advancing safe and respectful workplaces
Monday, 30 November 2026 | 1:00 to 2:15 pm ET | Online (Zoom Webinar)
In French and English, with simultaneous interpretation
Canadian orchestras and opera companies are paying ever more attention to issues of safety and respect in the workplace, but there’s still so much more to do. Join us for an update from the people who are leading this work in our sector.
The session will be in both French and English, and simultaneous interpretation will be provided. Jennifer Szeto, Director of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal and co-founder of Opéra Magnolia, will host.
You’ll have a chance to hear a panel of experts, including:
- Angelica Brachelente, lawyer and Senior Project Lead, L’Aparté (Juripop)
- Dr. Karen Suarez Flint, International Vice President, American Federation of Musicians, and Secretary-Treasurer, Chicago Federation of Musicians
- Jemma Jones and Gwen Klassen, co-founders, Safe Music Initiative
- Jaime Martino, Executive Director, Tapestry Opera, and leader of the Changing the Culture working group
About the host and panellists
Jennifer Szeto (host) is a pianist, administrator and teacher. She is Director of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal and co-founder of Opéra Magnolia. A graduate of the Atelier lyrique, San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship, the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and the Merola Opera Program, she has been praised for her “amazing versatility” (Opera Ramblings).
Angelica Brachelente joined Juripop as a lawyer in 2021 and is now Senior Project Lead. She coordinates projects on workplace violence, including L’Aparté, which offers legal support and guidance to people in the cultural sector facing psychological or sexual harassment. She also helps develop legal education tools and awareness activities that promote access to justice. Active in the arts herself, she is secretary of the board of the dance company EBNFLOH and a photographer.
Dr. Karen Suarez Flint is International Vice President of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Musicians, Local 10-208. She led the creation of the AFM’s Change the Culture committee, a group of women leaders working to confront sexual harassment and abuse in the symphonic music world. She also piloted the #NotMe app for anonymous reporting of workplace misconduct, which the AFM later adopted internationally. A horn player, she worked for many years as a freelance orchestral musician and taught horn at Carthage College for over twenty years.
Jemma Jones is Assistant Principal Bass with Symphony Nova Scotia and performs regularly with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. A McGill University graduate, she also teaches double bass and coaches youth orchestras. In 2024, she co-founded Safe Music, a not-for-profit working to prevent and address abuse, harassment, discrimination and retaliation in music work and learning spaces across Canada, where she serves as Board Chair and Secretary.
Gwen Klassen has been Assistant Principal Flute/Piccolo with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for over 30 years and has taught flute at the University of Calgary for more than 23 years. A certified life coach, she founded Wellness and Leadership Inc. At the Calgary Phil, she was founding chair of the Health and Wellness committee and a founding member of its Anti-Racist, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. With her daughter, Jemma Jones, she co-founded Safe Music to address the harm, trauma and systemic inequities embedded in classical music education, performance and auditions.
Jaime Martino believes in transformational change, collective joy and the queer art of failure. Executive Director of Tapestry Opera since 2016, she has co-led three national initiatives, produced 16 world premieres and opened a new theatre in downtown Toronto. She previously led operations for Pride Toronto, including WorldPride 2014. She leads the Changing the Culture working group and is the Jini Stolk Creative Fellow for 2024-2026.
About Conference 365
Conference 365 is a new joint initiative of the Association for Opera in Canada and Orchestras Canada. We’ve designed it – following the success of the O₂ Conference in Edmonton – to sustain the important conversations, learning and connections sparked there. As a year-round virtual series (no travel required!), Conference 365 offers ongoing opportunities for artists, administrators and sector leaders to connect, reflect and grow together across the performing arts sector.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected]