Artistic Director Emerita

Gail Suderman

Now retired as Artistic & Executive Director of Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir, Gail Suderman was at the helm since the choir’s inception, directing the choir for 21 years. Through her visionary leadership, Gail cultivated a vibrant choir known for its unmatched spirit of joy and deep-rooted connections, leaving an indelible mark on both the choir and broader community.

Throughout her tenure as director, Gail’s commitment to inclusivity opened doors to individuals from diverse backgrounds to join in the exhilarating experience of singing gospel music. She built a choir recognized for its high-caliber performances, dynamic audience engagement, active support of young people in their musical education via the creation of the Good Noise Young Artists Program and created opportunities for community members to experience the excitement of singing in a gospel choir through workshops and performances.

Under Gail’s direction, the choir received several accolades and awards, repeatedly voted #1 favourite Choral/Opera group in the Vancouver Courier “Stars of Vancouver” Reader’s Choice awards, and two nominations for the Canadian gospel music “Coventant” awards for the CD’s she produced – the choir’s Christmas CD, “Glory to the Newborn King” and gospel CD, “Shine the Light.”  In addition to countless sold-out concerts, Good Noise performed with Barbra Streisand, David Foster, Josh Groban, Holly Cole, Jim Byrnes, and been featured in appearances on CBC TV, CBC Radio, Global TV, CityTV, Bravo, Knowledge Network and Vision TV, and two nationally televised concert performances, one on the “Gospel To Go” gospel music series for Vision TV, and the second, “Tell It On The Mountain” for Bravo network.

As director, Suderman not only worked to create the powerful and compelling vocal sound of Good Noise, but also created the “Good Noise Gospel Band” – bringing together four esteemed musicians: Mike Kalanj (Hammond B3), Laurence Mollerup (Bass), Elliot Polsky (Drums) and Ingrid Stitt (Saxophones), who, along with Gail at the piano, packed a powerful and artistic musical punch as they accompanied the choir’s signature sound.

Nominated for the YWCA Women of Distinction award in Arts and Culture and recognized for her contributions to the vibrant music scene throughout the Metro Vancouver region, Gail Suderman has been performing and teaching music for over three decades in both the classical and popular music worlds. Known both for her classical music career as a professor of voice, opera, and choral music and her vocal and piano skills as a Pop/R&B/Gospel musician, Gail has been as much at home directing a gospel choir as she is conducting orchestras and choruses in concert.

Never one to fully retire, Gail continues to be in demand as a voice teacher, pianist, conductor and workshop clinician and has recently created the community-based “Langley Christmas Choir.” Gail is currently Music Director at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Langley, B.C.