John Chalmers was a secondary school music educator for 28 years before moving into high school administration. He taught music at Medway H.S., Mayfield S.S. Central Peel S.S. and Humberview S.S. and directed ensembles at Humber College and the University of Toronto. His groups, both high school and university, received national and international recognition, performing at conferences and festivals throughout Canada and the United States and winning nine Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards.

John received the International Association of Jazz Educators “Outstanding Director for Canada” award, the Jazz Report Award for “Best Secondary Jazz Program” and was inducted into the Music Canada “Hall of Fame” for outstanding service to young Canadian musicians. John has presented workshops at music conferences and universities, adjudicated at music festivals and guest conducted honour ensembles across Canada and the United States. He serves on the boards of many music festivals including the Ontario Vocal Festival, MusicFest Canada, the Kaleid Choral Festival and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Festival .