2027 Adjudicators
MusicFest Fanfare prides itself in working with first-class musicians, professors, and composers to provide adjudication and workshops for each performing group.
Dr. Meijun Chen
D.Mus, M.Mus, B.A.(Distinction)
Dr. Meijun Chen is currently the Director of Concert Winds at the University of British Columbia School of Music. Recognized as one of CBC Music’s Canadian Classical Musicians “30 Under 30” (2025), she is an in-demand conductor who has worked with collegiate, military, and school bands, as well as professional and youth orchestras. She served as a guest conductor with the United States “Pershing’s Own” Army Band in 2023.
Dr. Chen is a sought-after clinician in conducting and clarinet, working with public schools across Canada and China and frequently adjudicating national and provincial music festivals across Canada. Her research in wind band music education has been presented internationally at the Wind Band Association of Singapore Symposium (2026), the Canadian Opera and Orchestra Conference (2026), the Con Brio Music Festival (2026), and The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference (2025).
Dr. Chen has received scholarships and grants supporting her conducting studies in Canada, Austria, and the United States. She previously served as Emerging Artist–Assistant Conductor with Edmonton Opera and as Conducting Intern with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra. She won Absolute First Prize in Conducting at the 2023 UK International Music Competition and has been a Conducting Fellow at Domaine Forget (2024), the UCLA Wind Conducting Workshop (2024), the United States “Pershing’s Own” Army Band Conductors Workshop (2023), and the CCM International Wind Festival in conjunction with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.
Also an award-winning clarinetist, Dr. Chen has performed and competed in 13 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. She frequently performs as a guest clarinetist with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band and won the Absolute First Prize in Clarinet Performance (Professional Category) at the Debussy International Music Competition in 2023. She serves as Scholarship Committee Chair of Women Band Directors International and is affiliated with the College Band Directors National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, International Clarinet Association, International Conductors Guild, and British Columbia Music Educators Association.
Sean Irvine
M.Mus, B.Mus.
Sean Irvine is a Métis Canadian woodwind multi-instrumentalist and composer whose practice moves fluidly between jazz, classical, contemporary music, and interdisciplinary performance. Through his work on saxophone, flute, clarinet, and oboe, he is recognized for his tonal artistry and versatility across diverse musical settings.
As a composer and director, Sean Irvine has developed a distinctive body of original work spanning small and large ensemble settings. His debut recording, The Oak in Alley Chapter (2020), featured a collection of original compositions written over seven years and brought to life through a rich palette of woodwinds, brass, vocals, and rhythm section instruments. In 2026, Irvine released Forgotten Stories in collaboration with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, presenting ten original compositions for 18-piece jazz orchestra. The recording was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award in the category of "Jazz Artist of the Year."
His expressive command of the woodwind family has led to work with Royal Canoe, David Braid, Nicole Lizée, Ma-Anne Dionisio, and Don Amero, as well as regular performances with ensembles including the Juno award winning Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, Big City All Stars, and Still Crazy: The Paul Simon Tribute. He has also appeared alongside groups such as the Dirty Catfish Brass Band, Ron Paley Big Band, and Mach 10, and has performed in productions with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Company.
A highly sought-after educator, Irvine engages with ensembles and students as an adjudicator, mentor, and leader. His teaching positions include Professor of Saxophone Studies at Canadian Mennonite University, Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto, and Educator in the Louis Riel School Division. Irvine’s educational work spans theory, ear training, jazz composition and arranging, jazz pedagogy, ensemble instruction, and private lessons.
Serving as Director of the Winnipeg Jazz Education Collective, Irvine has been responsible for the creation and expansion of nearly a dozen musical learning programs for students and adults. While working with El Sistema in collaboration with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra—an initiative introducing elementary students to orchestral woodwinds—Irvine helped shape the program’s curriculum by structuring woodwind instruction, introducing double reed studies, and refining assessment and testing methods.
