Debra Grass

Debra Grass is descended from one of the original United Empire Loyalist families arriving in the Kingston area in 1783.  She grew up in Belleville, studied music at Queen’s university, computer programming at St. Lawrence College, and is an associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance.  After a long career in IT, Debra now maintains a music teaching studio and composes original music for piano in the Ottawa area, where she has lived for over 30 years.

Beverley McKiver

Beverley McKiver is an Anishinaabe member of Lac Seul First Nation who was adopted into a non-Indigenous family at the age of four. She grew up in Dryden, in Northwestern Ontario and moved to Eastern Ontario after graduating from high school. She has lived in Cornwall, Kingston, Toronto and has made her home in Ottawa for over 30 years. She had a lengthy career as a computer analyst before turning to music and teaching as a vocation in 2014. Beverley’s compositions have been performed at Native Earth Performing Arts, Harbourfront Centre and Banff Centre for the Arts. Her Canadian Floral Emblems suite for piano has become popular with students, teachers and performers across Canada and the U.S.