Recent highlights include working with Juno Award winning artists Quique Escamilla, The Paperboys, Donne Roberts (African Guitar Summit), Alpha Yaya Diallo, Celso Machado and Silk Road Music. 

Robin strongly believes that the gift of music should be accessible to everyone. He is the senior percussion instructor at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, the Artistic Director of the World Rhythms for Youth Society, a Facilitator at Jam Camp and co-artistic director of the Vancouver World Music Festival with Tom Landa.

Wendi Lopatecki

Wendi began learning to play the guitar as a teenager and spent most of her musical time jamming on camping trips with a her group of musical and creative friends. Jam Camp feels much like those distant days- now she is a mother of two children and spends most of her time building a house and gardening on the Gulf Islands. Luckily, her husband Colin, picked up the banjo at the time of the birth of their first daughter, and since then they have been staying up way too late getting some time together writing songs and learning a few traditional old time tunes. The growing of the family has become a strong motivation for creating music as a way of connecting and communicating together, and Wendi and her family have been seen chopping out a few tunes around the island. Jam Camp offers a new context from those distant days which include the many smiling faces of children and parents, and Wendi is excited to share her experiences of song, guitar and mandolin with the extended Jam Camp family. She has been involved with Jam Camp for 10 years and is currently co-managing Jam Camp By the Sea with her husband Colin.

Anna Lumiere

Anna Lumiere is a Vancouver-based pianist, accordionist and composer. She is the leader of the band Mimosa, for which she writes most of the music. Mimosa has toured across Canada and has three critically acclaimed CDs. They have performed at numerous jazz festivals, including Montreal and Vancouver. She has also plays with various other bands, including Anagram, a duo/quartet with her husband Graham Ord and a family band, Hordes of Ords, with their two sons.

Anna has received awards for her compositions, some of which have been placed in film and television. She is currently working on a solo album.

J. Ben McGrath (he/him)

Ben’s drumming journey began while growing up in south-western Ontario, where his Trinidadian roots evoked an early love of rhythms and music. As a teenager playing snare drum in a cadet marching band, Ben established strong drumming foundations while letting the speed and energy of punk rock and funk jams shape his musical identity. In 2004, Ben moved up to Dawson City, Yukon and his drumming style broadened while performing ragtime and jazz at the Diamond Tooth Gerties cabaret show from 2006- 07. Academic pursuits led Ben and his growing family to Victoria BC, where his dynamic style found him gigging and recording with the two-drummer, six-piece, power rock ensemble “Rugged Uncle”.

Now living on the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch'än Council in Whitehorse, Yukon, you can find Ben playing drum kit, congas or djembe, sitting in on sessions with some of Whitehorse's favourite local players, such as The Hayley Warden Experience, Parker Thomas Jazz, The Heart House Band and The Elijah Bekk Band. You can also find some of Ben’s demo recordings with longtime friend and collaborator Brooke Gallupe (Immaculate Machine) in their two-piece remote collaboration project under the name “Atlatl”. Ben’s greatest musical asset may be his ear-playing ability, which lets him compliment whomever he accompanies and feel at home on the festival stage, in a coffee house or jam room. Ben's approach to drumming instruction centers around student-led interest, focusing on what the student loves about drumming, and developing personalized instruction based upon those interests. He has led drumming workshops for the Yukon Summer Music Camp and also teaches private lessons at The Heart of Riverdale Community center in Whitehorse.

Graham Ord

An alumni of the West Vancouver Boys and Girls Band, Graham began playing the flute at age 9 and saxophone at 17. Graham has toured and performed with groups as diverse as Sumalao, a Chilean Canadian band, Uzume Taiko, the Hard Rubber Orchestra and ANAGRAM a jazz group with his wife Anna Lumiere. Graham lives in Gibsons with his family and has enjoyed teaching sax and flutes to children and adults for over twenty years on the North Shore, in Vancouver and now on the Sunshine Coast. “I love Jam Camp.”

