A 13-day celebration of music in Campbell River began this week as the Friends of Music open their twenty-sixth annual Music Week.
One of the highlights of the event is the Ruth Scott Chopin Competition, now in its fifth year.
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m., 10 students will vie for the coveted Ruth Scott prize of $500, given to the student judged, by Fiesta Master Teacher Sarah Hagen, to have given the best performance of a Chopin work.
Admission to the event, held at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Simms Road, is by donation.
Previous winners at this popular concert have been Towa Stewart, Micah Brush, Carter Johnson and Liana Kelly.
Scott was a much-loved piano teacher and founding member of the Friends of Music.
After her death, her friends and family chose to honour her through a competition featuring the music of Chopin, her favourite composer.
Music Week is a non-competitive music festival featuring students of all ages playing the piano (Fiesta and Carnival), the violin and cello (Pizzicato) and singing (Cantabile).
Pizzicato started on Wednesday with students in Royal Conservatory, Suzuki, and Fiddle classes.
Master teacher Trish Clair Peck will work with students in a master class setting.
Under the guidance of Cantabile Master Teacher, Laura Anne Bateman, voice students
of all ages, including a number of adults, will perform, with their accompanists, folk songs, classical solos, sacred music, jazz and musical theatre. Cantabile begins on today at 1:30 p.m., April 26.
The evening session, which begins tonight at 6 p.m. is a highlight, with intermediate and senior students singing and acting musical theatre numbers.
Fiesta participants are piano students in Royal Conservatory Grade Three and above.
They are grouped according to the type of music they play – Romantic, Baroque, Popular music etc., and their grade level.
Hagen who grew up in the Comox Valley is a widely travelled and acclaimed performer known for her collaboarative performances.
The Fiesta portion of Music Week runs from Monday at 9 a.m. until Friday morning May 3.
Students in their first years of piano study, some as young as five years old, take part in Carnival, which runs from Friday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m., until Sunday May 3.
They perform in small groups according to their age and level, and work with Campbell River’s Mathew Blackburn, himself a frequent performer at Music Week, and now holding an ARCT, a diploma from the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.
The master teachers suggest performers for the Finale Concert, to take place on Friday, May 10 at the Trinity Presbyterian Church.
This very popular concert, which begins at 7:30, will also feature the winner of the Ruth Scott Chopin Competition.
All events, take place at the Trinity Presbyterian Church, and the public is welcome to attend for a very modest fee.
For more information about Music Week, check out the Friends of Music website (http://www.campbellriverfriendsofmusic.com) or contact Sandy Havelaar, at 250-923-6627.
