Leadership

Samantha was appointed the Board Chair in October 2023 and has been on the Oakville Symphony Board since 2000. She is past Chair of the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO), an affiliate organization of the Oakville Symphony.

Samantha is currently a Principal of Balsam Advisory Group Inc., an investor relations, capital, and governance advisory firm. While originally trained as a chemical engineer, Samantha has been a financial professional in the Canadian capital markets for over 25 years having had executive roles at CIBC World Markets, Genworth Canada and Intact Financial and Sagicor Financial. She is also the co-founder of FinStart, a non-profit organization focused on financial literacy for youth.

Samantha is a Board Trustee at Queen’s University, where she serves on two committees. She also sits on the Investment Committees of the Appleby College Foundation and the Boann Social Impact Fund. Her past board leadership roles include Women in Capital Markets and the Canadian Institute of Investor Relations. A longtime Oakville resident, she lives there with her husband and their three young adult children.

Kumar Balan attributes his love for music from attending concerts with his daughter, a violinist with the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra where he serves as a co-Chair. His connection with the Oakville Symphony commenced when his son performed as a Young Artist with the orchestra. He draws inspiration from the creative minds at Oakville Symphony, within and outside the board and offers his often-solicited advice to different governing aspects.

Outside of the fun world of music, Kumar is a Mechanical Engineer and works with Aerospace, Automotive, Steel, and other advanced manufacturing sectors.

Kumar has authored over 80 technical papers in his field of expertise and continues to be an active member of the SAE Aerospace Surface Enhancement Committee.

Jeany Kyung-Ah Jang is a graduate of Western University and George Brown College with a B.Sc. Major in Biology and Diploma in Office Administration in Health Services, respectively. Her passion to work with and to help others has led her to Halton Healthcare. She has been actively involved in various music groups since she was young: Columbus Children’s Choir and Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra in Ohio, USA and Conference of Independent School Music Festival (CISMF) in Canada.

Currently, Jeany is a member of the Oakville Symphony (OS) and Masterworks of Oakville since 2016. Being a member of the Oakville Symphony thrills her with harmonies that the members create together, and has been a driving force to overcome Monday blues. Jeany sits on the Music Director Search Committee and looks forward to working with the Board this season.

With over 12 years of experience in financial management and analysis, Jennifer excels in strategic financial planning, budget management, and process improvement. Her career focuses on enhancing financial transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency. Jennifer has led financial system modernizations and data-driven decision-making, consistently delivering results that boost organizational effectiveness.

Dr. Mira Backo-Shannon is the Board Secretary. She is a Queen’s Medical School graduate, has worked in the Mississauga Halton region for 15 years. In her initial role as a physician hospitalist at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Dr. Backo-Shannon held several leadership positions, including President of the Professional Staff Association and Director of the Hospital Medicine Program. She later moved into community family practice, co-founding the OakMed Family Health Team, where she served as Physician Lead and Medical Director.

She joined the Mississauga Halton LHIN in 2013 as the Primary Care Physician Lead, where she was also Chair of the Primary Care Network and the Primary Care Steering Committee. She remains Program Chief and Medical Director of Primary Care, Seniors Care, Palliative Care, Rehab and Complex Continuing Care at Trillium Health Partners. Dr. Backo-Shannon is a Lecturer at the University of Toronto and an Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University medical schools. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of Toronto.

Natalie Cabri is a graduate from the University of Toronto with a double major in History and Criminology, and the University of London with a Masters in Medieval Studies. Natalie is a project management executive with years of experience delivering transformational programs spanning business and technology in the Financial services and Insurance industries.

An avid musician, Natalie has played with numerous community orchestras, wind ensembles, musical pit orchestras and concert bands over the years. She has been a volunteer member of the Oakville Symphony since 2007 and was part of the OS 50th Anniversary Committee. Prior board experience includes the Mississauga Youth Orchestra player representative and participating in establishing the Silverthorn Symphonic Winds ensemble.

Coming from a family where almost everybody played a musical instrument, I started to play classical music from the age of 3. My first instrument was the violin but around age 6, my mother got me a cello. I have never looked back. Around the age of 8 I met Susan Gagnon, one of the most influential people in my life. She introduced me to the Young Artist Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. There I continued to improve my musical knowledge, learning about music theory and history, and being a part of an orchestra and quartet. Even after 12 years of music training, my passion for it is still very strong and is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Jose Shapero graduated from the University of Toronto with Bachelor and Masters degrees in cello and piano. He has been Principal Cellist and guest soloist with several professional and community orchestras before joining the Oakville Symphony in 1987. Jose has recorded for commercials and television shows. He was very active with school performances as part of the Meet a Musician program was music director at North Bramalea United Church in Brampton for the past 25 years.

Jose is still active as cello coach with the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra.  He plays on a beautiful 18th century Italian cello made by Luigi Venturini.

Kyle Tettman is an experienced executive leader with a strong background in marketing, operations, logistics, and start-up growth. He has spent his career optimizing business processes, leading teams, and driving strategic initiatives across multiple industries, including marketing agencies, health tech, and manufacturing.

An Oakville resident since 2011, Kyle and his wife have embraced all the town has to offer—from exploring its greenspaces to supporting local businesses and attending its vibrant cultural events. As a board member of the Oakville Symphony, he brings his strategic and operational expertise to support the organization’s mission. An avid music enthusiast, he also enjoys playing the trumpet.

Peter VanDuzer completed an undergrad in Economics at UWO before going on to computer science at McMaster University. Notwithstanding his left-brained studies, Peter has always nurtured a not-so-secret appreciation for Music; he played trombone in band and made sure his own sons had as much musical training as possible. His elder son was a cellist with the Halton Youth Symphony, and his youngest played with the Oakville Symphony as a Young Artist (Double Bass) for several of his high school years.

Outside of his work commitments, Peter co-founded a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing music to as many school-aged kids as possible, and has for many years advocated for music education and ensemble collaboration. Thanks to a long career with Rona/Lowes in management, he brings to the Arts a strong understanding of how to work within organizational structures and yet ensure an open approach to opportunities and alignments. Peter understands, above all, that community music-making is one of our greatest gifts, essential to general and mental health, something to be fostered and promoted. Social commitment has always been important to him, from Board work with Big Brothers in his 20s and long-term committee participation on The Lawson Foundation to many years of volunteering with local schools and music outreach. He has presented on music advocacy to conferences in Chicago, Cleveland, and Burlington, VT, as well as several Ontario professional forums.