April 2016 Notes
Kerilie
McDowall NCM
Spring has sprung and brought the fragrant flowering
blooms of the crocuses, magnolias, daffodils and cherry blossoms. The colourful
inspirational shades and hues are abundant and remind of renewal. It is the
season where we redefine our goals and toss out the old and bring forward fresh
new ideas.
Springtime is always the perfect and best time to
practice your musical instrument, since the temperature is not too cold or too
hot- it’s just right for long playing sessions having pure fun on your
instrument. The season makes one think of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Spring
(Concerto No. 1 in E Major). Enjoy reading a delightful excerpt of Antonio
Vivaldi’s poetry to get you inspired for the season! Don’t forget to ask your teacher for a special
composition to practice for spring!
Allegro
Spring has arrived with joy
Welcomed
by the birds with happy songs,
And the brooks, amidst gentle breezes,
Murmur sweetly as they flow.
The sky is caped in black, and
Thunder and lightning herald a storm
When they fall silent, the birds
Take up again their delightful songs.
A reminder that the Vancouver Island Nanaimo Chamber
Music Festival approaches from April 14-16, 2016! Summer Jazz intensive will be
here once again this summer- talk about fun! There is always something exciting
happening at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music.
VANCOUVER ISLAND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL- Join
us for some entertaining and heavenly chamber music from The Vancouver Island
Chamber Music Festival. The festival takes place April 14-16th at
the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre at 46 Nicol St. Tickets are available at the
Port Theatre at 125 Front St. and 250-754-8550 and will also be available at
the door. Join us for three heavenly days of spectacular chamber music and fun!
Artists include: the Borealis String Quartet (a co-production with Lulu
Performing Arts with award winning jazz pianist David Braid), the Bourgeoise
Trio, the Vancouver String Quartet, joyous danceable Argentinian Tango music
from Orquesta Paraguas, an outstanding Brass Quintet that features five of the
island’s top brass musicians, flute and guitar from L’aube Enchanteé featuring
flautist Bernard Blary and guitarist Alec Pearson and much more! Some of the
ensembles will be doing outreach at some senior homes and schools. Tickets are
$20 per show and $50 for a three day festival pass. Shows will take place at
7pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a 2:00 performance on Saturday.
Email
ncmusic@island.net for more information.
JANINA FIALKOWSKA’S FUNDRAISER SOLO PIANO
CONCERT- A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS!
The Nanaimo Conservatory of Music was thrilled
to have sold approximately 530 seats at our annual fundraiser! This was our
most successful fundraiser yet and the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music would like
to thank Ms. Janina Fialkowska and all the wonderful support from the island
community in helping our community school to thrive and finish with success.
Ms. Fialkowska performed brilliantly with an all Chopin programme creating the
perfect ambience for listening and the response was completely overwhelming
with a roaring standing ovation from the appreciative Port Theatre audience. It
was an enchanting afternoon of pure Chopin bliss! With much thanks to all of
our sponsors, audience, concert committee, board and volunteers for your support
in helping us achieve our goal. Thanks so much to all of you. The NCM would
also like to thank local media, television and radio SHAW TV, The Nanaimo News Bulletin
and The Times Colonist for their support and coverage of our event. It was a
team effort of very dedicated individuals from our community that made this
such an outstanding success. Thank you again to all involved for your
assistance and support!
JANINA
FIALKOWSKA MASTER CLASS: Congratulations to all
of the excellent piano students who participated in the workshop with renowned
master pianist Janina Fialkowska. Teresa
Borek’s students Laura Stachow and Michael Meanwell performed wonderfully as
did Sharon Sinclair’s student Hayley Farenholtz, Diana Bohn’s student Cassandra
Moffat and Pat Miller’s student Sophia Fan.
