Staff
Christian Bell-Young
Academy Director
Christian is an award-winning singer/songwriter, music educator, composer and performer, with 20 years of experience in music and theatre.
Born and raised in the UK, he studied performing arts in Liverpool and music production in London, graduating with a BA Honours degree in 2010 from the prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music. He signed a 3-year record deal with ACA/Warner Music Group (WMG) in 2005 as a singer/songwriter before forming London-based rock band Haydons Place.
Christian rebranded in 2015 under the stage name Christian Tusk and signed with one of the UK’s leading music agencies. He released a much-anticipated debut EP, which was soon awarded gold status for achieving over 50,000 worldwide streams and sales. He then went on to write and produce music for established pop acts before turning his attention to new opportunities outside of the UK.
Christian is an experienced stage actor, performing in musicals since childhood. It was this that brought him to Canada in 2016, where he signed with Premier Artists’ Management in Toronto, one of Canada’s leading talent agencies, to represent him professionally in theatre, film and TV. After a number of high profile performances, including Prince Eric in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” at the Rose Theatre in Brampton and Snoopy in Theatre Ancaster’s “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown”, Christian began exploring his passion for teaching and, in September 2017, founded CBY Music.
Christian has dedicated himself to a ‘student-first’ philosophy where he works to meet the goals of the individual student and prepare them for success. His core value as a creative educator and practitioner is to help students learn, develop and apply. Many of his students have received accolades as a result, including the Conservatory Canada Medal of Excellence for achieving the highest exam result in Ontario; numerous First Class Honours with Distinction RCM exam results; and starring roles in musical theatre productions.
He is able to bring his wealth of experience to every facet of CBY Music, providing students with pedagogically-leading education and finding them the right opportunities to bring it to life.
Karen Bell-Young
Program Director
Karen has been teaching private voice, piano and theory across southern Ontario for over ten years. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher, and a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teacher’s Association and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. After graduating from Queen’s University’s music and drama programs, she worked as a professional musical theatre performer before turning her attention to teaching full-time. Karen returned to Queen’s to complete her Artist in Community Education degree and was hired as a permanent secondary music, drama and special education teacher with the Peel District School Board upon graduating in 2011.
For the past decade, Karen’s voice students have received numerous scholarships and awards from festivals across the GTA (including Kiwanis Provincials), as well as First Class Honours with Distinction in their RCM voice exams. Karen has prepared several students for successful post-secondary theatre program auditions and many of these students are now enjoying their own careers as working theatre artists with companies such as Drayton Entertainment, Theatre Aquarius and the Rose Theatre Professional Series.
Karen teaches at an all-special education high school where she has successfully developed the music program to reflect the needs of an extremely diverse group of learners, including many students on the Autism spectrum. Students enjoy playing music together in rock bands, singing solos and group songs for large audiences, and learning about the history of popular music and relevant music theory in a warm, engaging environment that encourages a lifelong love of playing music.
In addition to an active teaching life, Karen continues to perform both professionally and with amateur companies throughout Ontario. At Christmastime, she can be found singing soprano with the Baker Street Victorian Carollers a cappella quartet. She has been part of countless weddings in Waterdown as a ceremony soloist. Karen has recently been seen on stage as Mary in “Mary Poppins” at the Rose Theatre Brampton, Princess Fiona in “Shrek” (for which she won an Act-Co award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical), and Lucy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” with Theatre Ancaster. While she is currently taking a “break from the boards” to focus on her latest role as Mummy, she continues to maintain relationships with local theatre companies to nurture opportunities for CBY Music students.
Bree McLean-Roberts
Head of Musical Theatre & Dance Teacher
Dancing and performing since a young age, Bree has worked with many outstanding theatre groups across Southern Ontario. In addition to being the current Treasurer of the Board at Hamilton Theatre Inc., Bree directs & choreographs shows with HTI and surrounding GHA theatre groups.
Bree has studied with World Champion Dancers and Judges on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Jean Marc Genereax and France Mousseau. She has been awarded honours for dance, acting and creative lighting over the years and is so excited and honoured to be part of the CBY Team.
