About

Director/Owner

 

Marnie Setka-Mooney

 

On Faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) for over 24 years, Marnie has also been on Faculty at the Musical Theatre college - CCPA - Canadian College of Performing Arts  -  as well as having taught at Pearson College, and her unexpected love and interest of music development for young children began when she taught at the Victoria School of Ideal Education.  While serving on faculty at VCM, she adjudicated for the VCM Lieder Competition, was a guest lecturer for the VCM Collegium program, a voice examiner for the VCM vocal exams,  taught Children’s Voice for the VCM Diploma Program- a performance and pedagogy program.   Adjudication and Masterclasses have also taken her to  Northern BC. Her major teachers have been Catherine Young (VCM) and French Tickner (UBC).

As a performer, she enjoys premiering new compositions, and has performed at many of the  Victoria Composers Collective concerts, as well as debuted works by those in the Association of Canadian Women composers.  Marnie has sung professionally as a recitalist in Winnipeg (Women of Note), Europe, the U.S, Vancouver (Cantata Singers), Kelowna (Philharmonic Orchestra), and Victoria (Bel Canto/Viva).

A believer in professional development, Marnie has sung in Master Classes for Richard Miller, Edith Wiens, and Cornelia Prestl. She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, a BC Registered Music Teacher, and she has recently fulfilled serving two terms as the Mid-Island representative for the BC Choral Federation.

Ms. Setka-Mooney has been awarded the Certification Level I qualification from Princeton’s Music Together Center for Music and Young Children for outstanding achievement in teaching and articulating of the Music Together Program. She taught for the beloved Music Together Victoria program for 14 years, and knows that the foundation for music development was laid there, especially for her youngest child.

Her interest in both the singing and speaking voice has led Marnie to conduct workshops for non-singers, i.e. business people and teachers.

A Choral Conductor for at least a dozen years, Marnie has co- conducted the Sing Victoria Children and Teens’ Choir , as well as the Foundation choir at VCM.  All of Marnies' conducting came together professionally through the founder, Connie Foss-More of VIVA children’s choir , which led to the St. Mary’s Children’s Choir (Oak Bay).  All of these choral duties were inspired by Marnies' three children, whom all received ensemble skills through these choirs. A highlight was the 2015 TedX Conference in which the St.Marys' childrens' choir was invited to perform.  Awards were presented each year through the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival.  Past Conducting duties were also with two adult choirs in Victoria - Crystal Singers Women’s Choir and the Victoria Male Voice Choir (now merged into the Arion choir).

Marnie’s voice students consistently won awards in the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, and several have moved on to post-secondary institutions in Waterloo, Los Angeles, and Victoria.