Dedicated hours of practice have paid off for a group of students from the Vernon Community Music School, who are off to the Provincial Festival in Kamloops at the beginning of June.
Hosted by the Kamloops Festival of Performing Arts, The Provincials, as they are better known, will see more than 400 of the most talented young musicians, dancers and speech/dramatic arts performers coming from 34 regional Kiwanis festivals throughout the province.They will perform in at least nine venues in Kamloops, and most will be bringing along their parents and teachers.
For those who are not able to go to Kamloops and support the local students, the VCMS is hosting a concert at the school’s Carriage House Loft May 30, where the school’s qualifiers will perform.
The event is a fundraiser for the VCMS’ Sound Capital Campaign, which is raising money for much needed repairs on the 1908 Smith House, the school’s home since 1982.
“Students of the school are grateful for the opportunity to study there and are happy to donate their efforts towards the worthy cause of much-needed renovations,” said VCMS piano teacher Lucy Feldman, who has a number of students competing at this year’s Provincials.
“It is a great privilege and a wonderful opportunity to be invited to the (Provincials), and to rub shoulders with the best young musicians in B.C.”
The preliminary concert at the Carriage House will feature the students performing in a variety of musical disciplines: piano, violin, viola, cello, flute and voice, performing compositions by Bach, Gershwin, Haydn, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Handel, Brahms, Elgar and others.
VCMS students representing the Kiwanis festivals include:
On piano (students of Feldman): Yanik Fillion-Murphy representing Penticton at the intermediate level; Andrea Lee, representing Kelowna at the senior level; and Colleen Venables representing Kelowna in the national class.
On strings (students of Bev Martens and Morna Howie): Amy Friedman, violin, representing Penticton at the senior level; Hana Friedman, violin, representing Penticton in the junior level; Madeleine Haynes, viola, representing Kamloops at the intermediate level; Julian Haynes, violin, representing Kamloops at the junior level, Craig Denton-Protsack, viola, representing Salmon Arm at the junior level; David Denton-Protsack, violin, representing Shuswap at the junior level; and Nicholas Denton-Protsack, cello, representing Penticton at the senior level.
Ensembles: The Denton-Protsack Trio (Nicholas, cello; Craig, viola; David, violin) representing Penticton at the intermediate level; and the Aspen Trio (Madeleine Haynes, viola; Julien Haynes, violin (students of Martens) and Amy Friedman, piano (student of Feldman).
On flute: Laurel Salé-Hook (taught by Margaret Burton), representing Kamloops at the intermediate level. In voice: Alex Khazen (taught by Kimberley van Wensem), representing Kamloops at the intermediate level.
The Monday, May 30 concert starts at 7 p.m. in the Carriage House Loft, located besides the Smith House (1705–32nd Ave.) Admission is by donation.
