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The Women's Musical Club McLellan competition took place April 20, 2012, with an unusual result: the two finalists who were able to compete shared the top prize! All three finalists, plus guest soprano Sarah Kirsch and accompanist Chris Kayler, are graduates of the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music!

Pianist Madeline Hildebrand and soprano Jessica Strong shared the $16,000 award. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Sproule was a finalist, but was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to illness.

A second-place prize of $4,000 was split equally between Jennifer Sproule and Sarah Kirsch.

Congrats to fourth year student Jan Nato for taking home the top vocal honour at the  Winnipeg Music Festival! Read about Jan's Rose Bowl win here. 

Our Faculty of Music students won or placed in 97 Music Festival classes! The full festival results can be downloaded here: Week One; Week Two.

Special note to students Ainsley Wray, Andrea Lett, Jessica Kos-Whicher, Marlise Ritchie, Lauren Zerkee, Victoria Marshall, Carly Rae Berthon & Allison Phipps, the Bison Men's Chorus, Lynn Hornby, Heather Jonasson, Colleen Furlan, and again Jan Nato, for their trophy and scholarship wins!

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Jan Nato with the Rose Bowl at Westminster United Church

• GORDON HIGNELL MEMORIAL TROPHY
  • Trophy Recipients: Carly Rae Berthon & Allison Phipps
• HELGA ANDERSON TROPHY
  • Trophy Recipient: Bison Men’s Chorus
• AIKINS MEMORIAL TROPHY
  • Winner: Tony Zhou
  • Runners-Up: James Graham, Alan Nagelberg and Lynn Hornby
• LONG & MCQUADE TROPHY
  • Trophy Recipient: Heather Jonasson
• RAINBOW STAGE TROPHY
  • Winner: Colleen Furlan
• DORIS (MILLS) LEWIS MEMORIAL TROPHY
  • Recipient: Ainsley Wray
• HERBERT & AUDREY BELYEA TROPHY
  • Recipient: Jan Nato
• REG HUGO MEMORIAL TROPHY
  • Recipient: Jan Nato
• RICHARD W. COOKE TROPHY
  • Recipient: Andrea Lett
• ROSE BOWL
  • Recipient: Jan Nato
  • Runner-Up: Jessica Kos-Whicher
• TUDOR BOWL
  • Recipient: Marlise Ritchie
  • Runner-Up: Lauren Zerkee
• HERBERT & AUDREY BELYEA SCHOLARSHIP – Jan Nato
• M. WINNIFRED SIM BURSARY – Victoria Marshall
• RICHARD AND CONSTANCE COOKE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP – Marlise Ritchie
• ROSEMARY (SHAWCROSS) ARSENAULT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP – Jan Nato  

In addition, our Guitar Trio (Bobby Knott, Alex Tyborowski and Thomas McKibbin)  received the Lieutenant Governor's trophy. The Honorable Errick F. Willis donated the Lieutenant Governor's Trophy to the Winnipeg Music Festival in 1963. At times referred to in the past as the Errick F. Willis trophy, the Lieutenant Governor's trophy is awarded annually for the most outstanding solo or group performance during the Festival.

 Faculty of Music students and alums made a great showing in the Doris McLellan Competition for Solo Performance this year! On Saturday, March 17th, semi-finalists competed at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Muriel Richardson Auditorium, for a share of 3 prizes totalling $20,000. Students and alumni semi-finalists from our faculty included:

• Andrew Erickson, B.Mus/B.Ed 2010
• Jari Piper, B. Mus. (current)
• Catherine Daniel, B.Mus/B.Ed 2007
• Madeline Hildebrand, B.Mus 2008 & Post-Bacc 2010
• Sarah Kirsch, M.Mus (current)
• Jessica Strong, B.Mus 2008 & Post-Bacc 2009
• Sean Taubner, B.Mus 2006

The winners of the Lawrence Genser Music Scholarship were announced at the final competition on Tuesday, February 28, 2012. Katy Thurmeier, flute, won first prize and a scholarship of $1,500, and Natalie Dawe, cello, took second place and a scholarship of $900.

