May 2016 Notes
Kerilie
McDowall NCM
FESTIVAL
OF RECITALS -The 2016 Nanaimo Conservatory of Music Festival of Recitals &
Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday May 28th, 2016 from 10:00 am- 5:00
pm at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music at 375 Selby Street. Get ready for a
splendid and exciting FUN day of scholarship award presentations. Nanaimo
Conservatory of Music student and Suzuki Group performances and scholarship
student performance presentations will take place throughout the day. Come on
out and enjoy the day in support your community non- profit charity, the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music.
Scholarship awards will be presented to our
talented students. Students who have won scholarships present their performance
work to our Nanaimo community. We will be having an exciting silent auction
with items to bid upon. The Nanaimo Conservatory of Music is currently
requesting silent auction items from the local and business community for our
annual fundraising for our non-profit charitable organization. Over 300+ people
will be in attendance with both students and families. All donating businesses
will be mentioned on facebook, in our recital program schedule and charitable
receipts are available
The performances include compositions by the master
composers and well known selections from the classical traditional repertoire.
You will be impressed at how gifted our Nanaimo Conservatory Music students are
and it will make you marvel at the supportive and exceptional work of our
faculty members! Bravo to all! The performances are FREE and the entire Nanaimo
community is invited to view these splendid performances and spend the whole
day with us celebrating music! Join us and enjoy the creative talents of the students of the Nanaimo
Conservatory of Music. Refreshments will be available for sale. Come out and
support our students and enjoy the sweet melodies and merry music making! Call
the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music at 250-754-4611 for more information.
MESSAGE
FROM THE BOARD OF THE NANAIMO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC -
Many of you will
have heard that Kathleen Darby has resigned her position as Executive Director.
We have appreciated Kathleen’s dedication and many contributions to the
Conservatory over the past eight years and we wish her the best of luck in her
new endeavours. We will announce the appointment of a new Executive Director as
soon as possible. In the meantime we appreciate your patience and support
during the transition period. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free
to leave a message at the Conservatory for President John Whitelaw to return
your call.
UPPER
ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL: Congratulations to the hard work of the following students who
participated and performed beautifully in the Upper Island Music Festival 2016!
Hannah Wilson’s students: Levi Hunter,Verena
Wessler, Caelen Hill, Verena Wessler, Benjamin Rainer, Daniel Rainer and Jeremy
Rainer. Karl Rainer’s students: Pattyra Pomsinsub, Jade McConville, Miles
Zeweniuk, Nicola Groome. Daniel Taylor, Chlöe Hardbattle, Ella Wyndlow, Anthony
Yang, Kipling Szasz, Joo-Young Jung, Peter Heyd. Lucy Toews, Ethan McDermid,
Daniel Mottahedeh, Levi Hunter, Joan Blackman’s students: Maddy Erickson and
Max Sander. Leslie Krull’s student:
Hannah Maughan. Mary Jackson’s students Kayden Borsa, Chyvonne
Borsa, Zina Okereke, Kanyito Okereke, Zikora
Okereke, and Mary Jackson’s and Nicole Arendt’s co-taught students: Wyatt
Bouchard, Magnus Warren, Brooklynn Currell, Tyanna
Currell, Tate Robinson, Dru Robinson, Moyo
Alabi and Tehya Clegg. Cindy Speelman’s students: 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 and Elaine Tschofen. Pippa Williams’ students: Sasha
Stajic, Michelle Hatfield, Rupert Millbank, Laura Mace, Jack Mace and James
McDermid.
UPPER ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL BURSARY WINNERS: Congratulations to all of our Bursary winners: Max Sander, Ian Perry, Peter Heyd, Jack Mace, Laura Mace, Lucy Toews, Uei-Young Jung, Jonah Manson, Kipling Szasz, Benjamin Rainer and Tehya Clegg. The following bursary winners have been invited to perform: Anthony Yang - Youngsters' Dance and Maddy Erickson - Scherzo Tarantella.
