MEET OUR FACULTY
Violin Faculty
JORDAN CLAYTON
Artistic Director
Jordan Clayton is a passionate violinist, violist, and music educator based in London, Ontario. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Violin Performance from Western University, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa. In addition to his work as a private teacher, Jordan is currently Music Director of the Forest City School for Strings, where he serves as the Junior Orchestra Conductor, a senior chamber music coach, and as a violin class instructor.
Over the past ten years, Jordan has enjoyed a freelance career playing locally with Magisterra Soloists, London Symphonia, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and the International Symphony Orchestra (Sarnia). From 2015 to 2022, Jordan served as the Outreach Coordinator for Magisterra Soloists, and was also the founding director of their summer program for young string players, the Magisterra Summer String Institute from 2020 to 2022. He is preparing for his second summer as co-director of the FCSS Summer Music Camp and his fourth year on faculty with the Camp musical de Québec in Québec City. Jordan is greatly inspired by the pedagogical heritage gifted to him by his many mentors and colleagues, incorporating elements from the traditional German school of violin playing, as well as the Suzuki and Létourneau methods.
NIC CARLUCCI
Canadian violinist Nic Carlucci is in demand as both a violinist and pedagogue. With more than a decade of teaching experience and appointments at two distinguished Canadian Universities, he has begun to build a solid reputation as a highly regarded educator in the field of classical music.
As a musician, Carlucci has experience as both a chamber and orchestral musician. His keen interest in chamber music has led him across North America and parts of the Southern Hemisphere in both his studies and as a performer. Locally, Carlucci performs with several ensembles, most notably Magisterra Soloists International Chamber Players (of which he has also functioned as a core member of the administrative team) and as a violinist with Quartet di Altezza. His orchestral and other ensemble playing includes engagements with London Symphonia (formerly Orchestra London Canada), Windsor Symphony, International Symphony Orchestra, & Kammerchor Baroque, to name a few.
Carlucci prides himself on instilling passion and energy in the playing of budding violinists of all levels, while ensuring they develop a solid technical foundation that will endure the test of time. Starting his career, he spent ten plus years building his private violin studio. After completing a master’s degree in Violin Literature and Performance with acclaimed German Violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel, he was appointed the position of Violin Lecturer at Western University, now cross-listed with roles in both Music Performance and Music Education departments. He was also appointed Violin Instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University’s precollege String Academy of which he is the primary violin and group class instructor. In addition to teaching and building curriculum for several music programs, Carlucci has been known to adjudicate for music festivals, awards and sit on nomination committees. His students have been recognized with many accolades over the years.
Carlucci’s other primary violin instructors include Professor Jerzy Kaplanek and members of the Penderecki String Quartet, Mel Martin, and Mary-Elizabeth Brown.
KELLY WALLRAFF
Kelly Wallraff is an educator and violinist based in London, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree from Western University where she studied under violinists Mel Martin and Dr. Robert Skelton. In addition to studying the Suzuki Violin Method, Kelly has also obtained her Grade 10 RCM certification in both violin and piano.
With over twenty years of teaching experience, Kelly has worked with London’s Children’s Talent Education Centre (CTEC), the Suzuki Academy of Music, and Forest City String School. She now maintains a private studio with students ages 3-20 years of age drawing from both Suzuki and Royal Conservatory (RCM) curricula. Kelly is certified as an instructor with the Suzuki Assocation of the Americas (SAA) and the Ontario Registered Music Teacher Association (ORMTA).
An active performer, Kelly appears regularly on stages across Ontario and Michigan with ensembles such as the International Symphony Orchestra (ISO), Arcady Ensemble and Cantate Iterum. She also writes, arranges, and records as a session musician for many artists across Canada. Kelly has had the pleasure performing with Josh Groban and The Tea Party. She has also appeared on national radio programs such as ‘Q’ hosted by Jann Arden and ‘The Strombo Show’ hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos.
JOHN WIEBE
ANITA LOUWERSE
Viola Faculty
JEFFREY KOMAR
Jeffey Komar is a dedicated music educator based in London, Ontario. In addition coaching chamber music and senior orchestra with FCSS, he is a faculty member with El Sistema Aeolian, an organization which provides free music instruction to underprivileged children in the London area. He also operates a private teaching studio, offering one-on-one instruction in violin and viola to students of all ages.
With his background in the life sciences, Jeffrey Komar is not your typical classical performer. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Music from Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, where he studied under violinist and noted pedagogue Philippe Djokic. In 2017, he completed his Master’s of Music in Literature and Performance (Viola) at Western University, studying under Sharon Wei. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) at Western, where his research will examine collaborations between indigenous and non-indigenous musicians.
