As an accompanist, she has the innate ability to collaborate with singers in a range of musical styles.  She regularly performs with “Canada’s sweetheart of the stage” – Cynthia Dale,  including performances at the Banff Center for the Performing Arts, Mount Allison University and appearances with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony and the National Arts Center Orchestra.

She is equally comfortable working with more classical repertoire, and has performed with Daniel Lichti, Ted Baerg, Vicki St. Pierre and Sharla Nafziger.  She also works part time as a vocal coach at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo. 

Working in the field of jazz/gospel music, she has played for Canadian jazz icon Molly Johnson and Jackie Richardson, and was a special guest of Juno-award winning performer Ken Whiteley’s “Sunday Gospel Brunch” series.  She regularly performs with Ali Matthews, a recipient of 10 GMA/Covenant Awards.

Her work in Musical Theatre has extended from being a keyboardist in many pit orchestras, to the role of Music Director in major professional productions.  She has worked with Drayton Entertainment as Music Director for productions of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (2011), Sweet Charity (2010) and Caught in the Act II (2009).  She spent five seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where she assisted on many musical productions, including Assistant Music Director for Music Man (2008).  She also worked at the Stirling Festival Theatre as Music Director for The Last Resort (2010), and with Aha Communications as Music Director for I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (2004).  In the years prior to that she did a lot of work with community theatre groups, including Trinity Community Players (New Hamburg) and Royal City Music Productions (Guelph).

In the studio, Charlene has collaborated on recordings with Bryan Moyer Suderman, David Rogers and John Wiebe.  She has worked with Juno-award winning engineer John “Beetle” Bailey to record her own CD of hymn improvisations.  She is regularly invited to lead worship in local churches, where she is often joined by the rest of her trio, “Hymns and Her”.

As a composer, she has written a book of piano/vocal arrangements of the works of Bryan Moyer Suderman that is intended for personal and congregational use.  She collaborated with the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada to compose a song reflecting their vision statement, which is sung in their 92 churches.  As a Canada Arts Council Grant Recipient, Charlene set text from a local poet to music reflecting the issues of war and peace.  She also arranged music for numerous productions through Hermione Presents.  All Things Base & Weill - Love Can Transpose (conceived, written and directed by Louisa Appolloni) premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival (2009) which featured Charlene’s arrangements of Kurt Weill songs.