Tuesday, June 11th

Megan Benjafield is a passionate educator whose teaching career spans 25 years across three school boards. She has taught in the TLDSB, the TDSB and the HWDSB covering courses in strings, band, voice, music theatre, jazz studies and contemporary music studies. Most notably, Megan spent a decade on faculty at Etobicoke School of the Arts, and more recently, was lead teacher for the HWDSB Secondary Strings program.

Beyond the classroom, Megan has provided professional development across Ontario to peers, colleagues, and future music teachers. As a member of the first-draft curriculum revision writing team for the current Ontario Secondary Music Curriculum, Megan collaborated to help shape the direction of music education in Ontario. She was also a member of the board of directors for the Ontario Strings Association from 2016-2023. Currently, Megan is a session-
al faculty professor at McMaster University, teaching strings methods.

As a professional performer, Megan held a first violin chair in the Niagara Symphony Orchestra for over a decade and has been a substitute player for several professional orchestras across Southern Ontario. As an interdisciplinary artist, Megan has been a sought-after incidental music composer for various theatre companies, and wrote, directed and music-directed her own original musical Breadwinner at the Toronto Fringe Festival. She has further performed as a singer and singer/songwriter.

Megan is currently working as Music Education Manager for the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and is the General Manager for the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.