31st Annual Provincial Music Festival Ends on High Note
The NS team photo for Nationals – Back row, left to right: Marianne Greene, Brass (New Glasgow Music Festival), TaTan Huang, Strings (NS Kiwanis MF). LaLa Lee, Piano (NS Kiwanis MF) Front row, left to right: Claire Ahern, Woodwinds (NS Kiwanis MF), Skylar Cameron, Voice (New Glasgow Music Festival), Rianna Robinson, representing the Annapolis Valley Honour Choirs, Choral, (AVMF), Elsa Hodder, Musical Theatre (AVMF) and Team Manager, Matthew Martin.
A gala concert featuring the Stars of the Festival and an Awards Night, at Bridgewater United Church, on Saturday, May 30th, brought the 31st Annual Provincial Music Festival to a very successful conclusion. Woodwind adjudicator, Tristan De Borba, summed it up this way: “I really enjoyed adjudicating these talented young musicians. I heard some terrific performances. Congratulations on a terrific festival,,, a great gala concert.”
Federation of Nova Scotia Music Festivals President, Gerry Punke, echoed these sentiments when he congratulated the Bridgewater Music Festival, under the leadership of Catherine Isaac Jamieson, for undertaking to be host in 2015. “With Bridgewater hosting this year’s festival,” he said, “ we have achieved our aim of having every local festival in Nova Scotia host this prestigious provincial event.”
The Gala Concert featured those young musicians in Junior and Senior classes who had won their classes during the Friday and Saturday of the competitions and who had been recommended by their adjudicators to perform at the Gala Concert. Awards were presented as the concert progressed, concluding with the announcement of the winners in the various choral classes. To bring the events of this Provincial Music Festival to a close, the individual competitors and the choirs who had been recommended to go forward and represent Nova Scotia at this year’s National Music Festival, August 13 – 15, at MacEwan University, Alberta College Campus, Edmonton, Alberta, were revealed.
Representing Nova Scotia at this year’s National Music Festival will be six individual competitors, and four choirs.
This year’s team of individual performers includes: Marianne Greene, Brass (New Glasgow Music Festival), Ta Tan Huang, Strings (Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival), La La Lee, Piano (Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival), Claire Ahern, Woodwinds (Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival), Skylar Cameron, Voice (New Glasgow Music Festival) and Elsa Hodder, Musical Theatre (Annapolis Valley Music Festival)
In the Choral Classes, four choirs were recommended to the National competitions. They are all Annapolis Valley Honour Choirs: Men, Senior Division, Women, and Junior Division all under the direction of Heather Fraser, Director.
The full set of results follows.
Winners: Junior Category
Chamber: Horton High Woodwind Ensemble, Annapolis Valley Music Festival
Voice: Nicholas Higgs, New Glasgow Music Festival
Piano Ethan Xu, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Strings Andrew Son, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Brass Luke Henderson, New Glasgow Music Festival
Woodwind Rileigh Ellefsen, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Musical Theatre Emma MacEachern, Truro Music Festival
Winners: Senior Category
Voice Skylar Cameron, New Glasgow Music Festival
Piano La La Lee, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Strings TaTan Huang, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Brass Marianne Greene, New Glasgow Music Festival
Woodwinds Claire Ahern, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
Senior Musical Theatre Maya Read, Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival
National Musical Theatre Elsa Hodder, Annapolis Valley Music Festival
Choral Awards:
Hon. Barbara A. Haggerman Cantabile Singers (Chris Bowman, Director), Truro Music Festival
City of Lincoln Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, Men (Heather Fraser, Director) Annapolis Valley Music Festival
George S. Matheson Award Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, Senior Division (Heather Fraser, Director) Annapolis Valley Music Festival
Paul J. Bourret Award North Nova Education Centre Jazz Choir (Janice Alcorn, Director) New Glasgow Music Festival
Richard W. Cooke Award NNEC Octet (Janice Alcorn, Director) New Glasgow Music Festival
Dr. & Mrs. J.K. English Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, Women (Heather Fraser, Director) Annapolis Valley Music Festival
David Ochterloney New Glasgow Academy Choir (Vivi Chediac, Director) New Glasgow Music Festival
Margaret Wharton Memorial Award Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, Junior Division (Heather Fraser, Director) Annapolis Valley Music Festival.
Sister Florine Depres Award Sacred Heart School Choir (Adele Merritt, Director) Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival