The annual Nechako Valley Festival of the Arts is taking place next week at the Vanderhoof Christian Fellowship Church, kicking off with speech arts on March 13 and piano recitals on March 14 and 15.
Programs are available on http://www.musicfestivalweb.com/nechako/ or at the Vanderhoof Public Library.
Speech Arts Adjudicator: Susan Bertoia
Susan Bertoia is a Vancouver based professional theatre artist, actor and teacher. She also serves as an adjudicator at drama and speech arts festivals in BC and as an independent artist-in-residence and with ArtStarts in Schools.
She holds a BFA in Theatre from UBC and has advanced theatre studies (commedia dell’arte and physical theatre) from international institutions. Her devised theatre performances are extensively movement based, at times abstract and playfully engaging. As an actor she has worked with Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver), Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops), Richmond Gateway Theatre and many other well-established theatre companies.
Susan is the recipient of the Vancouver Jessie Richardson’s Award for Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role Award and is a several time nominee for other roles she has played. She is also recipient of The Gordon Armstrong Theatre Artist Award. Susan is Artistic Director/Producer of her theatre company BellaLuna Productions. She is very honoured to be invited to adjudicate at the Nechako Valley Festival.
Piano Adjudicator: Terry Yeh B.M. ARCT, BCRMTA
Born in Taiwan, Terry Yeh started learning piano at the age of 5 with Kan-Pei Ke. She received numerous awards, including Chi-Mei Foundation scholarship and prizes from Taipei Youth International Chopin Competition and the Taiwan National Piano Competition. After moving to Canada at age 16, Terry continued her studies with James Olsen.
She competed in Vancouver Kiwanis music festival, Burnaby Clef Society music festival, and BCCM music festival and had won first, second places and scholarships. Terry obtains her Bachelor degree in piano performance from the University of Victoria, studied with Bruce Vogt. She was the recipient of Mary Dorothy Jones Bessex Bursary and Margareta H. Von Rudloff Scholarship.
Terry also performed in masterclasses for renowned artists and teachers such as Robert Silverman, Robin Wood, Jane Coop, Jamie Syer, Cary Chow and Eva Solar-kinderman. Terry is a member of BC Registered Music Teachers Association. An avid, experienced piano teacher,her students have received awards and scholarships through the years. Terry is currently the faculty member at the Prince George Conservatory of music in the piano department.
