Meet the 2018 Nova Scotia Talent Trust Special Award Winners

Today we were able to grant 13 special awards at our annual Special Awards Ceremony.

We recognized our 2018 scholarship and Special Award recipients at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at the Halifax Central Library in a ceremony attended by His Honour The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, ONS, QC, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.

Created to support the career of contralto Portia White 74 years ago, the Talent Trust has continued to support talented Nova Scotian artists as they pursue their studies toward establishing professional careers in the arts.

Celebrate with them!

Theatre artist Rebecca Wolfe.

Halifax theatre performer Rebecca Wolfe received the $1,500 Talent Trust Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Artistic Achievement, the NSTT’s highest honour for a student in any discipline. Wolfe studies acting in the Humber College Theatre Performance Program in Toronto, Ontario.


Presented for the first time in 2013, the two 2011 Canada Games Young Artist of Excellence Awards, valued at $10,000 each, will be awarded to any recipient, regardless of age, from any artistic discipline, who best exemplifies the qualities embraced by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, that of the utmost commitment, promise, exceptional technique, talent and the highest achievement of excellence, someone who demonstrates the passion and drive to become a professional Nova Scotia artist in their field of discipline.

These two awards will be granted every December until 2022 and are the legacy of the 2011 Canada Games Young Artists of Excellence Program.

In 2018, the two $10,000 awards were received by Head of Saint Margaret's Bay dancer Claire Campbell and visual artist Curtis Botham from Stellarton.

Dancer Claire Campbell

Claire Campbell (Head of Saint Margaret's Bay), 2018 recipient of a 2011 Canada Games Young Artist of Excellence Award, is currently studying ballet and contemporary dance at L'École Superieure de Ballet du Québec in Montréal, Québec.

Visual artist Curtis Botham.

Visual artist Curtis Botham (Stellarton), 2018 recipient of a 2011 Canada Games Young Artist of Excellence Award, recently completed the NSCAD University Residency Program in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.





There are 10 more Special Award recipients, each of whom demonstrates exceptional potential to become professional artists. We're pleased to introduce them here.

Painter Letitia Fraser.

Painter Letitia Fraser (Halifax) is the recipient of the $1,500 RBC Emerging Artist Award for visual arts. Fraser studies painting at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Award supported by RBC Emerging Artist Program.)

Clarinetist Lucas March.

Clarinetist Lucas March (New Glasgow) is the recipient of the $1000 Yue Lih “Lee” and Marion Kuo Award for exceptional commitment and potential in music as an instrumentalist. March is currently in private study with Halifax music teacher Eileen Walsh. (Award supported by Marion Kuo and Earl Wadden.)

Visual artist Brianna West.

Visual artist Brianna West (Halifax) is the recipient of the $1,000 Charlotte Wilson-Hammond/Visual Arts Nova Scotia Award. West currently studies fashion and textiles at NSCAD University in Halifax. (Award supported by Charlotte Wilson-Hammond and Visual Arts Nova Scotia.)

Opera singer Breanna Miller.

Opera singer Breanna Miller (Hubley) is the recipient of the $1,000 Talent Trust Portia White Award for voice. Miller studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. (Award supported by the Music-in-Medicine and Humanities-HEALS Program, Dalhousie University.)

Contemporary dancer Lucie Schmidt.

Contemporary dancer Lucie Schmidt (Dartmouth) is the recipient of the $2,000 Robert George Jackson Award for dance. Schmidt studies at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre (Award supported by the Jackson family.)

Theatre artist Angus Stevens.

Angus Stevens (Port Medway) is the recipient of the $500 Theatre Nova Scotia Award for theatre. Stevens is studying theatre performance at Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Ontario. (Award supported by Theatre Nova Scotia.)

Pianist Cindy Thong.

Pianist Cindy Thong (Head of Jeddore) is the recipient of the $1,000 Tietje Zonneveld Award and is studying at La Haute École de Musique de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland. (Award supported by Tietje Zonneveld.)

Composer Jessica MacIsaac.

Composer Jessica MacIsaac (Halifax) is the recipient of the $750 Kenneth Elloway Award for composition. She is studying at Dalhousie University. (Award supported by the Elloway family.)

Dancer Carrigan MacDonald.

