Angela Ireland was a long-standing vocalist with Victoria’s show band String of Pearls. After the Pearls retired, she became a founding member of Dock Side Drive and has continued to dazzle audiences with her powerful & show stopping vocals. Performing in many festivals and venues across Western Canada and the States, Angela also holds many theatrical credits including leads in Company (April), Annie (Grace Ferral), The Will Rogers Follies (Betty Blake), and Les Miserables (Fantine).

Anita Bonkowski is an experienced music educator, with a wide range of expertise. She lectures in theory, history and orchestration in the areas of both jazz and classical music. An international composer, arranger and performer, Anita specializes in bass, drums and percussion. Since earning her Masters Degree in Music, she has continued to perform jazz and R&B, musical theater, in show bands, and with various chamber ensembles.Having begun as a performer, Anita then branched out into the world of composition and arranging. She has contributed both original compositions and arrangements to numerous albums, many of which can be heard on CBC and NPR. Anita was a staff arranger and performer for the Commonwealth Games, has made various appearances on recordings, television and jingles, and has also been commissioned to write for various artists and schools across Canada. Her tours include performances at festivals and club venues across Western Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and the Yukon, as well as performing locally at the Du Maurier Jazz Festival, BluesBash and the TerrifVic Jazz Festival in Victoria.

Besides appearing with such musicians as Herb Ellis, Dee Daniels, PJ Perry and Hugh Fraser, Anita has also backed performers such as Johnny Mathis, Englebert Humperdink, The Moody Blues and most recently she performed in the house band for the David Foster Miracle Concert, playing with musicians such as Sarah McLachlan, Kenny G, Josh Groban, Ruben Studdard and the Canadian Tenors.

Heather Burns lives in Victoria and works as a free-lance musician. She holds a Masters in Piano Performance. She enjoys opportunities to teach and perform both locally and abroad. She has also done extensive work as a musician and music director in the theatre world with companies such as the Chemainus Theatre, Victoria Operatic Society, and Kaleidoscope Theatre. Recent productions include My Fair Lady, Forever Plaid, and Evita. Her performing career as a pianist has taken her through Europe, the US, and Canada, but she also loves to be at home with family and friends enjoying the simple pleasures of life; a cup of coffee, a good conversation and the relationships that make life rich and inspire great music.

Chris is an original member of the show band Dock Side Drive, and has performed on many a stage as a lead singer for big bands, and as a leading man in musical theatre. His love of the music of the great crooners (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, & Bobby Darin) has inspired his singing career. He has toured through Western Canada with some of his favorite shows & roles including: Frankie in Forever Plaid, Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies, Harold Hill in The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Che in Evita, Bob Wallace in White Christmas, and Javert in Les Miserables.

David Flello is an educator and musician living in Victoria, B.C. His educator awards include Arts Leader of the Year for the City of Victoria, Jazz Program of the Year from the Jazz Report Magazine, and a Prime Minister’s Merit Award for Outstanding Education. His playing experience as a freelance trumpet player has spanned most musical styles including orchestral, small ensemble, pit orchestra, jazz and commercial music. He has performed as an ensemble player and/or as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony and the Brasswest Brass Quintet, The Midnights R&B Band, Dockside Drive and notable artists including Holly Cole, David Foster, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso and the Temptations.

Paul Wainwright has played with hundreds of renowned musicians and singers such as Kenny Loggins, Stevie Nicks, Michael Buble, Martha Reeves, Jim Byrnes, Donny Walsh (Mr Downchild), Vic Damone, and many more. He and his bands have opened for Herbie Hancock, Manhattan Transfer, Etta James, k.d. lang, Melissa Etheridge, The Great Guitars (Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd), The Rippingtons to name just a few. He has performed at the Las Vegas Jazz Festival and the Sacramento Jazz Festival to standing room only crowds and regularly plays festivals, clubs, casinos, private functions and conventions throughout Canada and the USA.

After touring for two-and-a-half-years with the Glenn Miller Orchestra as bassist and arranger, Joey was married in Victoria and moved to Rochester, N.Y. to study for his Masters degree at the Eastman School of Music. For the past 25 years he has been bassist for many local groups and collaborated with various artists during their stops in Victoria.

Joey has written numerous arrangements for such groups as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Victoria Symphony, also arranging some of the music for the Commonwealth Games in 1994. Currently several of his arrangements appear on the Bills, Marc Atkinson Trio and Edie DaPonte’s latest CD.

Currently Joey plays with vocalist Edie DaPonte, the Karel Roessingh Trio, Clark Brendon (The “Flying Saucers”) and the CanUS trad jazz band along with many other groups in town. Joey has been a faculty member at the Victoria Conservatory of Music since 2004 and is currently involved with the new VCM School of Contemporary Music under the direction of Daniel Lapp.

Don Leppard was an original founding member of Dock Side Drive. He was our anchor behind the drum kit for a decade prior to his passing in August 2022.

Don was a Drummer/Percussionist who has enjoyed being able to keep himself employed in the music world ever since he won First Place at a drumming competition at the Canadian International Band Festival in 1956. He was a member of the prestigious RCAF band in Toronto where he fine tuned his skills that led him to become the “Pops” drummer with the Winnipeg Symphony and set-drummer with the Manitoba Theatre Centre for 20 years. He has recorded over 50+ record albums with various artists and also taped over 600+ TV shows for CTV/CBC/ITV and the Global Networks.

We miss him dearly and are so grateful for the time we spent as friends and colleagues, the leadership and laughter he brought to every gig and road trip, his exceptional musicianship and for the mark he left on all the music we play! We would not be Dock Side Drive without him.

Francesca Bitonti is a veteran performer and has graced the stage of many theatres and performance halls. Her charismatic stage presence and rich, dynamic vocal sound bring an engaging and entertaining experience for all audiences. She has worked with a number of theatre companies; following in the steps of the likes of Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, Bernadette Peters and Madeline Kahn with stage credits including: Gypsy (Rose), Charlie Brown (Lucy), The Wizard of Oz (Wicked Witch of the West), Annie (Miss Hannigan).