Alysa King
Film & TV Acting Teacher & Musical Theatre Artistic Director
Alysa King is a Canadian-born actor, singer, and live performer. During her early childhood years, she was featured in several national commercials and magazines and later returned to the industry once she had completed her post-secondary education. Upon completing high school she trained at Sheridan College and graduated from their Theatre Arts program with honours. She then switched gears and continued on to Queen’s University in Kingston, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Dramatic Arts and English Literature & Language and a Bachelor of Education.
While at Queen’s, she remained an avid member of the theatrical community and appeared in several Kingston productions, creating new Canadian roles with the Plastic People Theatre Company’s “Punchline” and Facebox Theatre’s “Framed”. She also had the privilege of performing in Canada’s first student Shakespearean Repertory Company, Vagabond Theatre, and revamped the classic play “Romeo and Juliet”, by playing Romeo as a female lead.
Upon graduating, Alysa returned to film and television, and in 2014 she starred in the award-winning genre film “Berkshire County” directed by Audrey Cummings. Praised for her intense and compelling portrayal of Kylie Winters, her performance earned her two “Best Actress” awards from festivals worldwide and the film screened on 5 continents to rave reviews. It had a national theatrical run in Canada at Landmark Cinemas and was in the top 5 earning Canadian films for several weeks during its screening window.
Most recently, Alysa was a recurring character on the hit TV series “Slasher”, a co-production of Shaftesbury Films and Super Channel starring Jurassic World’s Katie McGrath, which aired on NBC Universal’s ‘Chiller’ channel in 2016 to excellent reviews and great ratings. She also played the lead role in Black Fawn Distribution’s latest film “Bed of the Dead”, which swept the 2016 festival circuit and was selected to play at Montreal’s “Fantasia Film Festival”, the Toronto “After Dark” Film Festival, and Spain’s famed “Sitges Film Festival” (the only academy award qualifying genre festival in the world).
With her enviable credits and industry repute, Alysa brings a wealth of experience to CBY Music’s first industry-focused acting program, “Acting for the Camera”.
Kailea Banka
Voiceover Acting Teacher & Musical Theatre Artistic Director
Kailea is a professional, in-demand theatre performer and voice actor.
Kailea graduated from Ryerson University’s “Theatre: Performance Acting” program with honours. During her time at Ryerson, she studied a range of techniques, from clown to Shakespeare to on-camera. In her final year, Kailea wrote and starred in her own piece, entitled “Jessica, Wake Up” for the universitie’s much anticipated New Voices Festival.
Since graduating, Kailea has been actively working in the voiceover industry. She has voiced several national campaigns for TV and radio and has vocally appeared in two video games for Ubisoft (Far Cry 5, Far Cry New Dawn) and two episodes of Bitmoji TV.
As a dedicated theatre professional, she has performed in several festivals, including Stratford’s “Spring Works” festival and the “Next Stage” festival in Toronto.
Kailea has dedicated many hours to teaching and coaching young performers. She was the head counsellor for Ryerson’s PYC Programs for several summers, directing their productions of Alice in Wonderland Jr. and The Lion King Jr.
As one of the GTA’s most in-demand voiceover actors, she brings a wide range of sought-after skills to CBY Music, launching our first industry-feeding program “Acting for the Voice”.
Rochelle Ing
Dance Teacher & Principal Choreographer
Rochelle is an award-winning choreographer and dance teacher and has been in the industry for over 20 years. She has trained in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap, musical theatre, hip hop and acro and has taught all throughout Hamilton, Guelph and St. Catharines.
Rochelle graduated with an Honours Bachelor Degree in Physical Education, with a focus in Dance, from Brock University. She then furthered her education and attended the Occupational and Physiotherapy Assistant program at Mohawk College.
Upon graduation, she was immediately hired as an OTA/PTA and Pool Therapist, and continued working in this field for the next ten years; while teaching dance in the evening. Rochelle has also completed her Water Rehabilitation Certification, Personal Training Certification, Sports Injury Care and Prevention Course (SIPAC) and Wrapping and Taping Course. Keeping her dancers safe is her number one priority!
Rochelle has been the director of dance competitions, managed dance programs, produced school films, choreographed for elementary school musicals, worked on fundraising dance events, and has completed the Professional Dance Adjudicators course. Her love of movement and the arts began at a young age and even had the honour of representing Canada at The Worlds Gymnastics Festival in Denmark and Holland. From gymnastics, to rhythmic gymnastics, to dance, the arts have always been a huge part of her life.
