The VMA Team & Board

Jim Hopson is a second-generation working musician and AFM member, who has been active in the BC music scene since 2003. He is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and recording artist specializing in low brass, Swiss Alphorn, and bass guitar. A dedicated educator, Jim teaches Low Brass and directs the Jazz Ensemble at the UBC School of Music. Jim joined the VMA Board in 2019, before becoming Vice-President in 2024 and President in 2025. A fierce advocate for the interests and rights of working musicians, Jim is honoured to serve the VMA membership in this role.

Karmen Doucette is the Vice-President of the Vancouver Musicians Association and a professional orchestral bassoonist with over 25 years of performance experience. A member of Local 145 since 2014 and elected to the VMA Board of Directors in 2021, she has contributed to strengthening the Association’s governance and advancing the interests of its members through her leadership and advocacy. As Chair of the Technology Committee, Karmen draws on more than 15 years as a Business Analyst specializing in software implementation and digital transformation, along with nearly a decade of front-end web design and development. Her combined expertise in the arts and technology enables her to lead initiatives that modernize digital infrastructure, improve accessibility, and expand opportunities for musicians through innovative applications of technology.

Katrina Chitty is a violist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. A versatile musician with an appreciation for a wide range of genres and styles, she has performed chamber music around the world on cruise ships and has worked as a freelance musician with the Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, National Ballet of Canada, and the Canadian Opera Company. Katrina holds a Master of Music degree from McGill University, where she studied with André Roy. Beyond performing, she maintains an active teaching studio, instructs Army Cadets, and enjoys outdoor adventures in her home community of Grand Forks.

Jeff White arrived in Vancouver in the summer of 2024 after 12 years living in Scandinavia where he was Associate Principal Bass of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra (Denmark) and spent a season in the bass section of Sweden’s National Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony. Prior to that Jeff was a long time member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, where he served as chair of the orchestra committee for his final two seasons. Additionally he served as Principal Bass of the Saskatoon Symphony orchestra for their 75th season. Jeff joined the VMA board less than a year after relocating to Vancouver, where he performs frequently with the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Island Symphony and Okanagan Symphony Orchestras. He is frequently invited to play with his old friends in Calgary, and has also performed with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra since returning to Canada. Jeff enjoys life in East Vancouver, exploring the lower mainland with his daughter Isabelle.