Committee Members
Bob Miller is a life-long Hamiltonian and a veteran of the steel wars. Jazz music is one of his many great interests and it was on that basis that he agreed to chair the newly formed Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Jazz, back in 2000, when it was evident the Mohawk music department could use a little help. Bob, Rosemary and family lead a full and active life but there is always time put aside to work closely with the great SFMM volunteers on matters important to the success of the Mohawk music programme.
Pat Collins was raised in Qualicum Beach, B.C. He attended Malaspina College in Nanaimo, B.C., and in 1986 received a grant from the Canada Council to attend the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Ma., where he studied for two years. In 1988, Pat moved to Toronto, where he has been very active on the Canadian jazz scene, performing with great musicians such as Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Herb Ellis, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Cobb, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Oliver Jones, Peter Appleyard, Diana Krall, Don Thompson, and many others.
Nick Deutsch has been a full-time member of the Music Department at Mohawk College since 1978 and Co-ordinator of the program from 1992 to 2005. Before joining Mohawk College, he was busy working in the Toronto scene, musical director of many dinner theatres, 4 years at the Four Season Hotel as band leader, etc. As a jazz pianist he worked with Ranee Lee, Phil Nimmons, Ed Bickert, Pat Collins, Mike Malone, Dave McMurdo and many more. He currently performs regularly at the Hamilton Club (Thursdays)
A founding member of the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music, Mike has been a member of the full-time faculty of the Music department at Mohawk since 1986.As a trumpet player and composer/arranger, he has been part of the Canadian Jazz music scene since the early 1970′s. He is featured as a writer and performer with Nimmons & 9 plus 6, The Ted Moses Quintet, Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra, Ranee Lee, Ted’s Warren Commission, The Alex Dean Quintet, The Brass Connection II, and The Kieran Overs Nonet to name a few.In addition to his work at Mohawk College, Mike is a clinician for Yamaha Music Canada and conducts improvisation workshops at York University in Toronto.
Patricia Malone is originally from Mexico City and has been residing in Hamilton for approximately the past twenty years with her husband, Mike Malone and two sons, Jesse and Benjamin. She is a soprano in the St. Joseph’s Church senior choir and is passionate about opera and jazz. She often listens to traditional Mexican songs and loves to dance, especially to Latin rhythms. She is an administrative assistant at a private investigator’s corporate head office in Hamilton.
Saxophonist Darcy Hepner has performed with a multitude of legendary performers including BB King, Aretha Franklin, Kenny Wheeler, Sergio Mendes, and Henry Mancini and toured internationally with Blood Sweet & Tears, Buster Poindexter and Artie Shaw. He was the Founding Department Head of the Selkirk College Music Program in Nelson, BC and a full-time faculty member at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Darcy is on faculty at Mohawk College and teaches improvisation, arranging, ear training, ensembles and saxophone
Larry Paikin (L) is on the Advisory Board of the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band and the Applied Music Advisory Committee of Mohawk College. He recently passed his RCM Grade 8 Clarinet Examination, only 52 years after taking his first lesson! He is pictured with his hero, Phil Nimmons(R).
Jan was a Senior Buyer with Hershey Canada for 30 years. Now retired, she enjoys Jazz, opera, gardening, golf, travel and especially her grandchildren. She is proud of the good work accomplished by SFFM.Mel and his family owned the Flamingo Tavern in Hamilton in the late 40′s and 50′s. They featured jazz in the mid 50′s with such notables as Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, George Auld, Moe Koffman and others. Local musicians were invited to sit in on Saturday afternoon jam sessions. In another genre, Conway Twitty got his start at the Flamingo. Mel was also associated with Mor Car Wash for many years. In his retirement he enjoys good music, golf, his grandchildren and his association with SFFM.
A native of Montreal, Jasper lived in Ottawa, Windsor and London, Ontario before moving to Hamilton in 1989 to begin his practice of law. A former member of the HECFI Board of Directors, which manages Hamilton’s entertainment and convention facilities, he is now negotiating the development of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Toronto. The proud father of 13 year old Alexander, Jasper is committed to helping develop a new state-of-the-art home for Mohawk’s music department.
Carol Shields has been a professor at Mohawk College since 1990, and has taught Communications, Literature, and post-secondary English as a Second Language to many of the College’s Music graduates. Her husband, Bob, is a graduate of Applied Music, and has taught guitar at Mohawk for over ten years. Carol has sung a cappella harmony for 20 years in successful competing quartets and served for ten years as a Musical Director of the award-winning Circle of Harmony Chorus in Oakville, ON. Carol had been hanging music and musicians for so long that she finally decided to become a jazz vocal student, and she enjoys studying part-time while continuing to teach at the College. She is proud to contribute to Music Education in Hamilton as a member of the Steeltown Friends.
Carissa Kimbell is a new addition to the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music and a jazz voice student at Mohawk College. Raised in the outskirts of Caledonia, Ontario, she always had an inexplicable love for this city known as ‘Steeltown’ and enjoyed open mics and gigging in the downtown core throughout high school. Carissa is currently spending much of her time in practice rooms and assisting in the planning of the Fall Concert, sponsored and mentored by the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music. Carissa has reaped the benefits first hand from the Steeltown friends , experiencing masterclasses, amazing concerts and an undying support. She is very thankful for the opportunity to become a member of such a dedicated group of music lovers and enablers and hopes to continue her involvement as long as possible.

Full Committee Members List
Terry Basom, Marcel Bergmann, Pat Collins, Nick Deutsch,
Gord Dowbiggin, Mel Gunn, Jan Gunn, Darcy Hepner,
Chris Hunt, Carissa Kimbell, Jasper Kujavsky, Mike Malone,
Patricia Malone, Ray Marsh, Mary McKay, Bob Miller,
Bill Nelson, Larry Paikin, Carol Shields

The Resource/Advisory Group
Christina DiFranco, Ally Griffiths, Astrid Hepner, Emily Kemp
Tiffany Ormerod, Colina Phillips, Mike Robinson, Dan Weiss

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