Rochelle has been volunteering and working in schools since having her two children, and is now working full time with the HWCDSB as an Educational Assistant. Her true passion is teaching children and is a joy working in this environment every day. She is thrilled to be part of the CBY family, along with her children, and watch the passion of music and performing arts continue to grow!
Calvin Mulder
Guitar & Ukulele Teacher
Homegrown right in Hamilton Ontario, Calvin grew up surrounded by music from a very early age. He started playing guitar at 11 years old and has never put it down since. Calvin took guitar lessons from various local teachers and shops in his early years of playing, but was primarily self-taught. That is, until October 2019, when he became a student at CBY music. In his time at CBY, Calvin studied under Christian Bell-Young, who helped him prepare for his audition to the Mohawk College guitar program.
Christian also helped him to achieve level eight in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s theory program, and Conservatory Canada’s contemporary guitar program, where he was awarded two medals of excellence for achieving the highest marks in Ontario, for both his level 5 and level 8 exams. CBY mentoring also included guidance in areas such as music production, how to make an income as a musician, the impact of music on culture, and the inner workings of the music industry.
Calvin was accepted into Mohawk in March of 2021, and in April, he graduated from CBY Music and transitioned into an apprentice teacher and studio engineer with them. During this time, Calvin’s passion for teaching was nurtured and he learned how to be an effective educator. The following July, Calvin started as a guitar and ukulele instructor, as well as assistant studio engineer, at CBY Music.
Calvin grew up playing mainly rock music, and has been playing in bands since he was a teenager. In 9th grade, he joined the praise team at Hamilton District Christian High School, where he played at various churches in Hamilton and did his first tour around Lake Erie. In the same year he joined the Meadowlands Fellowship CRC worship team, where he continues to play today. As his love for creating music grew, Calvin started to study the art of music production. He has since produced multiple EPs and singles for various artists and his own bands as well. Calvin‘s experience at Mohawk College has broadened his appreciation for many genres of music as he continues to participate in various ensembles including jazz and country. He was even hand-picked to participate in a cultural exchange ensemble, working with a number of Canadian Indigenous musicians, which was an act of reconciliation and an opportunity for deep personal and musical growth.
Rylan Allen
Voice, Piano & Musical Theatre Teacher
Rylan is a performer from Waterdown. He started singing and taking piano lessons at a young age, and later he received honours in his Gr 8 RCM Vocal Exam.
He graduated from Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance Program in 2019 and moved on to work with Canadiana Productions in Niagara Falls as a performer, dance captain, and choreographer. He now works as a teacher for CBY Music, where he teaches voice, piano and musical theatre, and the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. Some of his favourite roles to have played so far are Monsieur André (Phantom of the Opera), Eddie & Dr. Scott (Rocky Horror Picture Show), and Martin Guerre (The House of Martin Guerre).
Matthew Almas
Dance Teacher
Since Matthew’s first dance class at 14 months old, his heart has been set on dancing.
Due to Matthew’s enjoyment of dance, he has never ceased and has led to his training in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, tap, musical theatre, jazz,
fosse, flamenco, cha cha, swing and street dance (including breakdancing, hip hop, popping, locking
and house).
Building on his love for dance Matthew has had amazing opportunities working with BeDiscovered Broadway Bound, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas Cruise Ship and the Hamilton Tiger Cat Jr. Dance Team. Additionally, Matthew has worked with Theatre Ancaster in their musical performances of Matilda, Mamma Mia and Annie and was part of JJ Dance Arts that performed in a Charity Performance for the Lighthouse for Grieving Children called Light Heavy Light in 2021 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Matthew is currently working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Philosophy with plans to receive a Bachelor of Education following graduation.
Matthew’s philosophy around dance is that dance is not about perfection instead it is about one’s personal progress.
Rebecca Johnston
Voice, Piano & Musical Theatre Teacher
Bio coming soon
Coming soon
Lewina Chow
Voice & Piano Teacher
Lewina has been a piano, singing, xylophone, harpist and hand bell teacher for over 10 years. She is a fully accredited pianist holding top level qualifications from RCM, ABRSM and The Royal Schools of Music.
