|
(Posted 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26)
Gloucester
Music Teachers Association honours top students
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
 |
|
Some of this year's Gloucester Music Teachers
Association award recipients show off their
trophies during the First Class Honours recital
on Sunday. Fred Sherwin/Photo
|
|
Members
of the Gloucester Music Teachers Association honoured
its top students with not one but two recitals and awards
ceremony on Sunday.
The
double recital was needed due to the sheer number of students
who received a First Class Honour mark of 80 or above
on their Royal Conservatory of Music exam last year, and
therefore were eligible to perform.
Twenty-two
very gifted young people took part in the first recital,
followed by 17 students in the second performance.
In
between the two concerts, trophies were handed out to
the student receiving the top mark in each Grade level,
as well as certificates for the top marks in musical theory
and a special award for the student showing exceptional
determination.
All
but one of the students who received a performance award
had a achieved a mark of 90 or higher. Bethany Lau received
the highest adjudicated score which was 97. Only two per
cent of the students who take the RCM exam attain a score
above 90.
All
of the reward recipients also performed in on of the two
recitals, making for a very entertaining evening of classical
music.
The
first recital was kicked off by guest performer Declan
Lavoie who was awarded the Gloucester Music Teachers Association
scholarship at last year's Kiwanis Music Festival.
Lavoie
played a beautiful rendition of Salut d'Amore on violin
accompanied by Tea Mamaladze on piano.
There
were a number of highlights during the first concert including
Frank Boothroyd's performance of Giovanni Pescetti's Sonata
in C Minor, and Camille Riopelle's Fur Elise by Beethoven.
Among
the award recipients who performed in the first recital
were Grade 1 award winner Aja Penny, Grade 2 recipients
Alexandre Hou and Reta-Anne McKay, Preparatory B winners
Noah Lau and Shannon Webster, Grade 4 recipient Bethany
Lau, Grade 5 winner Emily Hou, Grade 6 recipient Meghan
Lau, and Grade 9 winner Kevin Yang.
Yang's
accomplishment is exceptional in that he has only just
turned 12. Most young musicians don't start the RCM exam
process until they are six or seven years old, which means
they're not ready to take the Grade 9 exam until they
are 16 or 17.
Yang
began playing piano when he was four and practices at
least two hours a day, seven days a week. His teacher
Heather Norian can't say enough about her young prodigy.
"He
has a maturity way beyond his years," says Norian.
"He is so dedicated, so professional, so focused,
and he's incredibly humble as well. To attain his Grade
9 and to do so with First Class Honours with Distinction
is an incredible accomplishment at such a young age."
Yang
is currently in Grade 8 at Henry Larsen Elementary School,
where he is an exceptional student as well as a gifted
pianist.
The
first concert also featured four members of the Lau family,
three of whom received performance awards for achieving
the top mark at their respective grade level. Their proud
mother Amy watched on from the audience as they each performed.
Their father had to stay home to look after the other
two Lau siblings who are two months and four years old.
Despite
having two standup pianos and a digital piano in their
home, the siblings have to take turns in order to practice.
The two older siblings, Bethany, 12, and Meghan, 14, have
also taking up the violin, making for a very musical household.
As
entertaining as the first recital was, the second concert
was truly magical as each young musician performed flawlessly
including Catherine Gallagher who performed Mozart's Sonata
in F+, and Grade 8 award recipient Rosalie Seguin-Lemay
who sang "Bel piacere" from Handel's "Agrippina".
Other
standout performances included fellow Grade 8 award winner
Amy Li recital of Mozart's Sonata, K 330; Grade 6 recipient
Evan Klein's beautiful rendition of Beethoven's Sonata,
Op. 27 No.2; and Irene Grose's performance of Beethoven's
Bagatelle, Op. 33 No. 1.
But
the twin highlights of the night were Danielle Lemieux's
breathtaking rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream"
from Les Miserable, and Max Fu's outstanding performance
of Franz Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat Major which
brought the evening to a dramatic close.
Most
if not all of the young musicians will be competing in
the upcoming Kiwanis Music Festival which gets underway
at a variety of different venues around the city on April
8 and continues until the 27th.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
|
THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents Michael Ben-Shalom live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents The Underground live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. Trivia Night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (613) 834-9005 to reserve your spot. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near the Innes Road McDonalds.
