Meet our Music Director, Ann McNamee

Ann was born in Kingston, Jamaica and her family came to Ottawa in 1962 to open the first Jamaican High Commission on Jamaica’s Independence.  She started piano lessons in Jamaica and continued in Ottawa where she also started violin lessons.  She graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1976 with a BMus in Keyboard and String Education.  After graduation and a year in Ohio working as a Graduate Assistance she returned to Ottawa and finished her BMus in Organ Performance.   Ann was the Assistant Organist  with Bill France at Dominion Chalmers then Carman Milligan at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.  She was the organist at St Timothy’s Presbyterian Church and Emmanuel United before taking the post of Music Director at St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church and then at Trinity United Church.  She did a lot of accompanying of vocal students and was one of the founding teachers of the National Capital Suzuki School of Music and the first choir director for the Bytown Voices.  In 2004 she returned to Jamaica to work at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where she was Head of the Piano and String Department.  In 2010 she was the Music Director of the newly formed National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica and El Sistema Program.  While in Jamaica she received her FTCL (Fellow of Trinity College of London). Ann returned to Ottawa in 2020 and joined the Parkdale Orchestra and in 2024 Emmanuel United as an interim Organist and Choir Director.