Sheila Vandikas
Filipino-Canadian pianist Sheila Vandikas has led an active musical career that has taken her across North America, Europe, and Asia. With over three decades of teaching experience, her passion for cultivating a love of music in aspiring musicians has driven her to build a thriving music studio based in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.
A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, Sheila has studied with Patricia Parr, Irina Kugucheva, and Ruth Nieboer. Sheila is the recipient of several awards and scholarships, both as a performer and as a teacher. Sheila is a former music teacher, course liaison, and national consultant for Yamaha Canada Music, and has taught both students and teachers alike. Active as a collaborative pianist, she has worked alongside the University of Toronto's Contemporary Music Ensemble and Early Music Ensemble, as well as the Tapestry Chamber Choir. As a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association, she has served as an executive member for two local branches, and also held the position of GTA Zone Representative, Young Artist, Pedagogy and Member Initiatives Convener on the ORMTA Provincial Council.
In her spare time, Sheila enjoys writing compositions, transcriptions and arrangements. Most notably, her arrangement of Libertango for piano four-hands was featured on CBC's In Concert. Over the years, she has been an associate member of the Association of Canadian Women Composers, and has adjudicated grade exams and music festivals in Ontario. Currently, she is the RCM Newmarket Exams Representative and the director of MuSix Studio and Services, where both she and her husband maintain a busy teaching and performing schedule along with their four children. The entire family was showcased in Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket's 2018 series, Three for the Show.
Sheila's other interests include cycling, running, yoga, and training in the martial arts-specifically Meibukan Goju karate. She currently resides in Newmarket, with her husband George, and their four children.