Zing! Choir Director: Heather Christiansen has been a music and dance teacher for the past fifteen years and has directed choirs in the lower mainland for six years, most recently at Crofton House School in Vancouver. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Music degree from Queen's University where she was Music Director of Queen's Musical Theatre, Assistant Conductor for Queen's Orchestra and performed as a percussionist with the Kingston Symphony.

Previous to teaching in British Columbia, she was an assistant conductor for the Bach Children's Chorus (Scarborough, Ontario), under the direction of Linda Beaupre and the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, under the direction of Mark Sirett. Heather has worked in arts administration at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. She also worked for the North York Performing Arts Centre in marketing and public relations and with LIVENT (Live Entertainment of Canada) as assistant to the Vice President of Programming.

Heather has been a member of several choirs including Vancouver's Jubilate! Chamber Choir. She also has extensive experience teaching dance (jazz, tap, ballet and musical theatre) and instrumental music including guitar, band, orchestra.

Heather is thrilled to be directing Zing! Children's Choir this year.

Zing! Assistant Director: Deanna Gestrin is a vocalist, private voice instructor, choral conductor/clinician, and music educator with the Burnaby School District. She has taught for fourteen years, and has been performing since childhood.

Deanna has a rich classical and choral background that began at the age of nine, as a member of the Pacific Mennonite Children's Choir, and has continued with numerous choral ensembles throughout her life. In 1998, Deanna completed an Associate of Arts degree in Professional Music from Phil Mattson's School for Music Vocations, in Creston, Iowa. While in Iowa, she sang with the six-voice vocal jazz ensemble, 'VoicesIowa,' whom she performed at numerous concert halls across North America with, including two performances at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Following her time in Iowa, Deanna continued her education at Capilano College, where she obtained a Bachelor of Jazz Studies degree, and she sang with the vocal jazz group, 'Nitecap.' In 2001/2002 Deanna directed the Kwantlen College Jazz Choir, and in 2003, she obtained a Bachelor of Music Education degree from UBC. For the past 8 years, Deanna has worked as a music teacher/choral conductor in Burnaby, in both elementary and high school settings. She continues to teach private vocal lessons, collaborate on a number of recordings and musical projects, and present vocal and choral workshops throughout the lower mainland. Through her work as a teacher, Deanna strives to inspire, motivate, and foster within her students, a deep love and appreciation for the gift of music and singing in our lives!

Zing! Accompanist: Jonathan Ng has a B.Mus in General Studies from UBC, where he studied piano under Alice Enns. In addition to his piano studies Jonathan sang in the University Singers under Bruce Pullan, played harpsichord for a variety of Baroque small ensembles, and played violin and piano for a number of chamber music ensembles. Jonathan also has an MA in Musicology from the University of Toronto, where he wrote a thesis on performer-audience relationships in indie rock concerts in Toronto.

In addition to musical studies, Jonathan also holds a Master of Christian Studies in Interdisciplinary Studies from Regent College. In addition to intellectual musings, he sings and plays violin in a band (the Engine and the End), and listens to a vast array of musical genres.

Jonathan currently divides his time between teaching piano, violin, and music theory, and working with Servants Canada, an intentional Christian community located in the Downtown Eastside.

Zing! Manager: Monica Kim has been actively engaged in all aspects of the music and theatre scene in Vancouver since her teens, as a performer, producer, administrator, volunteer, and audience member. As an arts administrator, Monica has worked for a vast array of organizations ranging from independent film and theatre companies to music schools.

A multi-disciplinary performer, Monica studied at UBC and McGill, specializing in baroque music performance and theatre. She is the resident harpsichordist with the Historical Performance Ensemble, a group of dedicated musicians and dancers who aim to re-create music, dance, and theatre from the renaissance and baroque periods, employing modern research and scholarship, tempered with active imagination.

Also, she plays for Light o' Love, a renaissance pop music band. Monica teaches piano, harpsichord, and music history, and gives workshops on historical performance practices. While not performing and teaching, she divides her time working for Douglas College's Performing Arts office, studying Japanese classical dance, and volunteering for Tomoe Arts Society, a society dedicated to presenting Japanese dance and associated arts.