mississauga children's choir

Dr. Rebecca Strutt, Artistic Director, Conductor Senior Choir, Conductor Training Choir

Rebecca Strutt holds a Doctorate in Music Education from Liberty University and a Master in Music Education from Boston University, specializing in secondary choral music and the performing arts. Rebecca has significant experience conducting and educating choirs of all ages. Before moving to Ontario in 2019, Rebecca was the Choral Music director and K-12 Unified Arts department leader in Harvard, MA and an adjunct professor of music teaching vocal pedagogy, vocal performance, and music theory. Rebecca currently maintains a robust private voice studio and is on staff as an adjunct professor at Redeemer University in Ancaster, ON. 

An avid performer, Rebecca has portrayed numerous musical theatre, opera, and operetta roles onstage. Her most recent roles include Mother ("Ragtime"), for which she earned a DASH nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, The Baker's Wife ("Into the Woods"), and Fantine ("Les Misérables"). Rebecca has performed with several opera companies throughout New England as a lyric coloratura soprano portraying roles such as Mabel ("The Pirates of Penzance"), Queen of the Night ("The Magic Flute"), and Frasquita ("Carmen"). She has also been a featured soprano soloist for several of the great oratorio works, Handel's "Messiah" being her favorite. Rebecca was an alternate in Connecticut Concert Opera's American Opera Idol Competition in 2011 and 2012.

Michael Denomme, Conductor, Junior Choir 

Michael is a Canadian musician, educator, conductor, and performer, holding a Bachelor of Music with honorary standing from the University of Toronto. Previously, he has studied piano with Brian McDonagh, and Elsa Tafel, and is currently studying choral conducting at the Masters level with Dr. Jamie Hillman at the University of Toronto. He has also studied conducting with Professor Uri Mayer, Dr. Mark Ramsay, Kathleen Allan, Dr. Adam Adler and Zimfira Poloz.

Michael has acted as a Choral Scholar, and Assistant Conductor in the Near North Voices choir under the direction of Dr. Adam Adler (Nipissing University). This experience was extremely influential in his current love and passion for the choral arts.

In addition to his work at MCC, Michael is also the assistant conductor of U of T’s MacMillan Singers (2022-2023). He has worked as an apprentice conductor with Exultate Chamber singers, and Toronto Children's Chorus, and as a guest clinician with many choirs and schools throughout southern Ontario. Michael has also performed with the North Bay Symphony Orchestra as a soloist, winning their young performers contest in 2017, and will return to North Bay in 2024 to guest conduct part of their ‘From Home and Abroad’ season. 

Camille Labonté, Conductor, Training Choir 

Camille holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with honours from the University of Toronto, where she studied in the studio of Monica Whicher, and is a graduate of the Etobicoke School of the Arts Musical Theatre program. She is an active young performer, as well as a music educator and choral scholar. Her diverse studies at the Univeristy of Toronto included conducting and vocal pedagogy in addition to the specialized vocal performance program.

An alumna of MCC, Camille has been working with the Mississauga Children’s Choir since 2020 as a conducting assistant with the Senior Choir, and is delighted to conduct the Training Choir in the 2023/34 season. Currently, she is also the soprano soloist and section lead of the Chancel Choir at Kingsway Lambton United Church. She has been part of numerous choral ensembles, including the 2018 Ontario Youth Choir, and currently, the Concreamus Chamber Choir, which collaborates with emerging Canadian Composers.

In 2022, Camille made her operatic debut as Poppea in Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea (Opera NUOVA), and in the summer of 2023, she is delighted to be singing Cleopatra in Handel’s Julius Ceasar (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre), as well as covering the roles of Handel’s Cleopatra and Arsinoë in A Night of 1000 Cleopatras (Opéra Queens). Additionally, Camille was part of the undergraduate opera program at UofT, where in the 2022/23 season she covered the roles of Ernestine in Offenbach's Monsieur Choufleuri restera chez lui and First Woman in Arthur Benjamin's A Tale of Two Cities.

Eveli Korre, Conductor, Cantiamo

Eveli is a graduate of Tallinn Pedagogical College, Estonia where she specialized in Early Childhood and Primary School Music Education. When she came to Toronto, she pursued her career and furthered her music education by completing her Kodaly and Orff Specialist Certification at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Eveli has taught music and movement to children aged 2 - 13 in various schools and studios over two decades. She has performed with several choirs throughout Europe and the Americas attending international choir competitions and festivals. Eveli has performed professionally in different musicals and operettas as a singer and dancer. She is currently teaching music to children aged 3 -11 in Music Community School at Humber College. Eveli believes in freeing the spirit and imagination of children and letting them fly. She nourishes creativity and expression through singing, drama, movement, and simple percussion activities. Eveli is committed to working with students step-by-step to help them reach the next level in the musical development and build the confidence they need to achieve their individual performance goals.

Manishya Jayasundera, Conductor's Assistant, Cantiamo 3

Manishya Jayasundera is a fourth-year Classical Voice Music Education student at the University of Toronto (UofT). Her first experience learning music at a young age was through piano lessons. She completed her ARCT diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). Manishya is also an MCC alum. She fell in love with singing and choral music when she joined the choir at age 12. She continued her studies in vocal music during high school through RCM and the Regional Arts Program at St. Roch C.S.S. Through her studies at UofT, she has become very passionate about choral music education and conducting. Manishya was the most recent apprentice conductor with the Exultate Chamber Singers at their October 2022 concert. You can find her singing in choirs such as Pax Christi Chorale and UofT’s Macmillan Singers. Manishya is excited to work with MCC and Cantiamo.

Caroline Suri, Executive Director 

Caroline Suri has held leadership positions in arts management for over 15 years. Her experience includes being Managing Director of the Toronto Children's Chorus, Executive Director of newchoir (an adult choir), and a senior management position with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She works extensively on choral and orchestral projects with many organizations including Cineplex, and dozens of well known Canadian artists. Caroline has led ensembles on tours around the world and is thrilled to be leading the Mississauga Children's Choir on tour to Florida next season!

Gerri Peresin, Accounting Manager                                         

Gerri Peresin has been involved with MCC since 2011, first as a parent of a chorister, then as member of the board and now as the accounting manager. Gerri is a chartered professional accountant and has over 20 years experience working in public and private companies. Currently she provides accounting services to clients in the GTA.