DIRECTORS

Ian Grant was born and raised in New Glasgow, graduating from NNEC in 2007. He received his BA in Music (Jazz Studies) from STFX in 2011, and continued on to Memorial University where he completed his Bachelor of Music Education in 2014. After being away from Pictou County for several years of post-secondary education, Ian spent his first few years back teaching music at Dr. W. A. MacLeod Consolidated School in Riverton. Ian has a passion for music, education, community and the arts.

Ian has been performing in and around Pictou County since joining multiple groups through Junior and High school. He is a regular performer in the jazz and rock scene, and in local community musical theatre productions throughout the county including the annual Rotary Club of Pictou musical. Ian also leads the annual NNEC Alumni Big Band Christmas Show, and can be seen as a sideman to many local acts. He has served as the Event Coordinator for New Glasgow’s Art at Night, an annual evening of art spread throughout downtown New Glasgow in the springtime since 2018.

Fueled by her own musical experiences in the New Glasgow community, Sheila developed a provincial-winning middle school choral program at New Glasgow Academy before taking the reins of the NNEC program in 2020, leading the program through the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A graduate of Acadia University and Memorial University with degrees in music and music education, her passion lies in music education and choral conducting. Under her direction, NNEC choirs were recently recognized as the top high school choirs in the province, and were nominated to the national level. Knowing that our choirs include all interested students, ranging from those with a deep wealth of music experience, to newcomers to the choral genre, this is an incredible accomplishment for our program.

Sheila is proud to hold the seat of Vice Chair with the Nova Scotia Music Education Council: an organization which reflects her commitment to ongoing advocacy for music education in Nova Scotia for our students now, and well into the future. She is the Artistic Director of the New Glasgow Youth Choir, recent Regional Conductor for the Children's Chorus of Nova Scotia and newly-announced Resident Conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons.