Team

Kenn Mainville, President & CEO

Kenn Mainville began his tenure as President &
CEO of the internationally acclaimed New
Brunswick Youth Orchestra and its Sistema NB
program in early 2024.

As an experienced organizational leader, he is
driving significant advancements in NBYO's and
Sistema NB's operations, solidifying their role as
a key social impact organization in New
Brunswick.

Kenn’s journey with Sistema NB, both as a
former board member (2010-2014) and as the
father of a former teaching artist, has given him
a unique perspective that he brings to his role.
His commitment and understanding of the
organization's mission are deeply personal.

With a blend of passion, strategic vision, and
collaborative leadership, Kenn is dedicated to
leading NBYO and Sistema NB into a vibrant
future, focused on fostering community
engagement and nurturing the next generation
of musical talent.

Contact: kmainville@nbyo-ojnb.com
(506) 229-1924

Ken MacLeod

Ken is the former founder and President of KMA Consultants, a consulting firm specializing in fundraising and communications for non-profit organizations, serving charitable organizations throughout Canada.  From 1995 - 1999 he served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. He is a recipient of the Governor General’s ‘Meritorious Service Medal’, Order of Moncton, Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar, and a Paul Harris Fellow.  He has served on numerous local, regional and national Boards and is a frequent presenter at symposia and conferences.

Contact: 506-961-1530; kmacleod@nbyo-ojnb.com 

Antonio Delgado, Music Director & Conductor

Since August 2010 Delgado has been the Musical Director and conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO) and in 2011 led the NBYO to 1st place in the orchestra division, with outstanding distinction, of the “Summa Cum Laude” International Youth Music Competition, held in Vienna, Austria.  In addition Delgado is Music Director and Conductor of the NBYO’s outreach program, Sistema NB, serving children and youth throughout New Brunswick in an after-school orchestral music program.

“Full of vivacity and sparkle,” (Diario El Nacional. Caracas).

Maestro Antonio Delgado, born in Caracas, Venezuela, owes much of his musical education to the world-renowned El Sistema program (National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela)

Though he has conducted every major orchestra in Venezuela, Delgado has not hoarded his talents, as performance dates in Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Canada and Panama clearly attest. 

From 2005 to 2010 Delgado was Musical Director of the National Theatre "Teresa Carreño" the largest arts centre in South American.  During this time he conducted the major orchestras of the country in symphonic concerts, ballets and operas, garnering particular acclaim for his “very elegant musical direction and his absolute mastery” of ballet and opera scores (Diario La Voz. Caracas).

Contact: 506-854-9949; tonydelgado@nbyo-ojnb.com

 

Donald Matheson, Director of Community Engagement

Don Matheson has been Executive Director of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra since 2008.  He has led in the development of the provincial orchestra program which received numerous honors, including, Arts Organization-of-the-Year Award from the NB Foundation for the Arts in 2010 and, in 2011, a first place win in the prestigious SCL International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, Austria.  Don has been instrumental in the implementation of the NBYO's Sistema NB program.

Don has devoted over thirty years to sales management, business development, marketing, consulting, and not-for-profit administration.

Don's other community engagement includes Mount Royal United Church, Scouts Canada, Camp Centennial, Moncton Kiwanis Minor Basketball Association, Irving Men’s Hoop Classic, Greater Moncton Dragon Boat Festival, Canadian Cancer Society, Terry Fox Run, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.

Contact: 506-866-7920; drmatheson@nbyo-ojnb.com

 

Chris Evans, Chief Administration Officer

Christopher Evans became Chief Administrative Officer in 2015, after serving as treasurer and a director of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, Inc. from 2000. As a key member of the Executive Management team, he assumed responsibility for leading the organization’s financial and administrative operations, including Human Resources, accounting, corporate governance, risk management and information technology.

He served as the Chief Financial Officer of the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation from June 2007 to September 2014. Prior to joining the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation, he held key roles at Bell Aliant, J.D. Irving, Limited and KPMG. A Bachelor of Commerce (honours) graduate of the University of Manitoba, he is a Chartered Professional Accountant and also holds a Certified Public Accountant designation in the United States.

An active member of the community, he has served on a number of local and provincial boards and committees. He is currently secretary-treasurer of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra Foundation Inc. and treasurer of Cultureplus – Cultural Human Resources Council of NB.

His experiences, combined with leadership roles in charities and not-for-profit organizations result in his expertise in the cultural sector. Also, it helps he is a big orchestral music and opera fan.

Contact: +1 506 343-0333; cevans@nbyo-ojnb.com

Jonathan Astley, Chief Operations Officer

Born and raised in Lloydminister, Saskatchewan, Jonathan has since come to make New Brunswick home; working alongside the dedicated team at Sistema NB. Jonathan began his role as Chief Operations Officer in August of 2023. He is the former
Centre Director of Sistema NB’s Moncton Centre, the largest Sistema-inspired program in Canada with 300 students attending daily and twenty-two professional staff, a position he held from 2017-2023.

