Zeena Zaiyouna is an orchestral conductor, oboist, pianist, clinician and educator. Together with a Master of Lifelong Learning (M.Ed.) from Denmark and a degree in oboe performance from Queen’s University, Zeena has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Ontario Pops Orchestra and has taught music and performance at all levels of the school system. This includes directing the Symphonic Band for the Canadian Independent Music School Festival (2019) at Roy Thomson Hall.
Zeena’s musical background includes piano improvisation and studying orchestral conducting with Maestro Andre Presser in Holland and Maestro Harold Faberman at Bard College in New York state. She has performed oboe and English horn with orchestras, including the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, Ontario Pops Orchestra, Harthouse Orchestra, Counterpoint Orchestra, and Kindred Spirits Orchestra. She is also a Toronto and Ontario Arts Council recording artist recipient.
As an arts advocate for youth leadership and mental health, Zeena has trained teachers on four continents, sharing innovative aspects of play-based learning and trauma-focused arts programming. This includes emergency education and psychosocial support training in Liberia, Africa, and implementing an outdoor creative learning workshop at Toronto Metropolitan University for undergraduate students during the pandemic.
Inspiring youth to awaken to their fullest potential through performance and musical expression is at the heart of Zeena’s passion and philosophy as an educator. Zeena is the newly appointed Conductor of the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra and works as a clinician, studio musician and ensemble teacher in the Okanagan Valley.