Nocturne
in Eb Major op.9, no.2 /F.Chopin LAURA STACHOW
Impromptu
in Ab Major op.90 /F.Schubert CASSANDRA MOFFAT
Nocturne
in E Minor op. posth.72 /F.Chopin HAYLEY FARENHOLTZ
Prelude
in G Major op.32, no.5 /S. Rachmaninoff MICHAEL MEANWELL
Island
Spell /J.Ireland SOPHIA FAN
The performances were
very impressive and it is never an easy task to work on interpretation and
performance skills in front of an audience. Virtuoso musician Ms. Fialkowska offered
up some tricky interpretative performance lessons and all of you rose
succesfully to meet that challenge. Bravo to all of you! Excellent and
exceptional work!
SUMMER JAZZ INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS-Summer Jazz Intensive
takes place July 18-22nd, 2016 and we are proud to offer once again a
workshop with top Canadian jazz composer and saxophonist Christine Jensen. As
one of Canada’s most impressive jazz artists, Christine Jensen
will offer instruction at NCM and brings along some very special guests TBA!
Registration is available now and spaces are very limited. It is an extraordinary
opportunity for Canada’s best instruction within jazz with one of Canada’s top jazz
instructors. Don’t miss out! Call 250-754-4611 for more information.
NANAIMO YOUTH CHOIR NEWS- Nanaimo Youth Choir
Director Marian Smith says that the
choir’s fundraising efforts have been going extremely well and that the
community has been very generous, however the choir has $10,000 more to go before
we reach our goal for our invitation and funding efforts for our trip to New
York’s Carnegie Hall. We are asking the
Nanaimo community to be very generous in their donations towards the Nanaimo
Youth Choir’s very worthy cause. Help us achieve our goal, we are so close and
are almost there. Please come out and support the choir April 8, 2016 at St.
Andrew’s United Church at 311 Fitzwilliam St. at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $27, $24
and $10 from vwmc.ca. Purchase tickets at the door or call 604-878-1190. Another terrific choir event to support is the
Schools on Stage event at 10:00 am
at the Port Theatre April 27th, 2016. Over 300 school children will
attend. For more information on upcoming choir events contact Marian Smith at
250-741-6998. If you
would like to make a contribution to help our choir go to New York City please
contact us at the NCM office. You can also donate through Nanaimo Conservatory
of Music’s Canada Helps site, just make sure to mention it is for the Nanaimo
Youth Choir New York City trip. Thank you so much for your kind and generous
support! Just call 250-754-4611 or stop by our office at 375 Selby St. to
donate and we will provide you a charitable tax receipt.
IN
MEMORIAM OF VERONICA WAGNER: March 19th, 2016 marks the year
anniversary of Nanaimo Conservatory of Music violin instructor Veronica
Wagner’s passing. Veronica was known affectionately by us here at the Nanaimo
Conservatory of Music by her nickname, “Roni”. Roni is missed very much by her
students and by our staff, board and faculty. Though time has passed, we have
not forgotten Veronica’s beautiful smile and sunny, positive outlook on life
and her lovely way of working with her students. We would also like to thank
the Wagner family once again for their generous donations to the Conservatory.
Veronica Wagner was an important member of our NCM community and is greatly
missed. Donations are always being accepted for the Nanaimo
Conservatory of Music Veronica
Wagner Scholarship Fund. If you would like to make a contribution call 250-754-4611
and speak to our office staff. We will provide you a charitable tax receipt and
thank you in advance for your consideration.
CINDY
SPEELMAN’S STUDIO NEWS: Congratulations to the following flute students who
performed at the Upper Island Music Festival at the beginning of March. Many of
these students played in multiple solo classes as well as ensemble classes.
Congratulations to all of you for your outstanding performances! Moji Alabi,
Robyn Boar, Vreny Bryner, Rae Ann Charalambous, Sage Culp, Alex Godfrey, Ella
Hannesson, Jessica Hutchinson, Uei-Young Jung, Emma Koltronis, Jocelyn Maguire,
Jake McDermid, Val Rantis, Elaine Tschofen
NEWS FROM
MARILYN RUMMEL’S HARP STUDIO: Hi
All. There are a few
updates and reminders this week: Spring
Break - Our break is the first 2 weeks immediately after Easter.
No classes from Mar 27 - April 9th (there are a couple of exceptions on
28, but you know who you are.) So some of the school students will be off
school in the next 2 weeks, but there will be harp classes. Next Duncan adult group
is March 20. 4 pm.