A fellow of the 2020 Salzburg Global Seminars for Young Cultural Innovators, Jonathan is passionate about community development through the arts. This passion has fuelled his work as a teaching artist with Sistema NB, the Moncton Youth Orchestra and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and as an Artist in Residence with the Anglophone East School District in 2020. Through this work, Jonathan was recognized in 2022 as one of Moncton’s top 20 under 40.

Over the course of his career, Jonathan has performed with many orchestras, including Tutta Musica, Symphony New Brunswick, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan is a founding member of the East Coast Brass Quintet and recently performed with the wind quintet Ventus Machina at the 2018 East Coast Music awards. He has performed in recitals at various Canadian Universities such as Memorial University, Mount Allison University and université de Moncton and was a member of the 2015 National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the 2014 National Academy Orchestra of Canada. One of Jonathan’s favourite moments as a performer was performing at the 2015 Juno awards backing up the Canadian rock group the Arkells in their hit single Come To Light.

Jonathan earned a Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University with majors in orchestra performance and music theory. As well, Jonathan received an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s prestigious Glenn Gould School. Jonathan currently resides in Moncton, New Brunswick with his wife Caitlin, son Theodore, and dog Mahlee.

Contact: 506-961-5862; jastley@nbyo-ojnb.com

Carlos Armao, Centre Director (Miramichi)

Born in Venezuela, Carlos started his musical path in a Nucleo called La Rinconada, part of the large group of El Sistema Centers that serve the city of Caracas, where he grew up playing in an orchestra and singing in a choir.

Carlos is a former member of the violin section of the Caracas Symphony Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and has played under the baton of internationally acclaimed Maestros including Gustavo Dudamel, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, Placido Domingo, Nikolaj Znaider, Dietrich Paredes and Boris Brott, among others.

With the Caracas Symphony Youth Orchestra, he has participated in tours in the most important theatres in Russia, Vienna, Prague, Portugal and Norway as well as some of the most important music festivals in the world including the Beethoven Fest in Bonn, the Ravello Festival and the Bergen International Music Festival. 

Carlos graduated from McGill University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in Musical Arts in violin performance under the tutelage of Prof. Mark Fewer, one of the best Canadian violinists and pedagogues.

In September 2015, he joined the Sistema New Brunswick and NBYO family, serving as a Teaching Artist and Centre Director for the Sistema NB Centre in Miramichi, where he enjoys spending his days teaching, performing, and enjoying the river.

carmao@nbyo-ojnb.com 

Swan Serna, Centre Director (Elsipogtog First Nation)

Born in Mexico City, Swan Serna was appointed the Sistema New Brunswick Richibucto Center Director in 2012 and in 2016 he was also the Centre Director in Elsipogtog First Nation noon program. He held both positions until July 2021. In September 2022 became Centre Director in Elsipogtog First Nation of the new afterschool program. He holds a master degree in Instrument Pedagogy at Université Laval and a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Mr. Serna has participated in master classes led by Zoria Shijmurzaieva, Guela  Dubrova and the Amati String Quartet. He obtained a diploma for his participation in the chamber music workshops led by the Latino-americano String Quartet from 1999 to 2000. He has also participated in composition and contemporary music workshops led by Mario Lavista in Mexico and with Malcolm Singer (former Director of Music at The Yehudi Menuhin School) in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Serna composed the music for two short films by producer José Luis Linares. From 2005 to 2007, he composed the music and arrangements for the ensemble “Kátaros” as well as the original music for the theatre piece “Trahison” by Harold Pinter. He also composed the musical arrangements and produced the CD “Del Amor y otras mareas” in 2003. He has adjudicated the “Concours Jeunesses” Quebec-Ontario.

In 2009 he completed his first symphonic composition in Montreal entitled “Poema Sinfónico La Quebrada” played by the Moncton Youth Orchestra in 2019.  In 2016 his duo for two violins Richibucto River was premiered by two of his Sistema students at the Gala concert of the Greater Moncton Music Festival.

Mr. Serna has led a performing career in Mexico in concert, radio and television. He performed as first violin with the string quartet “Alebrije” from 1997 to 2004. He also is a member of Tutta Musica orchestra in New Brunswick.

In August 2018 he premiered and performed in Sherborne UK his piece entitled "Esperanza para violin solo”.

During the Summer 2021, he finished his first short film entitled Lydius, sponsored by Canadian Heritage. Lydius is a story of hope in a better humanity that is accompanied by several of his compositions.

He has performed at several festivals in Canada and he is an active chamber musician, performing frequently with pianist Dulce María Alarcón.

Nicole MacDonald, Centre Director (Richibucto)

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nicole began playing the cello in the Halifax All-City Schools String Program. In Halifax she studied privately with Colin Matthews and was a member of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra under the direction of Gregory Burton from 2003-2005. In 2005 moved to Montreal to pursue a Bachelors of Fine Arts at Concordia University under the tutelage of Hélène Gagné, graduating in 2010 with a specialization in Music Performance and a minor in Psychology.

