Christine Bootland, a passionate music educator and cellist, has been a teacher and performer in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan over the last 20 years. She recently retired from the Medicine Hat Conservatory of Music and has taken over the role of Chair for the Alberta Music Education Foundation. Her philosophy is to help create future generations of music lovers of all styles, whether they be professionals, amateurs, or concert goers. Each student is unique, and her goal is to help them develop their own individuality and personality in their playing. Christine has extensive experience as a cello instructor, ensemble coach, conductor, and performer, and currently teaches both privately from her home in Medicine Hat as well as at the University of Lethbridge Conservatory. Calgary native, Christine Bootland began her studies with Fay Johnson and later at the Mount Royal College Academy of Music with John Kadz. She completed a Bachelor of Music Performance degree at the University of British Columbia under the direction of Eric Wilson and later participated in the master’s Program at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Shauna Rolston. She has studied with renowned artists Aldo Parisot, Janos Starker, Zara Nelsova, and Lawrence Lesser at the Banff School of Fine Arts and has performed with well-known classical musicians David Shifrin, Andrew Dawes, Kai Gleusteen and country artist Lyle Lovett. Christine is an active extra performer in various chamber ensembles and with the Lethbridge, Red Deer and Regina Symphonies as well as the Symphony of the Kootenays and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She has toured Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia as a member of the Armadillo String Quartet of Canada and was first prize winner in the CIBC National Chamber Music Festival Competition with the JEB string quartet. Christine has adjudicated all over Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan and her students have won numerous awards at all levels but for her she gets immense joy from doing educational outreach performance programs wherever she is. Christine was on the faculty at Medicine Hat College from 2001-2021 as cello instructor, ensemble coach, Academy Instructor and conductor and program coordinator for both the Community and Junior Orchestras. In 2010 she was pleased to be invited to become a cello instructor at the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music three days a week.