Teachers

Wendy Coles
Centre Director


Wendy has enjoyed an extensive, professional career in theatre having performed on stages across Canada & the US, as well as in film & television, including numerous commercials. Born in Timmins, her background includes studies of piano and music theory through the Royal Conservatory of Music, as well as years of dance and figure skating training. She is a graduate of the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York City, & the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England. Wendy has successfully completed the Music Together® Teaching Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey.

 

 Cyndi Carleton 

 

 
Cyndi is a Toronto-based music theatre performer and has performed in theatres across Canada.  A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier in Theatre and English, she also studied acting at the University of Windsor.  Her music studies have included Voice, Music Theory, and Flute.  Cyndi has written and directed for youth and teen music theatre programs, and she has taught for the after school drama program Arts Express.  She has also enjoyed volunteering her time to perform at the Hospital for Sick Children. 

 
Cyndi has successfully completed the Music Together® Teaching Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey which recently awarded her the Music Together Certification Level I status for outstanding achievement in teaching, musicianship, program philosophy and parent education..  

  

 

Nick Nasrallah

 

Nick is a musical theatre performer/choreographer and comedian. He holds diplomas from Randolph Academy for Performing Arts, Vancouver Film School, and Second City Toronto's Conservatory and Musical Conservatory programs. Nick also teaches musical theatre to 7-18 year olds at ACT ONE School of Drama, and improv workshops through Second City's Education Company. Nick has successfully completed the Music Together® Teaching Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey.

 

 Shannon Dooks

 

Shannon Dooks has been singing since the ripe age of 4 years old in Oshawa, ON and started enjoying drama at an early age as well. Now she lives in Toronto after returning home from studying musical theatre in Australia. She has taught in various capacities including family group classes, private teaching as well as taught for the Australia Girls Choir while also pursuing a career in music and acting. She has performed on various stages in Australia, America and Canada and also writes and records her own music at Kensington Sound. She has worked with and taught many artists over many different genres including musical theatre, pop, jazz, r&b, soul and folk. She also has music out on any platform that you listen to music. Shannon has a passion for sharing music, drama and performance with children because of how young she started and how important it is to start early. 

 

Ara Glenn-Johanson

Ara is a trained singer and performer/choreographer working in theatre and dance.  Originally from New York, she holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and MFA from UC Davis. She has taught theatre and dance classes as well as directed plays for children in New York and California.  Highlights include creating two original jukebox musicals (Gulliver's Travels and Where the Wild Things Are) that featured 80s power ballads and arena rock -- as Max sails to the island students sang Stix' "Come Sail Away" while five year olds dressed as lobsters played hardcore air guitar. Ara is a registered Music Together teacher.

 

Pamela Wong-Shoebottom

Pamela holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, a BFA Honors in Dance from York University and a Vocal Music diploma from Canterbury School of Performing Arts. Her teaching and learning practice is influenced by her work with artists from New York, San Francisco, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Toronto. Pamela continues to immerse herself in diverse, inclusive and multi-disciplinary creative work that fuels her focus as a performer, choreographer, artist-educator and arts advocate. She is thrilled to be a registered Music Together teacher and is looking forward to having Fun With Music Together with families across the GTA!

 
Alana Cosgrove
Alana’s love for performance began at the young age of 5 when she saw her first musical, Crazy for You. At intermission, she told her mum while waiting in line to use the restroom: “That’s what I want to do when I grow up!”. That spark lit a fire in her that has been burning ever since and she spent her childhood and adolescent years performing in local musical theatre productions and studying at various dance schools.  She completed a degree in acting from John Abbott College’s Professional Theatre program in Montreal, her hometown, followed by a BMus from l’Université de Montréal with a specialization in Opera Performance and Interpretation. Interpreting the role of Susanna in Mozart’s, Le nozze di Figaro, in her senior year was the highlight of her university education. Her love for teaching has always been equal to her love of performing. Moulding and inspiring young children, much like she was inspired at such a young age, is something that holds a special place in her heart. She is a registered Music Together teacher and is overjoyed to be able to not only influence the next generation’s musicians, but help them build the confidence to lead a creative life.