In Montreal she played with several ensembles including Sérénade, Les Archets Gallants, Róisín Milis and Trio Trifoi. She also played with several popular music groups, releasing two albums with folk-rock band Glass Passenger and appearing on several other music and film recordings including Jef (Elle) Barbara and The Franco Proietti Morph-tet.

In 2012, Nicole made the move to New Brunswick to become a Teaching Artist with Sistema NB. She has taught cello, double-bass, violin and viola and has worked in both the Richibucto and Elsipogtog Centres. In the summer of 2021 became Centre Director of both the Richibucto and Elsipogtog Centres of Sistema NB. Nicole is a member of Tutta Musica and continues to perform whenever possible for local events.

Rachel Kidd, Centre Director (Saint John)

Rachel Kidd grew up in Saint John, N.B. and played with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and Symphony NB before moving to Montreal. She attended McGill University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance and also studied Mathematics and Film-Score Composition.

She went on and taught violin and composed music in Vancouver and Halifax. In Halifax, she taught in the Halifax string program, coached and performed with various community orchestras, released a CD of original compositions, and continued her freelance composing/arranging business.

In 2013 she moved back to Saint John to teach violin for New Brunswick’s Sistema program.  In the fall of 2018, she started as Centre Director for the Saint John Centre. Since returning to New Brunswick, there has been increased demand for her work as a violinist and composer/arranger. She has recently had two commissioned compositions for the Saint John Chamber Orchestra, been hired as an arranger by Symphony NB, NBYO, Tutta Musica, and Sistema NB. She performs with Tutta Musica and Symphony NB, and also has been performing since 2016 with her Clarinet Quintet, Port City 5. Rachel lives in uptown Saint John with her husband and 9-year old son and also enjoys participating in triathlons.

Sébastien Sirois, Centre Director (Edmundston)

Sébastien Sirois is a double bassist from New Brunswick now established in his native region, Madawaska county. He has been involved with Sistema NB since 2011 as a double bass teacher and was also a member of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra for several years, which was of great importance to him.

He has been back in Edmundston since 2018 and, in 2019, became the director of the Sistema NB center in Edmundston, where he oversees the development and outreach of the program.

His interest in music led him to obtain his bachelor's degree in classical music from the Université de Moncton and then to continue his studies in jazz music at Capilano University in North Vancouver.

Having performed with the New Brunswick and PEI Symphony, the Tutta Musica Orchestra, l’Orchestre Philharmonique du Haut-Saint-Jean, the Triade group and the Melawndo Trio, Sébastien enjoys playing in an orchestra as well as in a small jazz ensemble in order to share his passion for music and the double bass in his community.

Sébastien and his girlfriend are parents of a young boy, Noah, and live in Saint-Jacques.

Victor Vivas, Centre Director (Fredericton)

Victor Vivas was born in Venezuela and began his music studies with El Sistema, where he was able to develop both his individual and ensemble playing skills from a very early age. Victor completed his violin studies at the Academia Latinoamericana de Violin in Venezuela with Jose Francisco Del Castillo, then later at the Kayaleh Violin Academy in Switzerland with Habib Kayaleh. He has participated in masterclasses with many acclaimed pedagogues, including Viktor Pikaisen, Laurence Kayaleh, Virginie Robilliard, Aaron Rosand and Olivier Charlier.

As an orchestral violinist, Victor has performed with the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra in Berlin, the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra in France-Italy, Soloistes de Genève in Switzerland and was a member of the Orquestra do Algarve in Portugal and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, Claudio Abbado, Benjamin Zander, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Sergiu Comissiona, Domingo Hindoyan, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Alexander Shelley, among others.

Victor has ten years of teaching experience with the main El Sistema violin academy: Academia Latinoamericana de Violin. Many of his former students are currently professional musicians in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina.

Victor Vivas joined Sistema New Brunswick in January 2018, as the Fredericton Centre Director; he is a regular performer with Tutta Musica, and First Violins coach of New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and member of the Elm City String Quartet.

Seán O'Brien, Center Director (Moncton)

Seán O'Brien first joined the Sistema NB and NBYO family in September of 2020, serving as a temporary cello Teaching Artist in Richibucto and Elsipogtog during the pandemic. He soon after became the Sistema NB Tracadie Centre Director until the fall of 2023 when he became the Director for the Sistema NB Moncton Center, where he continues to teach cello.

Born from a long line of violinists and fiddlers, Seán began his musical training at age 4. He has since become a violinist, cellist, violist, guitarist, oboist, flautist, harpist, pianist and a classical/folk singer. His musical passion led him to study music at Vanier College, Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal as well as the Musikhochschule in Freiburg, Germany. He has played in various symphony orchestras as well as numerous chamber groups over the years in his career. He represented Ireland for Canada's 150th celebration in Ottawa as a guest soloist. 

Seán is also a music teacher with over 20 years experience. Before he left Quebec, he was a rehearsal conductor as well as a cello and viola coach for various youth orchestras in Montreal, such as the MRYO and the WIYSO as well as for the St Lawrence College to name a few. He was also Head Teacher in a center for Sistema Quebec until March 2020. 

Contact: (506) 962-5272; sobrien@nbyo-ojnb.com