Jeffrey is a founding member of London-based chamber music groups Quartet Di Altezza and Trio Moyen. He is also a roster musician with Magisterra Soloists, with whom he has participated in the international premieres of works by Canadian and German composers. Jeffrey has performed as a young artist in numerous festivals across Canada, including the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, NS and the Domaine Forget International Music festival in Saint Irenée, QC. In December of 2020, he was featured as part of the Canadian Viola Society’s Young Artist Concert Series. Over the years, he has shared the stage with such esteemed musicians as Scott St. John, Simon Docking, Thomas Wiebe, and Ensemble Made in Canada. In his spare time, he enjoys drinking coffee, cooking, and listening to podcasts.
Cello Faculty
KATERINA JURASKOVA
Czech-Canadian cellist Katerina Juraskova has been acclaimed for her “electrifying spells, natural intensity, beautiful phrasing and sonority” (Santa Barbara Independent). She holds Doctoral and Master’s degrees from McGill University, as well as degrees from Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, Conservatoire européen de musique de Paris (France), and the International Menuhin Music Academy (Switzerland). For 9 years she was the Principal Cellist and Soloist for l’Orchestre Classique de Montréal (formerly the McGill Chamber Orchestra) and recently appeared as a soloist in the Schumann concerto with LCO. Other Principal Cello positions and solo appearances include La Pietà, Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Montgomery (AL) Symphony Orchestra, and National Academy Orchestra (Hamilton, ON). Her career as a soloist and a chamber musician has taken her to major concert venues on four continents. In Canada she has performed with Festival of the Sound, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Montreal Bach Festival, Magisterra Soloists, and Jeffery Concerts.
Her teachers have included František Pišinger, Radu Aldulescu, Denis Brott, Antonio Lysy, and Christopher Rex. A certified Suzuki cello instructor, she has studied the Suzuki Method in Chicago, IL, with Tanya L. Carey.
Dr. Juraskova is currently on the faculty of Forest City String School in London, ON, and Suzuki Talent Education Program in Birmingham (AL). She has taught cello and chamber music at the International Menuhin Music Academy, Wilfried Laurier University’s String Academy in Waterloo, lectured at the University of Montreal and the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute, and served as an adjudicator for the National Tour of the Canadian Music Competition, the Sherbrooke Music Competition in Québec, and Kiwanis Provincial Finals. Her students won auditions for youth orchestras in Birmingham (AL), London and Kitchener-Waterloo, and top prizes at Kiwanis Festival.
She lives with her husband and son in London, ON, where she is active in the city’s cultural life and has a private studio.
AMANDA QUICK
Amanda Quick, a cellist from London, Ontario, is dedicated to connecting people through the power of sound.
Starting cello at 11, she quickly progressed under Julia McGregor, following initial instruction with Ben Gitter. Her development included chamber and orchestral training at FCSS and SOSI with Paul Pulford and Paul Marleyn, leading her to establish her own studio at 17.
A graduate of Western University from Tom Wiebe (B.Mus. Hons), Amanda co-founded Cantus Academy at the YMCA, where she developed a multimodal music curriculum. Beyond her studio, Amanda has collaborated with Tafelmusik members, contributed to Mark Payne's "Starbright" series, and played with London's Chinese Ensemble alongside Grace Lou.
Amanda's Northwestern London studio, TONALOGIC CMMA, emphasizes holistic musical growth via a hybridized system of Suzuki methods, Royal Conservatory exams and the Cantus Academy Music Method, prioritizing skill and appreciation in the art of music for all ages
PATRICK THERIAULT
Harp Faculty
KATHLEEN GAHAGAN
Since completion of her Bachelor of Music degree at McGill University, Kathleen has over 20 years of experience as a freelance harpist, contributing to the vibrant musical communities of southwestern Ontario, through performances in orchestral settings, chamber music, church music, musical theatre productions, and accompaniment of vocalists and choral ensembles. Winner in 2014 and 2023 of the London Music Awards for Classical Soloist, Kathleen has a special love for choral and vocal accompaniment, and performs regularly with choirs in London Ontario and surrounding centres.
Kathleen has an active private studio, teaching harp to students of all ages and levels. She started the harp program at Forest City String School in 2010 at the request of a student. Since that time, the group has enjoyed exploring wide ranging repertoire including arrangements of classical works, film soundtracks, folk music, original compositions for the ensemble, and collaborations with other string classes and orchestras within the program, as well as concerts in the wider community.