What do mountain biking and Mozart, baking and Beethoven, dancing and Debussy, video games and Vivaldi have in common? These are the diverse interests of four remarkable young people from our own Creston Valley. The local Creston Valley Music Teachers Association has termed this group “Team Creston”.
Team Creston is made up of Megan Bibby, Emma Penner, Cory Hammond, and Alec Hammond. These young musicians will represent Creston in music competitions at Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival in Victoria. All four youths were nominated for the provincial competition by outside Royal Conservatory Of Music judges after winning their music competition in local festivals of the arts. By being nominated to compete at the provincial level they will test their skills against young musicians from throughout B. C. for a chance to compete nationally.
In hockey term,s they are in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Megan, Emma, Cory, and Alec will perform a benefit concert Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 pm at the Prince Charles Theatre. Tickets are on sale at Black Bear Books and at the door. Monies raised will help pay their travel costs. Megan, Ale, and Cory will compete in Victoria May 29 – June 2. Emma will compete in September in Vancouver. This concert promises to be a celebration of the high artistic level these local youths have achieved.
Megan Bibby age 18, was born and raised in Creston. After seeing her first Creston Fiddlers concert she knew that the violin was for her. She is grateful to her local past and present teachers Kalen Huscroft, Cindy Musa and Velle Weitman on violin, Monte Anderson on piano, and Anita Stushnoff for harmony and music history. She currently studies violin with Dr. Jason Moody in Spokane, Washington. Megan has won “Best Overall” twice in the Creston Arts Festival and won first place on the Provincial level in the Junior Strings Canadian music class. Highland dancing is her other love. She began dancing at age three at Lori Kepke’s School of Highland dance and is now a certified dance instructor.
Emma Penner age 16, was also born and raised in Creston. At the age of four, she would crawl up onto the piano bench to watch her great uncle play the piano. Her passions are piano and violin. She started Music for Young Children with Anita Stushnoff when she was five and piano lessons with Audrey Johnson at age seven. Emma currently studies piano with Arne Sahlen of Kimberley. She began violin studies at nine first with Kalen Huscroft, later with Velle Huscroft Weitman, and Zavellennah Huscroft Young. She currently studies violin with Flory Godinez. Emma holds seven Royal Conservatory medals with highest marks in piano and music theory. She is the East Kootenay Representative for the BC Piano competition in White Rock in September. She has been nominated to compete at the Provincial Festivals in both piano and violin.
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