Our Team
–

Nick is a drummer/percussionist, keyboardist, composer, and conductor. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Capella Regalis Choirs, and Assistant Director of Music at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax. Nick founded and for 11 years (to 2021) directed The King’s Chorus, a choral society for members of the King’s and Dalhousie University communities in Halifax. Nick was also the Assistant Director of the University of King’s College Chapel Choir from 2008 to 2021.  In 2012, Nick was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to Canada and Nova Scotia through the arts, particularly for his work with Capella Regalis.  For the 2013-14 season, Nick was the Host of CBC’s national radio program, Choral Concert.

As a drummer and world percussionist, Nick's career has taken him around the world, from Nunavut to New Zealand. Nick performs and records internationally with a wide range of musicians including American musical icon James Taylor, the late Oscar Castro-Neves, Dinuk Wijeratne, Kinan Azmeh, Nazih Borish, Chris Norman, Old Man Luedecke, Suzie LeBlanc, Paul Halley, and Viradouro Escola de Samba. He has taught workshops in percussion, rhythm, and music theory at Boxwood Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Interlochen Summer Festival, LAMP, and many other music venues. 

As an educator, Nick is passionate about making musical excellence accessible to people of all ages and diverse backgrounds, and about helping people to – quite literally – find their voice. Nick’s breadth of experience as a singer, choral conductor, and keyboardist as well as a drummer and percussionist makes him a uniquely versatile musician, equally at home with English church music as with traditional jazz, with Brazilian percussion as with North African and South Indian rhythms.  

Vanessa joined her brother Nick and father Paul as part of the Capella Regalis team in 2012. She came to Capella Regalis with several years of experience in music administration at both the non-profit and for-profit levels, as well as over thirty years of singing experience in professional and semi-professional chamber and church choirs in four different countries.  Vanessa holds an undergraduate degree with High Distinction from Trinity College at the University of Toronto (2002), and graduated Juris Doctor Magna cum Laude from Western New England University School of Law (2006), where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Western New England Law Review.  She practiced law in Massachusetts, USA, for five years, including as a staff attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (public defender in the criminal courts) and as a law firm associate representing commercial and non-profit clients in the arts, health, and education sectors in intellectual property matters, often specifically in technology licensing contracts. She made the move to Nova Scotia with her husband and young family to put music and education at the centre of their lives.

For nine years, from 2012 to 2021, in addition to her work with Capella Regalis, Vanessa served as the Chapel Choir Manager at the University of King's College. She now devotes her full energy to Capella Regalis and is delighted to have added musical direction to her responsibilities with the September 2022 launch of the Capella Regalis Girls Choir.

Hannah graduated from the University of King’s College / Dalhousie in 2018 with a B.A. Combined Honours in Early Modern Studies and French. During her student years, Hannah served as a key volunteer with Capella Regalis, in positions ranging from Choir Camp Counselor to Transportation Program Coordinator to Publicity Assistant. She also served as the Administrator of The King’s Chorus (a choral society for university students, staff, faculty, and community members). Following graduation, Hannah stayed on in Halifax, becoming Assistant Executive Director at Capella Regalis, with a primary focus on fundraising and grant-writing. She married her university beau, Andrew Griffin, who is a PhD candidate in the Classics department at Dalhousie University. Hannah and Andrew were very pleased to be the first couple ever to have the full forces of Capella Regalis sing at their wedding in July 2019 at All Saints Cathedral. In August 2021, they had their first child, Evelyn.

Hilary Allister is a Canadian singer, writer, and arts administrator. Hilary began studying music in Toronto under soprano Norma Churchill (RCM), Dr. Elaine Choi (D.M.A), conductor Zimfira Poloz (U of T Faculty of Music, Young Voices Toronto), and others, receiving a Level 9 Voice certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Since coming to Halifax, Hilary has performed professionally in various concert series, recordings, provincial services, and events. Hilary has performed as a soloist with Capella Regalis, Musique Royale, and other groups, and has collaborated with ensembles like the Togni Consort and Aureas Voces. Recent solo features include productions of Handel’s Messiah, Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Purcell’s Te Deum. Hilary has also performed at events across the country, including PODIUM National Music Conference and the ACNMP Contemporary Showcase, as well as venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, Glenn Gould Studio, and MacMillan Theatre. 

