Meet the Staff
Below are our full-time and casual staff.
Additionally, we have a dedicated bookkeeper (thank you, Prairie Sky Bookkeeping!); a casual-time research assistant who helps with populating our Events Calendar and things such as video editing; and a rotation of approximately 30 Music Mentors who are scheduled for appointments as booking requests arrive.
We enlist the services of lawyer Kurt Dahl of Murphy & Company for our Legal Services program and Mintz & Wallace for our audit.
We greatly appreciate the help of these folks, as well as our Board and volunteers.
Lorena Kelly
Executive Director
Office: Regina
lorenakelly(at)saskmusic.org
Lorena has worked in various roles at SaskMusic, and loves helping to promote the awesome music of our province and helping members navigate this often-confusing industry. She's had experience in a variety of things, from programming lineups and coordinating large-scale conferences and events, to running juries, licensing initiatives, advertising campaigns, economic studies and more, in addition to participating on numerous boards and committees. Most recently she has been overseeing our association communications, marketing initiatives and office operations. Lorena took over as Interim Executive Director in October 2022 and moved into the permanent role in June 2023.
Prior to SaskMusic, she studied classical piano, then keyboards at Professional Musicians’ College. She has toured across Canada, the U.S. and internationally, backing up numerous artists in genres such as country, folk, and pop, as a freelance keyboard player/vocalist in addition to releasing her own albums; and also worked in advertising, layout and web design. She’s proud mama to a creative and very organized kid.
Kaelen Klypak
Export & Program Manager
Office: Saskatoon/remote
kaelen(at)saskmusic.org
Kaelen received his Arts and Entertainment Management Diploma from Capilano University in North Vancouver, and now resides in Saskatoon. He has been actively involved in the Canadian music industry for the past 22 years as an artist manager, consultant, touring drummer, musician, production manager, promoter, and publisher. He is currently an active drummer and has performed at notable festivals such as Sled Island, BIG Winter Classic, The Great Escape, C/O POP, SaskTel Jazz Festival, and Taste of Chaos. He has a new solo synth-based project called June Thrasher. Kaelen is also a jury member for various music organizations, and contributes on numerous cultural boards including being co-director of the Derek Bachman Foundation.
Ben Valiaho
Education & Program Manager
Office: Regina
ben(at)saskmusic.org
Ben grew up working within the Regina music community and is excited to keep developing his skills and supporting Saskatchewan artists in his position at SaskMusic. Ben first got his start working in the industry as producer and volunteer host at 91.3FM CJTR Regina Community Radio over fifteen years ago, and still hosts two radio shows at Regina Community Radio today. Ben was also involved on the Community Radio Board of Directors for eight years (2013 to 2020) in various capacities including President and was honoured to receive the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2020 from the station. His commitment to music continued within the halls of the University of Regina where he enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Studies Masters Program with a focus on live performance. While attending the university, Ben was also Research Assistant at the Interactive Media & Performances Labs, teaching workshops and hosting community hours for those who wanted to learn how to make electronic music, scratch records, or record. Ben has been a turntablist for over fifteen years and hosts DJ nights in Regina, some video game Twitch streaming, old skool Games Workshop fan, as well as DJing a number of events in and around Regina as part of the duo 2Beats.
Oghenerukevwe "Rooky" Jegede-Ikpen
Research and Outreach Assistant
Office: Saskatoon/remote
rooky(at)saskmusic.org
Born Oghenerukevwe Jegede-Ikpen, Rooky is a multi-talented Nigerian-born artiste, songwriter, producer and creative executive based in Saskatchewan. Before moving to Canada in 2019 for studies, as an on air personality he has had over 3 years in radio/TV presenting and content curation. He has also worked with numerous brands such as Guinness, Smirnoff, Globacom and MTN Nigeria as a brand influencer.
Aside from creating and performing music, Rooky enjoys curating shows/concerts and aiding in community projects focused on building, promoting, advocating and diversifying the music industry. He is the Saskatchewan provincial representative for ADVANCE (Canada's Black music business collective), and has participated as a juror for numerous organizations.
He holds multiple University degrees from Nigeria and Canada respectively. Rooky is very passionate about discovering, making and listening to music and creating visual imagery; he sees them as a medium of expression and a way for people to connect with one another regardless of background or race.
Zaïde Masich
Administrative Assistant (Co-op Term)
Office: Saskatoon
zaide(at)saskmusic.org
Music has been a part of Zaïde’s life well before she was born. With parents who taught music, it didn’t take long for Zaïde to pick up an instrument (or three!). She has been playing cello for nearly two decades, acquiring her RCM ARCT certification in 2017. She has had multitudinous opportunities in Canada’s classical environment, playing with the North Battleford Kiwanis Music Festival for many years, opening for various acts hosted at the Dekker Centre in North Battleford, appearing as a guest for the Amati String Quartet in Saskatoon (2014, 2015), sitting as principal cellist for the Thomastik-Infeld Canadian String Orchestra (2017, 2018), and more. Most recently, she has been appointed principal cellist in the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra for the fifth year in a row, and the principal cellist in the University of Saskatchewan Symphony Orchestra since its founding two years ago. She has also recently had the opportunity to play with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra as a substitute cellist and was part of the orchestra pit for the Eagles’ 2022 Hotel California Tour for their Saskatoon show. Zaïde is also the cellist for a student-run piano quintet.
Currently, she fills her time as a student at the University of Saskatchewan, pursuing a B.A. in French language and a B.Comm. in Marketing. She is also a tutor, teaching mainly courses in French for immersion and Francophone students under her personal label Education Garden. She is an avid collector of art and oddities. Zaïde is incredibly excited for the opportunity to work with SaskMusic and is thrilled to apply her skills and learn more about the local music communities!
Roxie Riffel
Administrative Assistant (Joined August 2023)
Office: Regina
roxie(at)saskmusic.org
Roxie has always had a love of the arts. She quickly discovered a passion for helping support artists and the arts community in the province through her multi-disciplinary work as a program coordinator and arts administrator at the Creative City Centre in Regina. During her tenure at Creative City Centre, Roxie was responsible for developing and implementing various music programs such as the Behind The Songs songwriter in the round monthly concerts, the Empty Room video series, the SMMART (Social Media Marketing for Artists) training program, the Community Kitchen Party Concert series and the Outside the Spotlight podcast. She also aided in the programming of spoken word and visual art events as well as marketing and communications. Roxie is excited to continue developing her skills and supporting Saskatchewan artists through her new role at SaskMusic. In addition to her work as an arts administrator, Roxie is a singer-songwriter, performer, recording artist (performing under the name Roxie Lenton) and an advocate for mental health.
Darwin Roy
Indigenous Music Coordinator
Office: Remote
darwin(at)saskmusic.org
Darwin Roy completed a project-specific contract with us in March 2021 and kindly agreed to continue with us on a casual contract basis, assisting with various programs as needed.
Darwin Roy was raised by his grandparents in Northern Saskatchewan where they lived a hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering lifestyle. Darwin is a proud speaker of the Cree language who has made a career working in public relations for the resource industry, the education sector, and for First Nations. He has a Graduate degree in Educational Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. Darwin has been very active in the Indigenous music scene throughout his career. Darwin has a passion for music and feeds that passion with his involvement with his personal singing ventures or with the group he has played with for most of his life - “Just The Boyz” or “JTB”. In 2005 JTB was nominated for Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Country Album. He has been a part of the Voices of the North Show, a showcase of Indigenous talent during the Prince Albert Winter Festival, since 1998. Darwin continues to play music for the people locally in Saskatoon or somewhere down that long highway.
