Our Teachers

Margot Hamilton – Owner/Director (Piano, Voice, Kindermusik)

Margot Hamilton grew up in a musical family and has had a lifelong love of music.  She graduated from Wilfred Laurier University in 2001 with an Honours Bachelor of Music degree in voice.

Margot teaches private voice and piano lessons as well as Kindermusik® classes and has performed as a soloist and as a member of a number of choirs in the greater Toronto area.  Since 2009, Margot has been a member of Bravado! Show Choir in Barrie and has managed the promotions for the group as well as leading sectionals. 

As a mother of two young children, Margot sincerely believes in the value of early childhood music education.  In her classes at The Melody In Me, she aims to impart her passion for music to her students through the enjoyment of high quality musical experiences.

Kristen Alary (Student Teacher - Beginner Voice)

Kristen is a senior student at Cingolani Academy and has completed her Grade 8 Voice and Grade 2 Theory through the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

She has been seen in many productions in and around the Simcoe area. Select favorites include “Sleeping Beauty’s Summer Adventure” (Theatre by the Bay), “Stars Come Out” (TBTB), “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Sunshine & Co.), “Little Women” and “Bye Bye Birdie” for which she received a THEA nomination for outstanding children’s chorus member,  and the 2009 THEA award winning musical for Best Musical Production, “Urinetown” (South Simcoe Theatre).

Kristen has been a winner of numerous local and provincial level competitions and you can often find her performing on stage for multiple outdoor festivals, special events, and concerts at any time throughout the year! 

Jennifer Allen (Piano, Voice, Kindermusik, Theory)

Jennifer Allen is thrilled to be joining The Melody In Me for another great year of teaching! She has a passion for assisting students to express themselves and boost their self confidence through the arts.

Jenn is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in piano, voice and theory. She has enjoyed working with students of all ages, especially young children, for almost 10 years.

Jennifer enjoys performing mainly in recital and has performed at music festivals at the local and provincial levels. She has also had the opportunity to work with talented musicians such as Leslie Fagan, Elaine Overholt, and Mark Cassius.

Jennifer currently lives in Barrie with her husband and two young daughters. Between parenting, playing, singing, and her busy teaching shedule, she likes to take time to enjoy the outdoors.

Alison Bell (Kindermusik)

Alison Bell first met Kindermusik in 1999 and to her delight, has been teaching since then, including  running her own successful studio from 2003 – 2008 in Barrie, ON.  Her musical background includes experience as a choir member, accompanist, pianist and piano teacher.  Alison also has a Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders.  She practiced as a speech language pathologist for over 30 years in a variety of settings, and has also taught in this field at the College level.

Alison is very grateful for the opportunity to combine her passions of working with young children, teaching families, and adapting to individual special needs. Seeing the smiles, giggles, developing sense of community, fascination with learning, and pleasure that all ages take in musical experiences is deeply satisfying.

Alison’s other interests include helping her husband keep track of which province their 4 grown children are in at any given moment, looking after the critters the children have left at home, gardening, volunteering, participating in community musical events, scrapbooking, spending time at the cottage, and exploring and learning about the wonderful diversity in our world.  

 Scott Boyer (Teen Show Choir)

Scott is the music director of Bravado!, Barrie’s (Adult) Show Choir. (Bravado! also happens to be one of the very few community show choirs in Canada). Scott brings to our studio his lifelong experience of performing in a large number of rock, pop and jazz bands, as well as singing more serious repertoire with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and King Edward Choir. Scott looks forward to the inaugural season of ‘Glee’ at the Melody In Me Academy for the Performing Arts.

Mackenzie Greenwell (Tap, Hip Hop)

Steadily establishing himself as one of Canada’s most talented tap dancers, MacKenzie Greenwell is constantly pushing limits and working with the best in the industry. Hailing from Cochrane, Alberta, MacKenzie has left home and in the last year alone, has wowed audiences in Vancouver, Miami, Montreal, Toronto and Calgary!

