Festival News
Congratulations, Jaeden! Salmon Arm pianist wins gold at prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition.
Congratulations, Jaeden! Salmon Arm pianist wins gold at prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition. Read the article HERE.
The Festival offers performance and learning opportunities to amateur musicians and vocal artists in Strings, Piano, Vocal, Choral and Band
At the annual Shuswap Music Festival, Bastion Elementary School Choir opened the morning of Choral performances at Nexus on Monday, April 15. In the evening, the Shuswap Singers concluded the adjudicated Choral sessions in which seven choirs participated! The Festival offers performance and learning opportunities to amateur musicians and vocal artists in Strings, Piano, Vocal, Choral and Band. Everyone is welcome to attend the award presentation and Gala concert that showcases the Best of the Festival at Nexus on Friday, May 3 at 7 PM. Admission is $10/person or $20/family. Discover more at ShuswapFestival. com.
Photo credit: Susan Wolff
Festival Celebrates Shuswap Talent
The 2024 Shuswap Music Festival concluded Friday, May 3rd with a Gala Concert showcasing some of the highlights from more than 800 performances during the three weeks of the Festival. With each year, the annual Festival attracts more aspiring young musicians and vocal artists. Over $8,000.00 in awards and scholarships presented during the celebratory evening foster continued musical development. The Festival and these awards are made possible through the generosity and support of Rotary, private donors, memorial and endowment funds, the Shuswap Community Foundation, the City of Salmon Arm, SASCU, and Acorn Music. The many volunteers who plan, organize and help to host the Festival each day of the event are key to its success. The community truly comes together to encourage and support the growth of our young musicians!
This year the Best of the Festival awards went to: Autumn Sunderland for Strings, Alexandrina Thiessen for Vocal, and Nathan King for Piano. Evje Knutson won the Nancy Leatherdale Memorial Scholarship. The Mary Fowler Memorial Scholarship was presented to Alexandrina Theissen. Nathan King and Autumn Sunderland shared the Blair Borden Memorial Scholarship and the Klein Family Scholarship. These scholarships support the pursuit of advanced study in music. Beautiful performances by Knutson, King, Sunderland and Theissen completed the evening entertainment and demonstrated the depth and professionalism of Shuswap talent.
To recognize and encourage the musical talent of our youth, the Festival provides awards for every level of performance in Vocal, Strings, Piano, Choral and Band. Included in the Vocal awards are the Lazzarotto Junior and Intermediate Awards won by Etoile Brown and Makenna Boucher respectively. The winners of all 52 awards are listed on the website www.ShuswapFestival.com.
Festival adjudicators not only select the winners of all awards but also recommend musicians to advance to the B.C. Provincial Festival to be held in Fort St. John, June 2-6, 2024. The provincial recommendations include Nico Glanville/Jr. A Piano; Max Henschel/Intermediate Piano; Kevin Kuebler/Alternate; Nathan King/Senior Piano; Hugh Weathermon/Jr. Strings; Etoile Brown/Jr. Classical Voice; Evje Knutson/Intermediate Classical Voice; Alexandrina Theissen/Senior Classical Voice; and Makenna Boucher/Intermediate Musical Theatre.
A special “Thank You” goes to David Izik-Dzurko, MC for the Gala, who peppered the evening with notes of his experiences as the father of an aspiring young pianist, Jaeden. As a young boy, Jaeden’s first public performances were at Shuswap Music Festivals. Today, a graduate of the prestigious Julliard School of Music, he travels the world winning international competitions and performing in renown concert halls. Some of this year’s young artists may be on a similar musical journey. Best wishes to all the candidates entered in the Festival and thank you for participating.
The 2024 Shuswap Music Festival concluded with a Gala Concert on Friday, May 3rd. Winners of the “Best of the Fest” were: Autumn Sunderland for Strings, Nathan King for Piano, and Alexandrina Thiessen for Vocal. Check the Festival website ShuswapFestival. com for more about the Festival, Gala and awards.
Photo credit: Susan Wolff
Festival Inspires Young Musicians
If you like music–classical, contemporary, jazz, musicals–then you will enjoy the Shuswap Music Festival. This year’s annual Festival runs from April 8 to May 3. The Festival hosts a diverse range of amateur musicians from five-year-old violinists to aspiring pianists, musical theatre vocalists, school jazz and concert bands, and senior members of choirs. All performances, with the exception of school bands, are at Nexus at First in Salmon Arm. Band performances will take place at Pleasant Valley Secondary School in Armstrong. All candidates perform competitively. Acclaimed professional musicians adjudicate each performance. These adjudicators bring their international performance credentials and a wealth of teaching, conducting, and masterclass workshop talents to the Festival. They critique, coach and inspire excellence. Adjudicator biographies and Festival programs are online at www.ShuswapFestival.com.
The Festival continues to expand and for the first time offers a String Orchestra category. String Orchestras will perform on opening day, Monday April 8, starting at 6 PM. The public is welcome to attend all adjudicated sessions. Admission is by donation.
Vocal and Choral sessions begin Monday, April 15. School choirs perform Monday morning April 15 and Community Youth and Adult Choirs perform Monday evening at 6 PM. Piano Ensembles entertain audiences each Festival with duets, trios, and 2-pianos-8-hands performances! Don’t miss them on Wednesday April 24, starting at 6 PM. The music department of School District #83 enthusiastically supports the Festival and school band entries continue to grow. Fourteen bands will perform at Pleasant Valley Secondary School from April 23 to 25.
The Festival celebrates amateur talent. The concluding Gala concert showcases the Best of the Festival. Awards presented at the Gala encourage continued musical development. Scholarships provided through memorial funds and bequeaths managed by the Shuswap Community Foundation support advanced studies. Adjudicators select top candidates to compete at the B.C. Performing Arts Festival. Some contestants move on to Western Canada and National Festival competitions.
The Shuswap Music Festival is a community event hosted with the help of many volunteers and sponsored by the three Rotary Clubs of Salmon Arm. Private individuals, business and corporate donors support the Festival and include The City of Salmon Arm, The Shuswap Community Foundation, Acorn Music and SASCU. “Thank You” to all supporters, volunteers, and especially to all participants.