She started singing with the Hong Kong Yip’s Children’s Choir since the age of 6 and went on concert tours to Australia, Amsterdam, Russia, Singapore and Thailand, as both a choir member and a soloist.
She has extensive experience teaching hand bells to over 700 students in Hong Kong and also started learning to play the lever harp and the pedal harp in 2018.
Lewina is also the Music Faculty of the renowned Ballet School, Balletomane, in Oakville. She enjoys piano accompanying ballerinas in their daily training and in their Royal Academy of Dance examinations.
Lewina came to Canada when she was 15 and went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1998.
Karli Mulder
Voice & Artist Development Teacher
Karli is one of Canada’s most exciting up and coming Country Pop artists, having worked with some the music industry’s biggest talents, including hit producer Karen Kosowski and Grammy and Juno nominated songwriter Deric Ruttan.
She has studied voice under the tuition of Tamara Beatty (vocal coach for TV shows The Voice and The Masked Singer) and has extensively recorded and performed all over North America, including the capital of Country music – Nashville, TN.
Karli teacher private voice and artist development lessons at CBY.
Melody Aslan
Piano, Voice and Musical Theatre Teacher
Melody took up piano at the age of three. She has since participated in many music festivals within the GTA.
After completing her RCM ARCT diploma in 2016, she studied music cognition at McMaster University. She sang in the Hamilton Children’s Choir for 10 years, and went on to become an accompanist for the Kindersing program. She has performed in several musical theatre productions as well as operas. She also performed in several improv shows at McMaster University. Melody is currently studying Child and Youth Care at Humber College.
Caia Ing
Tot Dance Assistant
Caia is an elite dancer who currently trains at JJ Dance Arts in Burlington. She has enjoyed professional opportunities in the industry, such as two seasons of The Nutcracker with the Niagara Ballet and various TV productions.
She performed as part of the dance ensemble in CBY’s virtual production of Fame Jr in 2021 and was in the ensemble for CBY’s live production of Annie Jr. She is currently the dance assistant at CBY for the Tot Dance and Kids’ Dance programs.
Christian Bell-Young
Academy Director
Christian is an award-winning singer/songwriter, music educator, composer and performer, with 20 years of experience in music and theatre.
Born and raised in the UK, he studied performing arts in Liverpool and music production in London, graduating with a BA Honours degree in 2010 from the prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music. He signed a 3-year record deal with ACA/Warner Music Group (WMG) in 2005 as a singer/songwriter before forming London-based rock band Haydons Place.
Christian rebranded in 2015 under the stage name Christian Tusk and signed with one of the UK’s leading music agencies. He released a much-anticipated debut EP, which was soon awarded gold status for achieving over 50,000 worldwide streams and sales. He then went on to write and produce music for established pop acts before turning his attention to new opportunities outside of the UK.
Christian is an experienced stage actor, performing in musicals since childhood. It was this that brought him to Canada in 2016, where he signed with Premier Artists’ Management in Toronto, one of Canada’s leading talent agencies, to represent him professionally in theatre, film and TV. After a number of high profile performances, including Prince Eric in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” at the Rose Theatre in Brampton and Snoopy in Theatre Ancaster’s “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown”, Christian began exploring his passion for teaching and, in September 2017, founded CBY Music.
Christian has dedicated himself to a ‘student-first’ philosophy where he works to meet the goals of the individual student and prepare them for success. His core value as a creative educator and practitioner is to help students learn, develop and apply. Many of his students have received accolades as a result, including the Conservatory Canada Medal of Excellence for achieving the highest exam result in Ontario; numerous First Class Honours with Distinction RCM exam results; and starring roles in musical theatre productions.
He is able to bring his wealth of experience to every facet of CBY Music, providing students with pedagogically-leading education and finding them the right opportunities to bring it to life.
Karen Bell-Young
Program Director
Karen has been teaching private voice, piano and theory across southern Ontario for over ten years. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher, and a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teacher’s Association and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. After graduating from Queen’s University’s music and drama programs, she worked as a professional musical theatre performer before turning her attention to teaching full-time. Karen returned to Queen’s to complete her Artist in Community Education degree and was hired as a permanent secondary music, drama and special education teacher with the Peel District School Board upon graduating in 2011.