Five finalists, who were selected in the preliminary round on February 4 from approximately 20 competitors, treated the audience to an outstanding evening of music. The adjudication panel of Allen Harrington, Vincent Ho, and Harold Lugsdin heard performances from the two winners as well as the other finalists: Bronwen Garand-Sheridan, oboe; James Kollar, classical guitar; and Viktoriia Grynenko, violin.

 Congratulations to the U of M Music students selected to the 2012 National Youth Band.  Other Manitoba participants include Brandon University students and a number of high school students.

•       Heather Jonasson (Flute) - University of Manitoba
•       Kristina Distefano (Flute) - University of Manitoba
•       Ruth Denton (Oboe) - University of Manitoba
•       Meg Specht (Clarinet) - University of Manitoba
•       Miles Thomsen (Trumpet) - University of Manitoba
•       Matthew Meunier (Trumpet) - University of Manitoba
•       Noah Slusky (Percussion) - University of Manitoba
•       Derek Klassen (Percussion) - University of Manitoba
•       Sean Adams (Percussion) - University of Manitoba

The National Youth Band of Canada 2012 will take place May 6th - May 13th, 2012 at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Acting as Music Director for the 2012 National Youth Band of Canada will be Dr. Colleen Richardson, Coordinator of Bands, Wind Ensemble Director, Assistant Professor, Music Education & Music Performance Studies at the Univerity of Western Ontario. Further information available at The Canadian National Youth Band website.

Third year classical guitar student Bobby Knott (B. Mus/B. Ed) was the 2011 recipient

of the Women's Committee of the Winnipeg Music Festival. After graduation, Bobby plans to teach music at the local school in his home community of Wasagamack. This past summer, Bobby also competed in the Provincial Finals and represented Manitoba at the FCMF National Music Festival in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. 

Other students who excelled at the Provincial Music Finals include:

• Colleen Furlan (Yr 1) - Vocal (Intermediate), 1st place
• Jessica Kos-Whicher (Yr 3 Performance) - Vocal (Advanced), 1st place
• Jane Fingler (Yr 2) - Canadian Composers (Advanced), 1st place
• Rachel Stephens (B.Mus. 2011) - W.A. Mozart (Senior), 1st place
• Faye Klassen (B.Mus. 2010 and current M.Mus. student) - Piano (Senior), runner-up
• Matthew Packer (Yr 3 Performance) - Woodwinds, recommended to National Music Festival where he was awarded top prize

Congratulations to Jessica Kos-Whicher, who was announced as winner of the Zita Bernstein Competition for performance of German Lieder.  The final round of the competition was held November 2, 2011.  Other finalists included Meghan Symon, Jan Nato, Andrea Lett and Marlise Ritchie.  All students were accompanied by Chris Kayler.

Amber Epp (B.Jazz Studies '09, currently completing Post-Bacc in Jazz Piano) and her group Trio Bembe took home a Western Canadian Music Award for World Recording of the Year! The ceremonies took place in the Yukon, and Manitobans took home many of the awards. Read more about it on Trio Bembe's blog!

Matthew Packer took the top prize for woodwinds at the Canadian National Music Festival, held in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in August 2011. A third year saxophone/piano major, Matthew was also the top instrumentalist at the Winnipeg Music Festival this year, winning the Aikens Memorial Trophy and several other awards.

Congratulations to Kimberly Dyck, winner of the MRMTA Manitoba Piano Competition! Kimberly represented Manitoba at the CFMTA Piano Competition in Regina on July 8-9, 2011.

The 2011 MRMTA Scholarship Series awarded several Faculty of Music students this year: in piano, Faye Klassen, and in voice, Alexandria Gray, Jessica Nickel, Rachel Stephens, Sarah Kirsch, Amanda Poole and Aran Matsuda. Adjudicators for the Scholarship Series included Faculty members Valdine Anderson (voice) and Oleg Pokhanovski (violin)

The Women's Musical Club of Winnipeg (WMC) announced their 2011 Scholarship Winners, and our students took the top two prizes:

Sarah Kirsch, soprano (M. Mus. pending 2011) won the WMC First Place Scholarship ($2,500) and Jari Piper, cello (undergraduate student) won the WMC Second Place Scholarship ($2,000). All of the winners will perform in a special recital on Thursday, December 29, 2011.