Several students attended the workshop by Christa Patton, an early harp specialist
who performs with the group. We've agreed to stay in touch and I hope to have
her in for a workshop for my students the next time she comes to the West
Coast. Elements of Music class is back for the spring term in
Nanaimo. This is a class to understand what makes up music. There is a big
focus on rhythm and how we gain a feel for it, and how we express it, as well
as work on melody, phrases, themes, and motifs. You can take this class as a
beginner or an experienced musician and find new insights and understanding.
Thursdays at 7-8 pm starts May 5th. Players of any instruments welcome;
register through the City of Nanaimo Recreation program. Also available
through them is an
Introduction to the Harp - A Group class for very Beginners. Join Marilyn to explore some wonders of the harp that are accessible to
all levels of students. The class will include the technique to make beautiful
sounds as well as a several pieces to be learned ensemble style, with solo
versions to take home. Bring your harp, your recorder and your sense of
adventure. Since establishing herself on the island, Marilyn has built up a
very busy teaching schedule and is delighted to share what she's learned. To
see what she and and her students are doing, go to www.hcs.harpcanada.com
FACULTY AND
STUDENT FEATURE SPOTLIGHTS:
MARILYN RUMMEL- HARP
FACULTY: Marilyn Rummel teaches lever harp to both children
and adults at the Conservatory. Students study traditional celtic styles of
harping, classical techniques and music, and traditional tunes from around the
world. She has played harp for 25 years, and has studied with some of the
finest harpists on the continent and in South America. Exams may be taken up to
the gr. 9 level. Marilyn has taught band and choir at the elementary and
secondary level, and is also a teacher of a program of music for children based
on the work of Zoltan Kodaly and Mary Helen Richards, called "Education
Through Music". She also leads group classes for harps for both kids and
adults. It's not too late to learn - and it's never too early to begin - to
play this magical instrument
FRANKLIN WARREN-STUDENT
OF PIPPA WILLIAMS:
Franklin Warren is 7 years old and loves to play cool songs on the piano that
sounds new and interesting. He is homeschooled and attends classes that he
likes through Learn@Home K-7. He has been playing piano for 7 months and is
looking forward to starting conservatory music over the summer. Franklin loves
to compose songs, write stories, bike around town and play with his extensive
playmobil collection. Originally from Ontario, Franklin loves to spend his time
outdoors combing the beautiful beaches and exploring the dense forests in
Nanaimo looking for banana slugs, spiders and all things creepy and crawly.
CAROLYNN WARREN-STUDENT
OF PIPPA WILLIAMS:
Carolynn Warren is 6 years old and loves playing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on the piano. She loves silly, funny
songs that make her laugh and smile. She is homeschooled and attends classes
that she likes through Learn@home K-7. She has been playing the piano for 7
months and is hoping to learn all her favourite Beatles songs along with some
of her favourite Taylor Swift songs. Carolynn loves to play and listen to
upbeat and happy music, especially as she dances and plays with her my little
ponies. Also originally from Ontario, she is happy to live in a place with
little snow and no ice storms and is looking forward to spending her summer
playing, swimming and camping all around Vancouver Island.
COMMUNITY
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS – A wonderful musical from the Ladysmith Little
Theatre. NCM faculty member Mary Jackson will be performing on the piano. The
theatre event takes place April 21st-May 15th. Tickets
are $25. Reservations: 250-924-0658. Learn more about the musical at www.ladysmiththeatre.com. This
is a PG-13 event musical.
PENTICTON ACADEMY OF MUSIC IS SEEKING AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. The executive
director is responsible for the overall direction and integrity of the Academy
and oversees the operations and administration. The executive director works
closely and collaborates with the financial administrator, and reports directly
to the board of directors. Salary: $18 To download the full
job description go to: www.pentictonacademyofmusic.ca/news/. Please send your resume
with a cover letter and two references to info@pentictonacademyofmusic.ca Deadline to apply: Monday, April 25, 2016. Interviews will take place
in May. The successful applicant must be available for training within the
months of June and July. Full hours begin August 29, 2016.
