You’re invited to come and see a brand new line of performances in our 50th Anniversary Fall 2025 Noon Hour Concert Series! Admission to the building is free, and a sandwich lunch is available for purchase prior to each recital between 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., with the concerts beginning at 12:15 p.m.
About Venturi Winds
The Venturi Winds has existed for almost 50 years. Originally formed by talented musicians who were occasional members of the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the group has continued to evolve. While no longer having association with the symphony, the members play in many of the other music organizations in the area, including the Wellington Winds, Waterloo Chamber Players, and the Kitchener Waterloo Community Orchestra. Over the years the quintet has performed many concerts around Central Ontario, performing public concerts and private functions. With several members arranging music the repertoire has expanded over the years, covering more the four hundred years of music.
Greg Stroh holds an Honours BMus from Wilfrid Laurier University. He continues to play the flute in various settings ranging from solo performances to larger ensembles such as wind bands, woodwind quintet and chamber groups. He is an enthusiastic teacher who enjoys working with students with various goals. He also continues to develop his skill through taking occasional consultation lessons and attending masterclasses. He has had several students who have passed auditions for university and is proud that one of his former students is now a bandmaster in the British army. In addition, he has successfully prepared my students for RCM examinations at various levels. As a teacher, he has found that each student comes as an individual with different strengths. This means that he is constantly adapting to fit the student’s learning style. He believes that each student presents a different challenge and that he can continue to improve as a teacher by trying to serve the needs of his students.
Katrina Keeler actively performs in orchestral, chamber, and solo music. She has been awarded numerous times in different regions for Oboe Solo Performance as well as in New York for Outstanding Instrumental Solo. Katrina teaches oboe privately from her home in Kitchener, and runs Blackwood Double Reed Supplies Inc., one of the the only double reed supply shops in Canada. Performing is her life, and she plays for groups in many different regions including Kitchener-Waterloo, Exeter, Stratford, Guelph, the GTA, Durham Region, London and other locations across Southern Ontario. Currently, Katrina is the Principal Oboist for Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, Waterloo Chamber Players, Arcady, reedStix, Venturi Winds Quintet, Oboe/English horn for Stratford Symphony Orchestra, substitutes for many orchestras, and freelances. You will also see Katrina in recital or soloing with orchestras.
Anita Brooks Kirkland studied clarinet performance and music education at Mount Allison University, Michigan State University, and the University of Toronto, and also holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from San José State University. She has balanced her busy career as a music teacher, teacher-librarian, education consultant, teacher educator, and professional library association leader with a lifetime commitment to music-making. Anita is a longtime member of the Wellington Wind Symphony, and is principal clarinet of Waterloo Chamber Players, as well as a member of Spindrift Wind Quartet. She enjoys frequent opportunities to play with other local groups, including the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Orchestra and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. Playing chamber music gives Anita particular joy, and she looks forward to new opportunities with Spindrift, Venturi Winds, and the Ambrosia Chamber Ensembles.
Ginny Scarfino is a native of Kitchener-Waterloo and began playing clarinet in high school. While working toward a Computer Science degree at University of Waterloo, she began private lessons with former K-W Symphony principal Victor Sawa and studied with him for 18 years. A fellow musician in a chamber music quartet she played in had an extra bassoon, so she borrowed it to give it a whirl. She loved it! After Victor Sawa left K-W, she started bassoon lessons with former K-W Symphony principal, Cedric Coleman. It’s been well over 20 years, and bassoon lessons are still happening! After a 33-year career in IT with Mutual Life/Sun Life/IBM, she retired in 2013, decided to add in piano lessons as well, and studied with long-time Laurier Academy of Music and Arts (LAMA) teacher Terry Kroetsch for 10 years until his passing. Still at LAMA, she now studies piano with Rebekah Jordan-Miller. Ginny is very active in the music community. She plays Principal Bassoon in the Wellington Wind Symphony and the Waterloo Chamber Players, bassoon in the Spindrift Wind Quartet and Venturi Winds Wind Quintet, and Principal Clarinet in the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Orchestra. She performs annually on both clarinet and bassoon in the Noon Hour Concert series put on by St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kitchener. For hobbies, she loves to knit, especially socks, and loves to put together jigsaw puzzles, the bigger the better!
Judith Douglas grew up in Puslinch attending Centennial CVI in Guelph. Having been a vocalist and pianist, she first studied flute but discovered the horn and made the change shen she was 15. Studying at a music camp she connected with a student of Gene Rittich of the TSO and began horn lessons soon after switching to U of T and studying directly with Gene. At the same time she was principal with the KW Youth Orchestra and third horn in the KWSO under Raffi Armenian. Choosing not to follow the professional route she completed an Hon BA in Economics and Finance all the while playing and teaching privately, most recently at U of G. In order to keep playing she helped found the Venturi Wind Quintet and then the Wellington Winds. She was principal in the KWCO, still assisting them when needed, and the Windjammers, a position she still holds. More recently she became the co-ordinator of the Gallery Concert Series in Elora, a member of Spindrift, a wind quartet founded as an online group during Covid, and principal of the Waterloo Chamber Players. She still lives in Puslinch having built a home next door to her childhood farm home (now owned by her daughter). If not doing musical activities, she can be found on the golf course or in the gym.