BC PROVINCIAL
FESTIVAL COMPETITORS: Congratulations to our faculty on their
excellent work with their students. Both Nanaimo Youth Choirs are recommended
for the Provincials- congrats to all! The following
students have been recommended to Provincials- congratulations- excellent
work!!
Strings: Intermediate Max Sander, Competitor- Lucy
Toews, Observer/Alternate, Junior B - Peter
Heyd, Competitor,
Junior A - Anthony Yang, Competitor, Joan Blackman’s violin
students: Max
Sander and Madeleine Erickson Competitors, Patrick
Olmsted student Ian Perry will be
competing in Grade 7 guitar.
Congratulations
to Cindy Speelman’s following
students who will be performing at the Honours Concert: Robyn Boar, Uei-Young Jung, Jocelyn Maguire. Bravo to Patrick Olmsted’s
student Jonah Manson who will be performing at the Honors concert.
VANCOUVER
ISLAND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL -The Vancouver Island
Chamber Music Festival was a great deal of fun! The three heavenly days of
spectacular chamber music included the Borealis String Quartet, a successful
co-production in collaboration with and with much thanks to Lulu Performing
Arts with award winning jazz pianist David Braid. Nanaimo Entertainment
performances included the Bourgeoise Trio, the Vancouver String Quartet, joyous
danceable Argentinian Tango music from Orquesta Paraguas, the outstanding Pinnacle
Brass quintet that featured five of the island’s top brass musicians, flute and
guitar from L’aube Enchanteé featuring flautist Bernard Blary and guitarist
Alec Pearson and the South Island Percussion Unit as led by Hans VerHoeven. With
much thanks to festival Music Director Pippa Williams for her dedication and
hard work! Thanks also to Lulu Performing Arts founder Leah Hokanson and her
team from Lulu Performing Arts for the wonderful performance at The Haven on
Gabriola Island! Thanks to all the volunteers and folks who made our festival a
success!
SUMMER JAZZ INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS-Summer Jazz Intensive
takes place July 19-22nd, 2016 and we are proud to offer a workshop with
top multi JUNO winner Canadian jazz composer and saxophonist Christine Jensen.
As one of Canada’s most impressive jazz artists,
Christine Jensen will offer instruction at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music
and brings along some very special guests TBA! Past guests include Ingrid
Jensen, Phil Dwyer, Jon Wikan, Joel Miller and more! 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 and to register.
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 just $500 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, we are having another bottle
drive on Saturday, May 7th. Bottles can be dropped off at NCM at 375 Selby St.
anytime up to Friday, May 6th - OR please come to 3648 Departure Bay Road
between 9 am and 1 pm on Saturday, May 7th to drop off your bottles.
For more information on
upcoming choir events contact Marian Smith at 250-741-6998. If you would like to make a
contribution to help the 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, https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/nanaimo-conservatory-of-music/. 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.
Thanks to supporters who have helped already- we are so close, any help that
you can provide will be greatly appreciated!
JANINA FIALKOWSKA MASTER CLASS- Congratulations to the students who
participated in the Janina Fialkowska Master Class. The students worked hard on
their piano interpretation of several challenging compositions ranging from
Chopin to Rachmaninoff. Master pianist Janina Fialkowska provided great tips
for interpreting the works that the students were studying. In this month’s newsletter we feature some
excellent photos from the class featuring some of NCM’s very fine piano
students at the Janina Fialkowska Master Class.
FACULTY
AND STUDENT FEATURE SPOTLIGHTS: NCM FACULTY VIOLIN- MARJORIE CULLERNE
Marjorie Cullerne is on the Violin faculty at the Nanaimo
Conservatory of Music, as well as teaching at her home studio in Parksville. Her own violin teaching style reflects her eclectic
experiences studying Classical violin, Baroque violin, Celtic fiddle, and viola
da gamba. Before moving to Vancouver Island in 1975, Marjorie taught Suzuki
Violin at the Vancouver Academy of Music for four years. Many people remember
her Nanaimo Conservatory music ensemble called the 'Nanaimo Fiddle Kids' which
thrived in the 1980's and early '90's.
