Meet Our Artistic Director

Brian Thurgood obtained a Masters of Music Education in Jazz Studies from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Alberta. He has developed both a successful teaching and a varied performance career.

 He was the Percussion/Drumset department head at MacEwan University from 1980 to 2020 where he designed, developed and implemented a successful program curriculum. Many of his students have continued to have careers in music either as educators or

performers including drummers for such acts as Social Code, Nickleback, Jann Arden, Kathleen Edwards, Gord Bamford, Whale and the Wolf and K-OS.

Brian has performed as both a classical/pop percussionist and as a drum set artist. He has performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Opera, Alberta and Winnipeg Ballet Companies, Tommy Banks, Frank Sinatra Jr., Ian Tyson, Ashley MacIssac, Bela Fleck and Stewart Copeland. He has performed over 60 musicals including those at the Citadel Theatre as well as traveling musicals including Ain’t Too Proud, Mary Poppins, Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond.

Brian has also had several articles published in Downbeat and MusicCom magazines. He is also co-writer of “Percussion Clinic” published by First Stroke Publishing. In 2022, Brian purchased Brandenburg Music, an exclusively percussion store and in January

2024 acquired Handbells Etc.

Born in Calgary in 1974, Leo Brooks developed a passion for drumming at an early age, inspired by Animal from The Muppet Show. He received his first drum at nine and never looked back. After studying percussion privately with Gordon Chadney, he joined the Mount Royal Academy of Music and the Calgary Youth Orchestra. He later earned a Bachelor of Music with honors from the University of Lethbridge in 1996, performing with the Lethbridge Symphony and the National Youth Band of Canada.

In 1997, after moving to Ottawa, Leo immersed himself in global hand drumming traditions, particularly the West African djembe. He taught at the Ottawa Folklore Centre for eight years and performed with groups like Pecussimo, Yayé, and Kunundrum. In 2005, he traveled to West Africa for an intensive three-month study of traditional drumming.

Leo is the founder of Treefrog Percussion, where he builds and repairs handcrafted drums and percussion instruments. Since 2006, he has led drumming workshops across Canada, particularly in schools, introducing thousands of students to hand drumming and facilitating drum-building sessions that have produced nearly 5,000 student-made instruments.

A trained drum circle facilitator, Leo studied with Arthur Hull, the pioneer of the modern drum circle movement. In 2009, he launched Rainbow Rhythm Circles, using rhythm to foster community and lead team-building workshops for corporate, educational, and government organizations.

In 2019, Leo began a Master of Arts degree in an Individualized Multidisciplinary program, exploring the intersection of music, education, and new media. He currently resides in Lethbridge, Alberta.

 As a child growing up in the countryside of Mhondoro Province, Zimbabwe, Ronald had the privilege of learning the Shona people's traditions and culture first hand, as there were always traditional music and spiritual activities within the community. Mbira is both the instrument and the music played upon it to invoke the spirits of the ancestors so they may come down to be present among the living and provide a medium for communication between the living and God.

From an early age Ronald was drawn to the mbira. Forbidden to touch it lest he damage it, Ronald would "steal" the mbira when elders were away and practice in solitude. When discovered by them, rather than punishing him, they encouraged him to learn the age-old songs and melodies. At first Ronald was frightened to be present at the ceremonies, but his elders reassured him that the spirits and spirit mediums were loving and kind. Soon Ronald was participating in ceremonies which communicate with the spirits.

Leaving rural Mhondoro Province, Ronald went to Harare for high school. This was followed by an agricultural diploma program at Chibero College and a B.Sc, Honours, in agriculture at the University of Zimbabwe.

In 2009, Ronald embarked on a journey to Canada looking for opportunities for further studies and jobs in agriculture. In Canada he revisited his mbira music that he had not played for a very long time. Teaming up with fellow Zimbabwean Chaka Zinyemba, they played regularly on the grounds of the University of Alberta campus. Together they founded the Mbira Renaissance band in Edmonton, performing at various events around the province of Alberta.

Ronald is exploring the music further under the MbiraSpeaks ideology, playing original compositions as well as traditional Shona mbira. As Ronald says, "The mbira writes the music that satisfies our souls as the Shona people." 

Penny Spalding’s professional career has been centered in wellness and the food industry. She began her journey training as a chef at NAIT and launching her career at the Westin hotel in Edmonton. She
eventually moved to the West Coast and opened a bakery and café on Pender Island. She then trained and worked as a life coach while also continuing her cuisine talents in the form of cooking classes and
managing a bakery dept at Thrifty Foods in Victoria BC. When she moved back to Edmonton she side stepped into the wellness industry as a manager for River Stone Wellness Centre. Most recently Penny
started nutritional training and is now adds holistic nutritional consultant to her tool belt. She has recently started coaching again and now operates her own nutrition and coaching business Lifethyme Concepts.

On a personal level, Penny was raised surrounded by music and storytelling and embracing the sounds and stories of many different cultures. She herself has dabbled with many instruments including guitar, baritone, ukulele, djembe, penny whistles and trumpet. She most recently discovered Marimba with Pasi Gunguwo as her teacher. It is one of the most satisfying things she has done. She brings a passion
for learning about other cultures and believes strongly in the power of music and the arts (and food) to bring people together. What she lacks in musical training she makes up for with her enthusiasm and is thrilled to be able to help build the Izwi Lethu Arts Society as it embodies a cross cultural connection.