Ballet and contemporary dancer Carrigan MacDonald (Hammonds Plains) is the recipient of the $1000 Janice Merritt Flemming Award and is currently studying at L'École Superieure de Ballet du Québec in Montréal, QC. (Award supported by the Flemming family.)

French horn player Mimisu Lee.

French horn player Mimisu Lee (Halifax) is the recipient of the $1,000 Raymond Simpson Award for music. Mimisu is studying at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Ontario. (Award supported by the Simpson family.)




In addition to the Special Awards announced today, the Nova Scotia Talent Trust gave out scholarships to 65 recipients earlier this year. You can find a list of the 2018 Nova Scotia Talent Trust scholarship recipients below.

The NSTT’s scholarship application deadline date for Spring/Summer study is March 1, 2019. The deadline for Fall/Winter study is May 1, 2019.


Congratulations to the Talent Trust and Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship Recipients

Dance — Ballet

• Julia Barkhouse, Dartmouth 
• Olivia MacLean, Dartmouth
• Katherine McDonald, Halifax
• Mollie Oates-Johnson, Dartmouth
• Maggie Oates-Johnson, Dartmouth
• Aidan Vaudreuil, Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship

Dance — Ballet/Contemporary

• Chloe Bruce, Dartmouth
• Claire Campbell, Head of St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship
• Carrigan MacDonald, Hammonds Plains
• Stan Tonin, Windsor Junction

Dance — Modern/Contemporary

• Gabrielle Kachan, Halifax
• Lucie Schmidt, Lakeview
• Denver Scott, Halifax

Dance — Choreography

• Aliah Schwartz, Canning

Music — Keyboard (Piano)

• Devin Huang, Bedford
• Lala Lee, Halifax
• Chantal Peng, Wolfville
• Dakota Scott-Digout, Barrington
• Andrew Son, Halifax
• Cindy Thong, Halifax
• Alex (Zixuan) Yang, Bedford

Music — Strings (Cello)

• India Yeshe Gailey, Wolfville

Music — Strings (Violin)

• Leo Hanada, Halifax
• Rose Hanada, Halifax
• Wyatt Johnson, Halifax
• Lilith Richter-Stephenson, Dartmouth

Music — Strings (Bass Guitar)

• Mark Carroll, Valley
• Aidan Zann-Roland, Truro

Music — Voice (Opera)

• Meagan Adams, Halifax
• Ruusu-Maaria Brousseau, Halifax
• Hannah Ernst, Lunenburg
• Laura Johnston, Prospect Bay
• Emma MacEachern, Truro
• Breanna Miller, Hubley
• Natalie Mitchell, New Glasgow
• Morgan Reid, Sydney
• Abigail Sinclair, Halifax
• Shanice Skinner, New Glasgow

Music — Composition

• Ben Coleman, New Glasgow
• Gavin Fraser, Antigonish
• Jessica MacIsaac, Halifax
• Taylor MacGillivray, Halifax

Music — Brass (French Horn)

• Mimisu Lee, Halifax

Music — Brass (Euphonium)

• Ross Macintosh, Truro

Music — Woodwind (Clarinet)

• Lucas March, New Glasgow

Theatre — Acting

• Angus Stevens, Port Medway
• Rebecca Wolfe, Dartmouth

Theatre — Music Theatre

• Katie Cochrane, Bridgewater
• Brent Raddall, Summerville Centre

Visual/Fine Arts —Interdisciplinary

• Emma Allain, Halifax
• Helah Cooper, Lunenburg
• Arjun Lal, Halifax

Visual/Fine Arts — Design/Applied Craft

• Jodie Fox, Mosquodoboit Harbour
• Isaac Fresia, Halifax
• Andrew Gilmour, Halifax
• Jenna Lee, Bedford
• Ahmed Naji, Halifax

Visual/Fine Arts — Painting/Drawing

• NAT chantel, Dartmouth
• Curtis Botham, Bedford
• Caitlin McGuire, Halifax, Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship
• Letitia Fraser, Halifax, Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship
• Madeleine West, Halifax

Visual/Fine Arts — Textiles/Fashion

• Brianna West, Halifax
• Jessie McLaughlin, Bedford

Visual/Fine Arts — Typeface Design

• Lee Yuen-Rapati, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund Scholarship