Hilary met Nick, Vanessa, and Paul Halley in 2015 when she joined the University of King’s College Chapel Choir as a choral scholar. Hilary is a past recipient of the Helen Roby and Alma Georgina Houston choral scholarships, and now holds the position of Soprano Section Lead in the Chapel Choir and King’s Chorus. Hilary also currently sings with the All Saints Cathedral Choir, directed by Paul Halley, and other groups around Nova Scotia. 

Hilary joined the Capella Regalis team in 2021 as the organization’s first Recruitment Officer, and took over as Probationer Programs Director in the fall of 2023, in the Girls Probationers Program’s first season. 

Margot is a professional string player, music teacher, and music administrator living on Nova Scotia's South Shore, and a long-time friend of Nick Halley and Capella Regalis Choirs. Margot was born into a musical family, began violin at age three, and has been playing violin and viola ever since. She spent all her childhood summers at Cammac music camp in Quebec. She performed and competed throughout her childhood and went on to study in the UK and Montreal. Margot was a professional orchestral and chamber musician for 25 years in Montreal and Halifax, and had the privilege of traveling extensively throughout the world, performing in innumerable world-class venues. In 2020 she chose to explore her Waldorf influences more deeply, leading her to the South Shore Waldorf School where for four years she shared her love of teaching and learning. Margot now maintains her own music teaching studio, and is so pleased to be part of the Capella Regalis training and tradition, on the beautiful South Shore!

Barbara Butler is a chamber musician, choral conductor, organist and music educator, and a well-known champion for the arts in Nova Scotia. In 2020 Barbara was named to the Order of Canada for her contributions to the musical landscape of Nova Scotia, notably for her promotion of numerous concert series across the province.

Born in Newfoundland, Barbara earned her Bachelor of Music Degree from Acadia University with majors in piano and organ. She is also a graduate of Banff School of Fine Arts in Arts Management, The Institute of Choral Arts (Nova Scotia Choral Federation), England’s Royal School of Church Music and the International Organ Academy (Holland). In 1990 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. In 2002, Barbara was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal by Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman for her service to music and the arts in Nova Scotia. She is a 2006 recipient of a Women of Excellence Award in the field of culture from the Canadian Progress Club (Halifax – Cornwallis). In October 2011 she received an Honourary Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of King’s College. In March 2012 Barbara was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by Lieutenant Governor Mayann Francis.

Barbara served for 21 years (1999-2020) as the Artistic and Administrative Director of Musique Royale, a Festival of Early Music in Nova Scotia based in Lunenburg. She is the Founder and past Artistic Director of the St. Cecilia Concert Series and former Director of the Lieutenant Governor’s Concert Series. She recently retired from many years of service as Director of Music at St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg.

Barbara has strong affiliations with many arts organizations in the province and has served on various boards including the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Debut Atlantic, Opera Nova Scotia, the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, in addition to Capella Regalis.

Paul Halley is a Grammy Award-winning composer, choral conductor, and organist. He is Director of Music at The Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Born in Romford, England, Paul Halley was raised in Ottawa, Canada where he received his early musical training as a chorister and assistant organist with The Men and Boys Choir of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church.  At age sixteen, he was made an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto.  Awarded the organ scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, Halley received his M.A. with prizes in composition and performance, and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning first prize in the College examinations.  Following four years post-graduate work as a church musician and teacher in Montreal, QC, Jamaica, W.I., and Victoria, BC, Halley was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City where he served for twelve years from 1977-1989. During his tenure at the Cathedral, Halley collaborated with The Paul Winter Consort, contributing as principal writer and keyboardist on multiple Grammy Award-winning albums released in the 1980’s and 1990’s. 

Following his departure from the Cathedral in 1989, Halley settled in rural Connecticut and founded the children’s choir, Chorus Angelicus, and the adult ensemble, Gaudeamus.  In 1999, Halley became Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church, Torrington, CT where he inaugurated a Choral and Organ Scholars program in conjunction with Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music.  In 2007, Halley relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia to become Director of Music at both the University of King’s College (to 2021), and St. George’s Anglican Church (to 2011), as well as University Musician at Atlantic School of Theology (to 2015).  In 2015 Halley became Director of Music at The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax.

Halley’s choral and instrumental compositions are distributed internationally by Pelagos Incorporated (www.pelagosmusic.com), the recording, music publishing, and arts management company which he established with his wife, Meg Race in 1998.  Halley’s compositions have been commissioned or licensed by such organizations as Sony Entertainment, John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, CBC, The Toronto Symphony, and Canadian Brass. A recording of recent choral works by Paul Halley, entitled In The Wide Awe And Wisdom, was released in the fall of 2017 on the Pelagos label.