Principal Researchers

The Lead Contractor is McGill University. The partner organizations are the University of British Columbia, the Banff Centre, Humber College, the National Youth Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

John Roston

The project coordinator and video systems lead will be John Roston who was until recently Director of Instructional Multimedia Services at McGill He is currently an independent video systems consultant and Adjunct Professor of Music Research in McGill’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology. He has previously coordinated major research projects funded by Industry Canada and CANARIE including “McGill Advanced Learnware Network,” “Remote Video Interpreting using CA*net3,” “Shared Spaces – High Definition Ultra-Videoconferencing” and “ Undersea Window – High Definition Video Online.”

Jeremy Cooperstock

The project’s software development and network transmission engineering tasks are the responsibility of Jeremy Cooperstock, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill, member of the Centre for Intelligent Machines and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology. He has published over 90 refereed papers, and led the technical development of several pioneering network communication systems. His work has been recognized by a Distinction Award from the Audio Engineering Society.  

Wieslaw Woszczyk

The audio systems lead will be Wieslaw Woszczyk, James McGill Professor of Sound Recording and Founding Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media and Technology. He also founded the Graduate Program in Sound Recording at McGill. He recently completed a term as President of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and is internationally recognized as an expert in his field.

Gordon Foote

Leading the user group “virtual organization” is Gordon Foote, Associate Dean (Academic & Student Affairs) of the Schulich School of Music at McGill. He directs the McGill Jazz Orchestra and has participated in previous research, development and demonstrations of the McGill Ultra-Videoconferencing system.

Mark Zuberbuhler

Managing the UBC participation will be Mark Zuberbuhler who is Executive Producer/Director for UBC Telestudios, the facilities that will be used for video recording development and user testing.

Nancy Hermiston

As a Canadian lyric coloratura, Nancy Hermiston established herself as one of Europe’s most versatile and exciting vocal artists. She is Head of the Voice and Opera Division of the UBC School of Music. She will lead the voice part of the project.