2025 Adjudicators

Abra Whitney is a sought after singer, educator, choral conductor, clinician and arts administrator from St. John's, NL, and holds a BMus in Vocal Performance and an MMus in Choral Conducting, both from the University of Alberta.

As a performer, Abra is a frequent collaborator with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and Opera on the Avalon, and has enjoyed working on stage with Ta Da! Events, Atlantic Light Theatre, Theatre St. John's, and Best Kind Productions. She has also produced her own performance series featuring the music of Nina Simone, Edith Piaf, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Broadway Musicals. Her most recent performance was as a featured performer at the Majestic Theatre's show "Rumour Has It"-The music of Adele.

As an educator, Abra works at Intervals Music Studio in St. John's, as a Private Piano and Voice teacher, and develops the curriculum for the Do-Re-Mi and You Group Vocal Class, focusing on integrating science, math, visual art, and technology into creative learning. Approaching learning from a theoretical and anatomical perspective which speaks directly to the needs of young singers. She has been nominated for the MusicNL's Educator of the Year award, and has a keen interest in play-based learning, keeping the joy in performing, and cultivating a person-first centric studio environment.

As a conductor, Abra is the Artistic Director and General Manager for the Coastal Sounds Choir Association (Coastal Sounds Community Choir and Aurora Women's Choir). Active in the Conception Bay South area of Newfoundland, CSCA is dedicated to maintaining inclusive, community group singing, while encouraging and challenging singers to explore their abilities. Aurora Women's Choir competed in the National level of the Kiwanis Music Festival in 2022, and look forward to working towards this goal again this year. Abra has also enjoyed working as a Chorus Master for Opera on the Avalon's productions, Shawnadithit and The Phantom of the Opera. She is an active, and enthusiastic voice for choral music in the province, and is a proud founding member of Projekt Chamber Voices, and alumni member of Shallaway Youth Choir, Lady Cove Women's Choir, Quintessential Vocal Ensemble and Pro Coro Canada.

As an adjudicator, Abra has enjoyed adjudicating both the Clarenville and Gander Kiwanis Music Festivals and the Southern Manitoba Music Teachers' Association's online festival.

As an arts administrator, Abra has worked on numerous productions as Production Manager (Sidewalk Dandelion-Shallaway Youth Choir; Everybody Calm the **** Down-Artistic Fraud), as General Manager of Opera on the Avalon and Coastal Sounds Choir Association, and as Curriculum Creator and Administrative Support for Intervals Music Studio.