For the past decade, Karen’s voice students have received numerous scholarships and awards from festivals across the GTA (including Kiwanis Provincials), as well as First Class Honours with Distinction in their RCM voice exams. Karen has prepared several students for successful post-secondary theatre program auditions and many of these students are now enjoying their own careers as working theatre artists with companies such as Drayton Entertainment, Theatre Aquarius and the Rose Theatre Professional Series.
Karen teaches at an all-special education high school where she has successfully developed the music program to reflect the needs of an extremely diverse group of learners, including many students on the Autism spectrum. Students enjoy playing music together in rock bands, singing solos and group songs for large audiences, and learning about the history of popular music and relevant music theory in a warm, engaging environment that encourages a lifelong love of playing music.
In addition to an active teaching life, Karen continues to perform both professionally and with amateur companies throughout Ontario. At Christmastime, she can be found singing soprano with the Baker Street Victorian Carollers a cappella quartet. She has been part of countless weddings in Waterdown as a ceremony soloist. Karen has recently been seen on stage as Mary in “Mary Poppins” at the Rose Theatre Brampton, Princess Fiona in “Shrek” (for which she won an Act-Co award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical), and Lucy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” with Theatre Ancaster. While she is currently taking a “break from the boards” to focus on her latest role as Mummy, she continues to maintain relationships with local theatre companies to nurture opportunities for CBY Music students.
Bree McLean-Roberts
Head of Musical Theatre & Dance Teacher
Dancing and performing since a young age, Bree has worked with many outstanding theatre groups across Southern Ontario. In addition to being the current Treasurer of the Board at Hamilton Theatre Inc., Bree directs & choreographs shows with HTI and surrounding GHA theatre groups.
Bree has studied with World Champion Dancers and Judges on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Jean Marc Genereax and France Mousseau. She has been awarded honours for dance, acting and creative lighting over the years and is so excited and honoured to be part of the CBY Team.
Alysa King
Film & TV Acting Teacher & Musical Theatre Director
Alysa King is a Canadian-born actor, singer, and live performer. During her early childhood years, she was featured in several national commercials and magazines and later returned to the industry once she had completed her post-secondary education. Upon completing high school she trained at Sheridan College and graduated from their Theatre Arts program with honours. She then switched gears and continued on to Queen’s University in Kingston, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Dramatic Arts and English Literature & Language and a Bachelor of Education.
While at Queen’s, she remained an avid member of the theatrical community and appeared in several Kingston productions, creating new Canadian roles with the Plastic People Theatre Company’s “Punchline” and Facebox Theatre’s “Framed”. She also had the privilege of performing in Canada’s first student Shakespearean Repertory Company, Vagabond Theatre, and revamped the classic play “Romeo and Juliet”, by playing Romeo as a female lead.
Upon graduating, Alysa returned to film and television, and in 2014 she starred in the award-winning genre film “Berkshire County” directed by Audrey Cummings. Praised for her intense and compelling portrayal of Kylie Winters, her performance earned her two “Best Actress” awards from festivals worldwide and the film screened on 5 continents to rave reviews. It had a national theatrical run in Canada at Landmark Cinemas and was in the top 5 earning Canadian films for several weeks during its screening window.
Most recently, Alysa was a recurring character on the hit TV series “Slasher”, a co-production of Shaftesbury Films and Super Channel starring Jurassic World’s Katie McGrath, which aired on NBC Universal’s ‘Chiller’ channel in 2016 to excellent reviews and great ratings. She also played the lead role in Black Fawn Distribution’s latest film “Bed of the Dead”, which swept the 2016 festival circuit and was selected to play at Montreal’s “Fantasia Film Festival”, the Toronto “After Dark” Film Festival, and Spain’s famed “Sitges Film Festival” (the only academy award qualifying genre festival in the world).
With her enviable credits and industry repute, Alysa brings a wealth of experience to CBY Music’s first industry-focused acting program, “Acting for the Camera”.
Kailea Banka
Voiceover Acting Teacher & Musical Theatre Director
Kailea is a professional, in-demand theatre performer and voice actor.
