Jacquie Dawson

Noted for her unique ability to create an inspiring ensemble experience and sculpt an impressive wind band sound, Jacquie Dawson has had a marked impact on the wind band community in Manitoba for two decades. She is in demand as a conductor, clinician and adjudicator across Canada and the United States.

  • In the faculty

    • Associate Professor, Conducting
    • Director of Bands
    • Director, Concert Band
    • Director, Wind Ensemble
    • Instrumental Music Methods
    • Graduate Wind Band Conducting
    • Facilitator and Clinician, Wind Band Teaching Workshop

Education

  • BMus, Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Bachelor of Music Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • MMus, Conducting, University of Manitoba
  • DMA, Conducting, University of Kansas

Performance highlights

Dr. Jacqueline Dawson is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator across Canada, appearing at numerous festivals and conferences coast to coast. Engagements have included Musicfest Canada, the Alberta Band Asociation Wind Symphony, The Maritime Youth Wind Ensemble, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival, the International Music Camp, and numerous provincial, regional and divisional honour bands in Canada and the United States. She was awarded the 2003 University of Manitoba School of Music Excellence in Music Education Award, the 2013 University of Manitoba Teacher Recognition Award and the 2015 Manitoba Band Association Award of Distinction. 

Academic work

Dr. Dawson is currently the Director of Bands at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where she conducts the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, teaches courses in music education and oversees the graduate wind conducting program. The University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble has been featured at festivals such as the Cantando Festival in Edmonton and Sunpeaks, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival, has performed in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival and has participated in numerous consortium commissions and world performances.

Prior to her appointment at the University of Manitoba, she taught in the public school system for twenty years and served as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Dawson served on the board of directors of the Manitoba Band Association from 1999 – 2005 and remains active with numerous MBA projects and is the treasurer of the Canadian Band Association. She was the Artistic Director of The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble from 2009-2020.  She is the one of the founders of the Winnipeg Youth Wind Ensemble and is the founder of the newly formed Winnipeg Chamber Winds Collective. She continues to spend as much time as possible with young students and band programs and is a strong advocate for music education. 

Dr. Dawson has been published in the Canadian Music Educator Journal and the Canadian Winds Journal, and has presented at conferences internationally, including the Canadian Music Educators’ Association National Conference, the Kansas Music Educators Conference and the International Society for the Research and Promotion of Wind Music Conference. She is an active proponent in the promotion of new wind band works and has led or participated in numerous commissions and premieres of works by Gary Kulesha, Kenley Kristofferson, David Scott, Viet Cuong, Steven Danyew, and Peter Meechan. Jacquie received undergraduate degrees in music and music education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a master's degree in conducting from the University of Manitoba where she studied with Dr. Dale Lonis and Earl Stafford. She completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Popiel.
 

Awards

  • University of Manitoba School of Music Excellence in Music Education Award
  • University of Manitoba Teacher Recognition Award
  • Manitoba Band Association Award of Distinction

 

Ongoing research and creative works

The Manitoba Band Association, in partnership with a consortium of over sixty participants/organizations from Canada and the United States, commissioned the work Transcendent light composed by Kenley Kristofferson in memory of former Manitoba Band Association Executive Director, Ken Epp. It was premiered at the Manitoba Music Conference in October 2017 with approximately 700 people in attendance. Dawson chaired the project and conducted the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble in the world premiere performance. She also attends and presents at many conferences and workshops, such as the Sunrise School Division Music Teachers Workshop, and the Manitoba Band Association Prelude Conference. As well, Jacquie is in her 10th season as the Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble. Dawson is also the organizer of the annual Wind Band Teaching Workshop, an intensive two-day workshop that is held in the Desautels Faculty of Music.