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The Canadian tenor and violinist, Iain Macpherson, started at the age of 4 playing the violin under the guidance of Nancy Eadie (née Upper) and the Suzuki violin school, in Ottawa. Later, he went on to study with Pauline McCombe, Rosemarie Klimasko, John Gomez, and Victor Pomer. At age 12, he also discovered a love of singing, and began taking voice lessons with Kathryn Palmer, with whom he studied as a baritone. In high school, he joined the Lisgar Senior Orchestra and String Ensemble, under the direction of Trudy Bradley. Eventually, he chose to focus on singing, and had several successful competitions in the Kiwanis Music Festival at both the regional and provincial levels. He continued his voice studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he studied with David Falk, as a tenor and obtained his Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance (1997-2001). Following the third year of his honours music degree, he attended the Oberlin Summer Institute of vocal pedagogy in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was fortunate enough to work with Professor Richard Miller over a two-week vocal pedagogy intensive and master-class program. After returning to Laurier and completing his degree, he was subsequently accepted into the Artist Diploma program in Singing at the University of Toronto (2001-2003); there, he was able to complete the three year diploma in only two, under Professor Darryl Edwards. He also earned a Bachelor of Education degree as Music & Drama specialist at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (2003-2004). Throughout his post-secondary studies, he taught privately, both in Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto, as well as with the Merriam School of Music in Oakville, Ontario.
After his studies, Iain Macpherson returned to Ottawa, and earned a position teaching music at the Kanata Montessori School (November 2005-November 2009). Mr. Mac (as his students fondly called him) implemented the school's first full-time music program, consisting of four choirs, two stringed instrument classes and three recorder classes, a drama club and an African Drumming ensemble. After four wonderful years, he chose to return to private teaching, to focus on teaching singing and violin and working with students who demonstrated a keen interest in music and the potential to reach a higher level of ability and commitment. While continuing to take regular lessons for his own enrichment, both in singing and violin, and taking on the new challenge of conducting the Temple Israel Liturgical Choir in 2009 (June 2010-June 2013), he managed to successfully prepare students for RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) exams, public performances and auditions. Some of his students have gone on to professional careers in the arts, and many achieve Honours Level or above in exams.
An avid performer, Iain Macpherson continues to offer vocal recitals, was concert-master of the Kanata Symphony Orchestra for a ten year period, and is currently Music Coordinator for Rideau Park United Church (since June 2016). |