Kailea graduated from Ryerson University’s “Theatre: Performance Acting” program with honours. During her time at Ryerson, she studied a range of techniques, from clown to Shakespeare to on-camera. In her final year, Kailea wrote and starred in her own piece, entitled “Jessica, Wake Up” for the universitie’s much anticipated New Voices Festival.
Since graduating, Kailea has been actively working in the voiceover industry. She has voiced several national campaigns for TV and radio and has vocally appeared in two video games for Ubisoft (Far Cry 5, Far Cry New Dawn) and two episodes of Bitmoji TV.
As a dedicated theatre professional, she has performed in several festivals, including Stratford’s “Spring Works” festival and the “Next Stage” festival in Toronto.
Kailea has dedicated many hours to teaching and coaching young performers. She was the head counsellor for Ryerson’s PYC Programs for several summers, directing their productions of Alice in Wonderland Jr. and The Lion King Jr.
As one of the GTA’s most in-demand voiceover actors, she brings a wide range of sought-after skills to CBY Music, launching our first industry-feeding program “Acting for the Voice”.
Rochelle Ing
Dance Teacher & Principal Choreographer
Rochelle is an award-winning choreographer and dance teacher and has been in the industry for over 20 years. She has trained in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap, musical theatre, hip hop and acro and has taught all throughout Hamilton, Guelph and St. Catharines.
Rochelle graduated with an Honours Bachelor Degree in Physical Education, with a focus in Dance, from Brock University. She then furthered her education and attended the Occupational and Physiotherapy Assistant program at Mohawk College.
Upon graduation, she was immediately hired as an OTA/PTA and Pool Therapist, and continued working in this field for the next ten years; while teaching dance in the evening. Rochelle has also completed her Water Rehabilitation Certification, Personal Training Certification, Sports Injury Care and Prevention Course (SIPAC) and Wrapping and Taping Course. Keeping her dancers safe is her number one priority!
Rochelle has been the director of dance competitions, managed dance programs, produced school films, choreographed for elementary school musicals, worked on fundraising dance events, and has completed the Professional Dance Adjudicators course. Her love of movement and the arts began at a young age and even had the honour of representing Canada at The Worlds Gymnastics Festival in Denmark and Holland. From gymnastics, to rhythmic gymnastics, to dance, the arts have always been a huge part of her life.
Rochelle has been volunteering and working in schools since having her two children, and is now working full time with the HWCDSB as an Educational Assistant. Her true passion is teaching children and is a joy working in this environment every day. She is thrilled to be part of the CBY family, along with her children, and watch the passion of music and performing arts continue to grow!
Calvin Mulder
Guitar & Ukulele Teacher
Homegrown right in Hamilton Ontario, Calvin grew up surrounded by music from a very early age. He started playing guitar at 11 years old and has never put it down since. Calvin took guitar lessons from various local teachers and shops in his early years of playing, but was primarily self-taught. That is, until October 2019, when he became a student at CBY music. In his time at CBY, Calvin studied under Christian Bell-Young, who helped him prepare for his audition to the Mohawk College guitar program.
Christian also helped him to achieve level eight in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s theory program, and Conservatory Canada’s contemporary guitar program, where he was awarded two medals of excellence for achieving the highest marks in Ontario, for both his level 5 and level 8 exams. CBY mentoring also included guidance in areas such as music production, how to make an income as a musician, the impact of music on culture, and the inner workings of the music industry.
Calvin was accepted into Mohawk in March of 2021, and in April, he graduated from CBY Music and transitioned into an apprentice teacher and studio engineer with them. During this time, Calvin’s passion for teaching was nurtured and he learned how to be an effective educator. The following July, Calvin started as a guitar and ukulele instructor, as well as assistant studio engineer, at CBY Music.
Calvin grew up playing mainly rock music, and has been playing in bands since he was a teenager. In 9th grade, he joined the praise team at Hamilton District Christian High School, where he played at various churches in Hamilton and did his first tour around Lake Erie. In the same year he joined the Meadowlands Fellowship CRC worship team, where he continues to play today. As his love for creating music grew, Calvin started to study the art of music production. He has since produced multiple EPs and singles for various artists and his own bands as well. Calvin‘s experience at Mohawk College has broadened his appreciation for many genres of music as he continues to participate in various ensembles including jazz and country. He was even hand-picked to participate in a cultural exchange ensemble, working with a number of Canadian Indigenous musicians, which was an act of reconciliation and an opportunity for deep personal and musical growth.