A Performer, Choreographer, Instructor and Musician, MacKenzie loves every aspect of the art and is dedicated to pushing boundaries and sharing the love of the dance. In 2008 MacKenzie produced a fundraising show, raising three thousand dollars for the Cochrane Youth Association and The Africa Project. In 2009 he was a lead role in the Grand Opening Show for the Cross Iron Mills Mall, alongside So You Think You Can Dance finalist Miles Faber! In 2010 he was one of twenty-six chosen to represent Canada and Tap as a part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics opening ceremonies that was broadcasted to millions worldwide. He was also a featured solo artist in the West Coast Tap Dance Society’s international tap day show and just wrapped up five months on the road, touring North America with the internationally acclaimed show Tap Dogs!

Scott A. Hurst (Private Monologue and Audition Coach)

Since 1980, Scott A. Hurst has been earning a living in professional theatre as an actor, director and coach.  He is currently enjoying his fifth season as a member of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival acting company where he is appearing in “Peter Pan” and “King of Thieves“.

As a member of both Actors Equity and ACTRA, Scott has appeared on stage in productions at the Elgin Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Charlottetown Festival Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, and Troika Entertainment in Moscow to name a few in addition to on screen performances in various television shows and feature films for CBC, CTV, Showtime, and Disney.

Locally, Scott has directed and staged over 25 musical productions for Talk is Free Theatre, Kempenfelt Community Players, South Simcoe Theatre, Sunshine Festival and Sunshine & Company. In addition to private coaching and audition preparation Scott has offered classes & workshops for actors, directors and producers and hopes to expand his offerings upon his return to Barrie.  He has recently been asked to direct the South Simcoe Theatre production of “The Drowsy Chaperone” in 2011.

Scott was the recipient of the 2009 Excellence in the Arts award from the City of Barrie.

Meaghan Ing (Piano, Voice, Music Theatre Intensive Program)

Meaghan is a graduate of Sheridan Institute's Music Theatre Performance program.  She has also acheived Gr. 9 RCM for voice and Gr. 10 RCM for piano.  Meaghan is a freelance musician, vocal coach, private music teacher, music director and vocalist.  She has worked with Drayton Entertainment, Smile Theatre, Talk Is Free Theatre Co., Theatre Collingwood, Lighthouse Festival Theatre, South Simcoe Theatre Co., and Moving Art.  Past credits include: Raceday! (Lighthouse Festival Theatre), the U.S. National Tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Drayton/Columbia), Come By The Hills (Smile Theatre) and Shout! The Mod Musical (Original Kids Theatre Co.).  Meaghan is also a certified Nia instructor and enjoys swing dancing with her husband in her spare time.

Jordan Katsuno (Guitar, Bass)

A graduate of Humber College in Jazz studies, Jordan studied under some greats such as Pat Labarbera, Alex Dean, Mike Downes, Par Kilbride, Lenny Boyd, and John McLeod.

Jordan began playing guitar, bass, clarinet, and saxophone in early high school. Focusing more on bass, he played in concert, jazz, and rock band throughout high school, eventually attending the Canadian Nationals with both concert and jazz bands. Upon high school graduation, Jordan was offered a scholarship for Orillia High School musician of the year.

Since graduating from Humber College, Jordan has been teaching music in the Barrie area for six years. Along with private lessons, he runs student rock bands, and teaches guitar programs in elementary schools. Jordan also performs occasionally in theatre work including such productions as “Jekyll & Hyde”, “Closer Than Ever”, and “Anything Goes”.

He is currently finishing his music degree at Thompson Rivers University.

Jessica Krelove (Drama and Music Theatre for Kids)

Jessica is a recent graduate of Nipissing University with a Bachelor of Education majoring in Dramatic Arts. She has been singing and performing since a very young age in and around the Simcoe County area.

Recent theatre credits include: Young Evita in “Evita” (KCP), Fairy in “The Land of Make Believe” (Moving Art), Gymnasia in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (SST), and Josie Pye in “Anne of Green Gables” (SST). She has also studied voice and theory with Edwina Douglas and Renee Cingolani and currently holds her grade 8 in vocals.

When Jessica is not performing, she is either teaching drama and musical theatre in the Barrie and Alliston area or can be found working at her favorite restaurant, At the Five!

