Heather Fraser:
Artistic Director

An alumna of the AVHC, Heather Fraser holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from Acadia University and a B.Ed. from McGill. A dynamic music educator, she is the Artistic Director of The Aeolian Singers Women’s Choir, and a music specialist in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.

Heather is an active accompanist, clinician and has adjudicated for festivals across Canada.

Believing strongly in the power of choral music to build community, Heather sits on program committees for Nova Scotia Choral Federation, and is VP of Advocacy for Choral Canada. This role has kept her busy during the pandemic, advocating for equitable treatment of singing communities across the country, arranging educational opportunities, webinars and discussions for choirs of all kinds, and finding ways to keep singers connected from coast to coast to coast. She initiated the National “Singing in Canadian Schools Covid Impact Survey” - the data from which produced a clear picture of how singing was decimated across Canada and was influential in the reinstatement of these programs. She is also a core member of the working group of singing leaders in Nova Scotia that advocated for and achieved the return of singing in our province’s schools.

An Apprentice Conductor of the 2010 National Youth Choir of Canada, Heather has studied in the UK, at Westminster Choir College Summer Institute with Charles Bruffy and was 2015 Conducting Fellow with the Canadian Chamber Choir. She was the first conductor of Pro Coro Canada’s Emerging Artist program, (Edmonton) and spent a professional development sabbatical year studying conducting and pedagogy with conductors and choirs across Canada and the USA.

Alana MacPhee:
Associate Conductor
AVHC Kids! & Junior Choirs

Alana MacPhee joined the AVHC artistic team in September 2023 as Junior Choir Conductor. Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Alana holds a B. Mus. in Voice and a B. Mus. Ed. from Memorial University of Newfoundland.  For the past twenty years, Alana has been an active music educator who has taught classroom music in Bermuda, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. She is also a private music instructor offering lessons in voice and piano. She is currently teaching elementary music with the Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education at Kings County Academy and Wolfville School.

Alana has always been involved with choral singing, having grown up singing with the Newfoundland children’s choir, Shallaway. She was also a member of the award winning Lady Cove Women’s Choir. She was involved in facilitating the successful So You Always Wanted to Sing Initiative of Festival 500 Growing the Voices in St. John’s with other talented individuals. She is looking forward to spreading her love of choral music with AVHC this year.