Rylan Allen
Voice, Piano & Musical Theatre Teacher
Rylan is a 24 year old performer from Waterdown. He started singing and taking piano lessons at 15, and two years later he received honours in his Gr 8 RCM Vocal Exam.
He graduated from Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance Program in 2019 and moved on to work with Canadiana Productions in Niagara Falls as a performer, dance captain, and choreographer. He now works as a teacher for CBY Music, where he teaches voice, piano and musical theatre, and the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. Some of his favourite roles to have played so far are Monsieur André (Phantom of the Opera), Eddie & Dr. Scott (Rocky Horror Picture Show), and Martin Guerre (The House of Martin Guerre).
Matthew Almas
Dance Teacher
Since Matthew’s first dance class at 14 months old, his heart has been set on dancing
Due to Matthew’s enjoyment of dance, he has never ceased and has led to his training in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, tap, musical theatre, jazz, fosse, flamenco, cha cha, swing and street dance (including breakdancing, hip hop, popping, locking and house).
Building on his love for dance Matthew has had amazing opportunities working with BeDiscovered Broadway Bound, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas Cruise Ship and the Hamilton Tiger Cat Jr. Dance Team. Additionally, Matthew has worked with Theatre Ancaster in their musical performances of Matilda, Mamma Mia and Annie and was part of JJ Dance Arts that performed in a Charity Performance for the Lighthouse for Grieving Children called Light Heavy Light in 2021 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Matthew is currently working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Philosophy with plans to receive a Bachelor of Education following graduation.
Matthew’s philosophy around dance is that dance is not about perfection instead it is about one’s personal progress.
Rebecca Johnston
Voice, Piano & Musical Theatre Teacher
Bio coming soon
Coming soon
Lewina Chow
Voice & Piano Teacher
Lewina has been a piano, singing, xylophone, harpist and hand bell teacher for over 10 years. She is a fully accredited pianist holding top level qualifications from RCM, ABRSM and The Royal Schools of Music.
She started singing with the Hong Kong Yip’s Children’s Choir since the age of 6 and went on concert tours to Australia, Amsterdam, Russia, Singapore and Thailand, as both a choir member and a soloist.
She has extensive experience teaching hand bells to over 700 students in Hong Kong and also started learning to play the lever harp and the pedal harp in 2018.
Lewina is also the Music Faculty of the renowned Ballet School, Balletomane, in Oakville. She enjoys piano accompanying ballerinas in their daily training and in their Royal Academy of Dance examinations.
Lewina came to Canada when she was 15 and went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1998.
Karli Mulder
Voice & Artist Development Teacher
Karli is one of Canada’s most exciting up and coming Country Pop artists, having worked with some the music industry’s biggest talents, including hit producer Karen Kosowski and Grammy and Juno nominated songwriter Deric Ruttan.
She has studied voice under the tuition of Tamara Beatty (vocal coach for TV shows The Voice and The Masked Singer) and has extensively recorded and performed all over North America, including the capital of Country music – Nashville, TN.
Karli teacher private voice and artist development lessons at CBY.
Melody Aslan
Piano, Voice and Musical Theatre Teacher
Melody took up piano at the age of three. She has since participated in many music festivals within the GTA.
After completing her RCM ARCT diploma in 2016, she studied music cognition at McMaster University. She sang in the Hamilton Children’s Choir for 10 years, and went on to become an accompanist for the Kindersing program. She has performed in several musical theatre productions as well as operas. She also performed in several improv shows at McMaster University. Melody is currently studying Child and Youth Care at Humber College.
Caia Ing
Tot Dance Assistant
Caia is an elite dancer who currently trains at JJ Dance Arts in Burlington. She has enjoyed professional opportunities in the industry, such as two seasons of The Nutcracker with the Niagara Ballet and various TV productions.
She performed as part of the dance ensemble in CBY’s virtual production of Fame Jr in 2021 and was in the ensemble for CBY’s live production of Annie Jr. She is currently the dance assistant at CBY for the Tot Dance and Kids’ Dance programs.