Marj Malcolm (Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Music Theatre Intensive Program)

Marj started her dance career at the age of 11, late for a ballet dancer, but her talent quickly careened her into the world of dance. Ballet classes from the local dance studio turned into classes from the masters at the National Ballet School – Betty Oliphant, Lois Smith, Erik Bruhn, Celia Franca. Later, jazz and tap teachers would include Marie Ann Longlade, Jack Lemmon, George Randolph, and Bill Orlowski. She worked with Bill Orlowski at the National Tap Dance Co. of Canada.

She has performed on the O’Keefe stage and with the corps of the Canadian Opera Company. Having achieved honors in all C.D.T.A. and I.S.T.D. examinations, Marj knew her future would be in teaching.

Choreography comes easily to Marj and over the years has created audition routines for Canada’s Wonderland, guested at dance workshops, worked with skaters at the Granite Club, choreographed musicals for Scarborough Theatre, and owned a studio in Toronto, teaching children and adults. Many of Marj’s formor students have careers in dance and theatre. She created the dance division at the North York YMCA, teaching and choreographing hundreds of students. She is also an adjudicator for dance competitions.

“The joy of teaching is watching a student become a dancer”.

Brenda McDooling Duce (Piano)

Brenda McDooling Duce is an established professional Music Director and Musician. Recent Broadway Musical Theatre Direction, Performance and Orchestration credits include Sweet Charity, Two By Two, Kiss Me Kate, The Pajama Game, Crazy For You, Les Miserables, Me And My Girl, Anything Goes, The King And I, Oklahoma, Guys And Dolls, The Boy Friend, No, No Nanette, Bye Bye Birdie, and Tom Sawyer.

Most recently working as Music Director with Orangeville Music Theatre (2010) and South Simcoe Theatre (2009), Ms. McDooling is Music Director and Owner of Starbound Studios (1997 – Present), held the positions of Music Director and Assistant Music Director for Orangeville Music Theatre (1994 – 2006) and has been a guest artist for Theatre Orangeville. She enjoys a full-time schedule of accompanying, adjudicating, consulting, directing, performing, recording and teaching.

Ms. McDooling has worked with Actors, Artistic Directors, Choreographers, Dancers, Entertainers, Playwrights, Producers and Singers from the ACT-CO Festival, Barrie Jazz & Blues Festival, Calgary Winter Olympics, Charlottetown Festival, Deerhurst Inn, Hockley Valley Centre Of The Arts, J. C. Dance Troupe, Joy Of Performing Arts Academy, Northern River Arts & Entertainment, Orangeville Music Theatre, Roland & Romaine Productions, South Simcoe Theatre, Stage West, Stratford Festival, Theatre Orangeville, Toronto Sky Dome, Toronto Smile Theatre, 3SG Talent Management, and has accompanied lead soloists of the Canadian Opera Company and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Brenda is certified by the National Ballet School in advanced piano accompaniment for dance, the Royal Conservatory Of Music in advanced classical piano performance and theory, holds Teaching diplomas from the Royal Conservatory Of Music (classical) and the Technics Music Academy (pop keyboard), and is a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA) and the Canadian Federation Of Music Teachers’ Association (CFMTA). 

Jay Wilson (Drama, Music Theatre Intensive Program)

Fresh out of diapers, Jay was shunted to Betty Wilson’s Saturday morning drama classes at Galt Little Theatre. During his teens, Jay taught child drama and performed at summer camps. After graduating from Waterloo University’s Drama and Theatre Arts program, Jay worked as an actor for a number of Ontario theatre companies before becoming Company Manager with the National Tap Dance Co. of Canada, where Jay confirmed that acting, not dance, would be his calling! Jay has augmented his 30 year professional stage career conducting drama instruction programs for children, teens, adults and older adults as well as enjoying a successful career in arts administration. To date the highlight of Jay’s stage career came this past summer when playwright, Dan Needles, of Wingfield Farm fame, contacted Jay with the opportunity to play a part written expressly for him in Theatre Collingwood’s production of Fair Play! 

Jay is the director of Pandora’s Sox, a puppet company that provides entertainment and workshops mainly for seniors. The power of breath on the state of mind is the theme throughout the puppet work of Pandora’s Sox. 

Jay looks forward to welcoming drama students at The Melody in Me Studio.