President: Terry Zurylo
Vice President: Dave Trach
Secretary: Jen Beirnes
Treasurer: Heidi Thomas
Entry Secretary: Christine Tronrud
Directors: Teryl Moore, Laura Prystupa

Dance: Christine Tronrud
Piano: Laura Prystupa
School Band / Instrumental: Terry Zurylo
Speech / Vocal / Choral: Teryl Moore
Rock Band / Pop Vocal / Pop Instrumental: Terry Zurylo

Dance: Brenda Gorlick
Piano: Bertha Elias
School Band / Instrumental: Trevor Yuroski
Speech / Vocal / Choral: Judith Oatway
Rock Band / Pop Vocal / Pop Instrumental: Mark Galbond

Brenda Gorlick’s arts career has spanned nearly fifty years in Winnipeg, throughout Manitoba, across Canada and beyond our borders and has covered many aspects of the performing arts world. As an accomplished director, choreographer and performer, she has been affiliated with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the acclaimed Stratford Festival of Canada, the Banff Centre of Fine Arts and Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.

Brenda served as the Dept. head for Musical Theatre of the RWB for over 20 years, developing a vital training program which spawned students who have graduated to Broadway and international stages. In 2004, she created StudioWorks Academy, the training wing of Winnipeg Studio Theatre, offering advanced triple threat training to emerging artists of all ages. As Associate Artistic Director of WST over the past 20 years, she has assisted with the evolution of many young artists into active professionals both onstage and behind the scenes. The program has grown in scope to include two internationally recognized programs: Broadway Without Borders – which partners WST company members with students in other areas of the world and Made in Manitoba Masterclass – an online training program featuring Manitoba-born performing arts professionals.

As a graduate of the University of Winnipeg, Brenda was invited to create a Dance for Musical Theatre Program for the Dept. of Theatre and Film in 2003, a program which she still leads today. For the University of Manitoba, she has taught for the Desautels Faculty of Music’s Opera and Musical Theatre programs. A member of Manitoba Arts Council’s Artists in the Schools program since the 90’s, Brenda has taken her dance and musical theatre programs province-wide, leaving an indelible mark on their landscape.

A program which she is most proud of is the development of the All Abilities Dancers in conjunction with Manitoba Possible in 2005. It offers training and performance opportunities to disabled members of our community and has evolved from an adults-only program to include pre-schoolers, youth and teens. They have been a featured performance troupe at numerous special events including SMD Foundation Galas, the 2017 Canada Games, International Disabilities Day and Dance Manitoba Showcases. In 2023, Brenda became the 1st accredited instructor for the Dancing with Parkinson’s internationally recognized dance program.

Ms. Gorlick is deeply connected to the local performing arts community and has worked with almost every arts organization in the capacity of producer, director, choreographer and/or performer. These include the Manitoba Opera Association (choreographer for Carmen in 2024), WSO, RWB, RMTC, WAG, Rainbow Stage, Cercle Molière and every regional and independent theatre company in Winnipeg. She has directed and/or choreographed many commercial large-scale projects including the 1999 Pan Am Games Ceremonies, the 1997 & 2017 Canada Games, the 2018 Arctic Winter Games Gala in NWT, Culture Days Manitoba Flash Mobs, Grey Cup Gala 2015, the Forks production for Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Visit, the The Negev Gala, and most recently, the 2023 World Police & Fire Games.  

Highlights of her over 250 theatrical productions include Hamlet starring Keanu Reeves (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), Altar Boyz (WST/PTE), the world premiere of Strike! the Musical (Danny Schur Productions) and Urinetown (Dry Cold/Persephone Theatre). As a performer, she has starred in Rainbow Stage’s production of Mary Poppins and Wizard of Oz, Dry Cold’s production of Follies and RMTC’s Evita amongst others.

On film, Brenda has worked with such luminaries as Shirley Maclean, Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere, and Brad Pitt and has had principal roles opposite Danika McKellar, Michael Ironside and Taylor Cole in a variety of Hallmark movies. She has starred in numerous indie projects including the award winning If it Ain’t Got That, The Catcher and The Box.Her film choreography includes the feature films Seance and the yet to be released Time Cut.

Brenda was involved in the inaugural youth mentorship program for Creative Manitoba and continues to serve as mentor. A former Manitoba representative for the DTRC (Dancer Transition Resource Centre) for over 15 years, she now serves as a Board Member. She was also a founding member of The Winnipeg Theatre Awards “The Evies”, and has served on the regional committees for the CAEA and ACTRA Manitoba.

Brenda is proud to have been recognized by several arts awards, including:

YMCA/YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture in 2015, Rainbow Stage’s Wall of Fame in 2014 and a 2020 Evie Honorary Award for Theatre Educator.

brendagorlick.ca

Bertha Elias has taught students from the beginner level (both children and adults) through to the ARCT level. She has taught in a variety of school settings, including Trinity College Boys School, Port Hope, Ontario; Trafalgar Castle Girls School, Whitby, Ontario; Balmoral Hall Girls School, Winnipeg; and Providence College, Otterburne, MB. She currently teaches at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Art as well as maintaining a home studio.

Education includes an ARCT Piano Performance, Orff Level 2, Bachelor of Music (CMBC, now Canadian Mennonite University), with additional studies in pedagogy and performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, and at the University of Toronto. In addition to teaching, she is active as an accompanist for student performances and exams.

Trevor was the director of Bands at College Churchill High School. Early in his career, he taught Band at Cecil Rhodes Junior High and Tec Voc High School. He studied at Brandon University School of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music Education degree, and at the University of Manitoba, completing a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Education. Recently, Trevor has retired from teaching full-time and enjoys subbing in Winnipeg School Division Band classes. On stage, he currently performs on keyboards with numerous club/casino tribute bands, including Bed of Roses (Bon Jovi), Renegade (Styx), Zed Zeppelin, and Jenerator (Jennifer Hanson).