Our Staff
Simon Docking
Managing and Artistic Director
Australian-born pianist Simon Docking has appeared as a soloist for Toronto’s Soundstreams, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, Symphony Nova Scotia, Acadia University’s Shattering the Silence, Australia’s Aurora Festival, the new music group Stroma in New Zealand, and MATA Festival in New York.
Simon has often been heard on CBC Radio Two’s Two New Hours, The Signal, and Concerts on Demand. Internationally his performances have been broadcast on ABC Classic FM (Australia), Swedish Radio, and Radio New Zealand.
Active as a chamber musician, Simon has been a founding member of several ensembles, including the Toronto-based group Toca Loca, which has been presented by nearly every new music series in Canada from St John’s to Vancouver, as well as appearances in New York, California and at the C3 Festival at Berlin’s legendary Berghain. Toca Loca have released two CDs: P*P (2009) and SHED (2010).
Simon studied piano in Australia with Ransford Elsley, and holds a doctorate in piano performance from SUNY Stony Brook, where he worked with Gilbert Kalish, and upon graduation was awarded New York State’s Thayer Fellowship for the Arts. In October 2011 Simon received an Established Artist Recognition Award from the province of Nova Scotia.
Cindy Haines
General Manager
Cindy’s hard work and dedication keep things running smoothly and efficiently. Cindy was introduced to the Scotia Festival of Music while working for the festival in 1988 & 1989. During this work term she fell in love with arts administration and found her vocational calling in life. She started working full time for the organization after graduating from Dalhousie in 1990.
When not planning for the festival, overseeing the Music Room’s chamber music series or running car raffles, Cindy enjoys spending time with family and friends, going on road trips around gorgeous Nova Scotia and walking by the ocean with her two beautiful Shelties.
Andrew Coll
Technical Director
An award-winning filmmaker, musician and multimedia artist, Andrew is a classically-trained pianist who graduated from Dalhousie University, which is how he first became acquainted with Scotia Festival many years ago. He does a little bit of everything for the festival, and he wouldn’t have it any other way, from administration and marketing, to behind-the-scenes tech wizardry, including overseeing The Music Room’s livestreaming equipment. Outside of working for the festival, he has an active freelance career as an in-demand videographer and filmmaker: his short film Duet was broadcast nationally on CBC Television and Air Canada flights worldwide. Visit his website to learn more.
Christopher Wilcox (1941-2023)
Chris Wilcox was the magic behind the Scotia Festival of Music and the Music Room for more than 40 years. His passion for the music and the people involved is legend in Halifax and beyond. Chris was the Managing and Artistic Director of the organization for most of its existence, and he was a natural leader for chamber music in Halifax.
Chris studied clarinet with Robert Marcellus, Principal Clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1962 and this began a life-long friendship. He played clarinet with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra before eventually moving into management and leadership roles, starting the Scotia Festival of Music in 1980 with Robert Marcellus as Artistic Director. From 1989-1992 Chris was the Artistic and Managing Director of Music Toronto, which was Canada’s largest presenter of chamber music at that time.
Chris sat on many Boards including: The Canadian Association of Youth Orchestras, the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, Upstream and the Symphony Musicians Trust Fund – a three-man Board, that, after the collapse of the Atlantic Symphony, kept orchestra music alive and helped give birth to Symphony Nova Scotia. Chris sat on Canada Council juries eleven times and was awarded an honorary Doctoral Degree in Civil Laws from the University of King’s College.
His passion for chamber music, his giving personality, along with his considerable administrative and leadership skills enabled the people of Halifax to enjoy some of the finest chamber music available anywhere.