Anita McAlister is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, where she is the Head of Brass.  Anita oversees the Brass Chamber program, teaches Orchestral Studies, Trumpet Performance class, Music Education classes and has a vibrant trumpet studio. 

As a professional trumpet player, Anita has an active and varied career performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.  Anita has been a contracted member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and the Stratford Festival, toured as Principal Trumpet with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, and has performed with a number of theatre production runs such as Phantom of the Opera.  Anita is a member of the Esprit Orchestra and has been a member of the Hannaford Street Silver Band for the past 41 years.   

Anita has served on the board of NABBA (North American Brass Band Association) and is a core member of the Canadian Women’s Brass Collective.  Dedicated to the development of brass education, Anita is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician.  She has taught for the Royal Conservatory of Music and was on faculty at Wilfred Laurier University for 11 years.  She has taught at numerous music camps – Music By The Lake, Mount Allison Summer Music Program, the Scarborough Board of Education Music Camp, Interprovincial Music Camp and National Music Camp.  She was the Director of the Hannaford Youth Program over the past 20 years and is very excited to start this new Toronto Youth Symphonic Brass program!   

Carlene Brown is a Toronto-based trumpet performer, conductor, and music educator dedicated to inspiring the next generation of musicians through exceptional performance and meaningful music education. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of Toronto and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School, where she attended on the Michael and Sonja Koerner Scholarship. She has also pursued graduate studies in education through the Master of Education program at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).

As a freelance trumpet player, Carlene has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, Esprit Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Mandle Philharmonic, and numerous other professional ensembles across Ontario. She is a frequent soloist at Kingsway-Lambton United Church and with Tapestry Chamber Choir, and was a featured as a guest artist in Newmarket's Young Artists Showcase and with the Yorkminster Citadel Band. Carlene studied trumpet under Barton Woomert and Andrew McCandless.

A passionate educator, Carlene serves as the Kindergarten to Grade 8 Music Teacher at an Independent school in Toronto, where she directs instrumental, choral, and classroom music programs. She previously taught as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music and has worked with developing young musicians through the Hannaford Youth Program and at National Music Camp in 2023. From 2024 to 2026, Carlene conducted the Hannaford Youth Community Band and Hannaford Junior Band.