Alec Donaldson

Alec has been teaching at Renaissance since 2002. Playing for several years in the strings program of the Kingston Youth Orchestra and studying under Katherine Fraser of the Kingston Symphony has made him an accomplished classical violinist, and Alec supplements this knowledge with a background in the celtic tradition and the fiddle repertoire. In addition to the violin, Alec plays the bagpipe, electric and acoustic guitar, and the piano and is the leader and guitarist of a reggae/ska band known as Tea For The Voyage.

He is currently enrolled in the Concurrent Education program at Queen's University, minoring in music history, and plays in the violin section of the Queen's Symphony Orchestra.

Douglas Handforth

Douglas has studied the violin and viola since age six. He achieved his A.R.C.T. in Violin Pedagogy from the University of Toronto in 1976. He studied in Canada with Albert Pratz and Stanley Soloman of the Toronto Symphony and John Gomez of the NACO. Douglas has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and numerous professional orchestras and chamber ensembles.

In addition to his background in music performance, he brings many years of experience teaching private and classroom lessons on Violin & Viola. He believes that everyone can learn to play an instrument and enjoy making music, with the appropriate guidance and inspiration.

Vanessa Pelletier

Vanessa is new to our faculty, as of the fall of 2007. A recent graduate of Queen's University with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance (B. Music 2007), Vanessa specializes in medieval and early music. Vanessa has played in the Kingston Symphony violin section for several years, and is planning on continuing her studies and academic research at the graduate level in the years to come.

Laura Shurrock

Laura is a new addition to our teaching staff at the School of Music as of this fall. Laura is an accomplished bluegrass fiddler who tries to go to as many festivals as possible in her spare time. A high school student in Kingston, Laura loves to play and also enjoys seeing live music and watching football games. She is qualified to teach using the Suzuki method as well as old-time fiddle music, bluegrass music and hymns.