Noah Ord

Noah Ord is a 16 year old Sunshine Coast fiddler who also plays mandolin, ukulele, and trumpet. He has been performing with his mother, Anna Lumiere, since he was 11, and with the rest of the family since 2018 in Hordes of Ords. He has been in the pit band for several plays, including a paid engagement in 2019 for a 3-week run. 

He has his grade 8 RCM violin and is a member of Bad to the Bow, a Sunshine Coast fiddle ensemble. Bad to the Bow performs regularly in Canada and occasionally in the US.

Maiya Robbie

Maiya offers beginner to early intermediate guitar and contemporary vocal lessons, and teaches songwriting and creative musical exploration. Her approach as a teacher is a balance between encouraging joy and student ownership of musical interest and direction, alongside providing structural soundness and healthful habit building in vocal technique and guitar playing. Maiya has also taught early childhood music and exploration for over 10 years, and is an Expressive Arts Therapist. She has an extensive background as a professional musician, having toured and played at venues and festivals around Canada and the United States, as well as two solo albums and three band albums (collaborative) out in the world.

Yanti Rowland

Jam Camp is dear to Yanti’s heart and is where she got her start learning and ultimately teaching ukulele and songs in the oral tradition. For several years, Yanti and her family have enjoyed sharing in the Jam Camp experience.

Yanti is passionate about singing and creating music together. Many people have songs in their hearts and yet are afraid to sing. Yanti believes everyone can sing and that there is freedom in singing. Song Catching with Yanti was born out of the idea that we all have the ability to sing and that it is vibrational therapy from the inside. Under the leadership of Yanti, local vocalist, you will have the opportunity to develop your voice through songs of the Ubuntu Choir Network taught in the oral tradition. Ubuntu means, I am because we are. Together we will explore sounds and vibrations from within us as well as jump into the world of improv.

For the last 5 years, Yanti has been teaching Beginner Ukulele Group class. This multigenerational class designed to facilitate students learning to connect with their minds, bodies and spirit and create connections with others through learning to play ukulele. She believes in the positive effects of community through music and her fun, patient teaching style is a fit for most ages and musical abilities.

Yanti is also a professional vocalist with several jazzy/bluesy bands and has been known to host karaoke! For more information on what she is up to, check out www.yanti.ca

Mariela Shuley

Mariela is a multi-instrumentalist and singer. The basis of her inspiration and drive growing up were her musical parents and this very camp! After leaving secondary school, Mariela trained in a Musical Theatre focused program at Capilano University, where she earned a diploma for her studies. She continues building her artistic toolbox in the Film and TV world, particularly in the independent sector. She craves the prospect of a voice-over career, where her heart definitely lives. On top of her artistic pursuits, Mariela walks dogs and teaches in an outreach-based Science Club Program for children in the Greater Vancouver Area. Her musical life has ebbed and flowed, but after releasing a five-song EP and returning to her piano-driven roots, she is excited to teach and learn from the participants at this year's Jam Camp.

Andy Tabb

Andy Tabb has honed his chops on guitar, songwriting skills and voice for 30 years now and it shows. He skillfully weaves together Americana roots, Baroque folk and an essence of Jazz, taking risks with melody and harmony that are natural and beautiful within his own captivating songwriting. His voice evokes a summer afternoon, as he ranges easily between painterly ballads and rootsy rock. His album, Neon Jesus Man, is an epic journey through a myriad of lyrical emotions and sonic landscapes.

Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas is an occupational therapist and musician, choir director and facilitator in Vancouver with a background in piano, guitar, and choral music. He trained and performed with the UBC Choral Union and the Northland College Choral Ensemble, performed with the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble and the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, and apprenticed under the incredible Anna Baignoche :) Owen teaches privately and for school groups, and brings his love of contemporary world and folk music into workshops with adults and youth, including Jam Camp.