Marjorie,
who was born in Vancouver, has been playing the violin since she was six years
old. She was entranced even at this young age by the elusiveness of
music, which always seemed a little out of reach, and yet kept beckoning her
into its mysteries. She ultimately graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the
University of British Columbia, and a Master of Arts from Ohio State
University, with majors in Music History and Violin from both universities. Marjorie’s role as music historian continues to be at the
forefront of her mind: “My ongoing passion is writing a scholarly book
about the life and music of my great-uncle, British composer Haydn Wood"
(1882-1959). Marjorie has been a core member of the Vancouver Island
Symphony since its inception in 1995. For the past 15 years, as part of the
Vancouver Island Symphony's Send a
Musician to School Program, she has visited Grade Four students in their
own classrooms all over Central Vancouver island – getting them enthused for their trip to the
Port Theatre in Nanaimo to hear the Symphony’s annual Educational Concerts.
Learn more about Marjorie’s book project at: www.haydnwoodmusic.com.
A historical painting of the Nanaimo Fiddle
Kids of the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music (when the NCM was formerly titled Central
Vancouver Island Community Music School and housed at Malaspina College in the
1980’s and 90’s), is displayed in the May newsletter’s front page photo.
Marjorie recalled the fiddlers from the past group depicted in the painting: on
the left Marjorie Cullerne (then Marjorie Koers), Elyssa Lefurgy-Smith, either
Kate Rice or Jenny Laing, either Shamus Stone or James Mark or Shae Apland Tim
Bowen-Roberts and guitarist Bill Perry.
NCM STUDENT MORGAN BROOKS-VIOLIN-Eight
year old Morgan Brooks from
Gabriola Island takes violin lessons with Marjorie Cullerne, after having had a
month of lessons with Veronica Wagner before Veronica passed away.
Marjorie and Morgan are utilizing the Sassmannshaus 'Early Start on
the Violin' and the Suzuki Violin School book and CD. It is easy to see that
Morgan not only enjoys playing her violin but she also appreciates violins as
'art objects,' lovingly admiring the tiny crystal and gold violin on top of the
piano in Marjorie's studio, Room 4. This delightful student takes the
initiative to practice on her own at home, takes good care of her violin
and bow, and remembers to bring her shoulder pad, her violin case blanket, and her books . At the start of each
lesson, in her quiet calm way, Morgan tells
Marjorie Cullerne which compositional piece she'd like her to help her with
first, and then second, because she has been practicing at home, and thinking about
where are the tricky bits as well.
COMMUNITY
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: NCM BASS FACULTY KEN
LISTER’S UPCOMING PERFORMANCES: May 6: Northern Quarter
with Campbell Ryga, Tony Genge & Kelby MacNayr (8pm), May 7: Hermann’s
matinee with Campbell Ryga, Tony Genge & Kelby MacNayr.
FUNDRAISING CONCERT: Four of some of the
area’s finest string students Maddy Erickson, Peter Heyd, Max Sander-Segriff
and Anthony Yang are raising funds to apply towards travel costs to the
Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival in Fort St. John. With Sharon Wishart on
piano. Sunday May 15, 2:30 pm at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 100 Chapel St.
Nanaimo. Admission $10. Information: 250-754-4611.
VIU THEATRE SEAT PURCHASES:
A
comprehensive fundraising campaign called Encore is currently underway to bring
Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) aging Malaspina Theatre into the 21st
century ― and it represents a unique opportunity for community organizations
and individuals to have their names immortalized in the historic theatre. VIU’s
aim is to replace the theatre seats and restore the building into a vibrant,
professional space and cultural centre of which the community can be proud. For
as little as $100, community groups can be a permanent part of the excitement.
All donors will be listed on the donor wall in the lobby of the Malaspina
Theatre and will be invited to the grand re-opening of the theatre. With
donations at the $300, $400 and $500 levels, a customized plaque will be
mounted on a seat that will permanently recognize each organization’s donation.
Donors will be provided with a tax receipt. View more information at: www.viu.ca/encore<http://www.viu.ca/encore or interested donors
can speak with a real person at 250-740-6215.