Soprano Sarah Kirsch (M. Mus. pending 2011) made quite an impression at a concert with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra in May 2011.

During a gala concert event celebrating conductor Les Dala's final performance, Sarah was lauded as having an "outstanding voice", which "drew comments during intermission... Those having experienced performances in the grand opera houses of Vienna, Milan and New York - acknowledged that her talent equalled any they had heard."

Sarah returns to finish her Masters degree in the fall, after returning from the Schubert Institute in Austria, where she and pianist Chris Kayler are both headed for the summer. Sarah also recently won the Women's Musical Club Competition, which comes with a $2500 prize, was a semi-finalist for the 34th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, and won the MRMTA Scholarship competition in February 2011.

Bravo Sarah! 

Congratulations to the students who were selected for the National Youth Band in Montreal (May 9 - 13, 2011)!

• Ruth Denton (Oboe, Section Leader)
• Meg Specht (Clarinet, Section Leader)
• Justin Hickmott (Tuba, Section Leader)
• Miles Thomsen (Trumpet and incoming Music student for Fall 2011)
• Noah Slusky (Percussion and incoming Music student for Fall 2011)

The Winnipeg Soloists Choir, comprised of members of the University Singers, received wonderful comments in the review of a concert on April 13 (with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra). "The choir was responsive and expressive, enunciating with precision... The singers were impressivly involved, showing true enjoyment... the ladies singing delicate harmonies that unfolded like flowers."

Click here for the Winnipeg Free Press full review.

Congratulations to students Graham Isaak (Double Bass) and Emily Lair (French Horn) who successfully auditioned for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada 2011. They will be participating in an intensive "orchestral boot camp" residency between June and August, including a concert tour of Eastern Canada.
 
Graham Isaak (Double Bass) with David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet

Congratulations also to student Sarah Kirsch (Master of Music, pending 2011) and graduate Laurelle Froese (Post-baccalaureate Diploma - Advanced Opera Studies, '10, and Bachelor of Music, '09). Sarah and Laurelle were both semi-finalists in the 34th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition. Also known as the E-Gré Competition, this annual event focuses on contemporary music and exceptional performance.

Sarah Kirsch

Winnipeg Music Festival 2011

• The Rose Bowl (for top vocalist at the Festival) was won by Aaron Hutton (4th year voice performance major); runner-up Amanda Poole (3rd year voice performance major). Aaron Hutton also won the Doris (Mills) Lewis Memorial Trophy, the Reg Hugo Memorial Trophy, the M. Winnifred Sim Bursary, and a Music Festival Scholarship.

• Aikens Trophy (for top instrumentalist at the Festival) was won by Matthew Packer (2nd year Saxophone & Piano major). Matthew also won the Adam N. Leckie Memorial Trophy, the Ann Lugsdin Memorial Bursary, and the Wednesday Morning Musicale Bursary.
• The Tudor Bowl was won by voice student Jessica Kos-Whicher, and Simeon Rusnak was runner-up. Jessica also won the Richard W. Cooke Trophy, and the Richard and Constance Cooke Memorial Scholarship.
• Alumni Carrie Hall (B.Mus.Perf. '09 and PBD Perf. '10) won the Audrey Belyea Scholarhship.
• Other winners from the Faculty of Music:
  • Chantal Kuegle, voice (runner-up for the Anlma Wynne Memorial Trophy)
  • Geneva Halverson, voice (Gilbert & Sullivan Society Scholarship and Trophy, Alice F. "Lal" Mills Memorial Trophy
  • Nelson Bettencourt, voice (Rainbow Stage Scholarship and Rainbow Stage Trophy);
  • Voice students Andrea Bellhouse, Nicki Kirton, Darren Martens and Michael Dueck all won Winnipeg Music Festival Scholarships.
• See all of the 2011 Music Festival results