On this day in 1944, the Talent Trust was founded after members of the Halifax Ladies Club, along with voice teacher Dr. Ernesto Vinci, successfully advocated the city of Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia for unparalleled financial support towards Portia White's studies in New York. Portia White ascended to become one of the best singers of the 20th century. The province recognized the difference their support made in Portia White’s career and founded the Nova Scotia Talent Trust on May 2, 1944, to help other deserving and talented Nova Scotians succeed.
Since that time we've assisted the professional development of over 1,000 Nova Scotians and have awarded scholarships and special awards totaling over $2.5 million dollars.
Like Portia White, many NSTT scholarship recipients have achieved great success in their artistic careers, including this year's Awards nominees:
Edward Enman - Classical Composer of the Year
Jennifer King, O Mistress Moon - Classical Recording of the Year
Atlantic String Machine (Karen Graves), A Single Juniper Post - Classical Recording of the Year; Instrumental Recording of the Year
Duo Concertante (Nancy Dahn), Ecology of Being - Classical Recording of the YEar
Vineet Vyas, Satyam - Global Recording of the Year
Gina Burgess, ISNOW - Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year
As we kick off our 79th year, we are excited to celebrate with at the East Coast Music Awards, who are ringing in their 35th anniversary!!!
In honour of both anniversaries, here's a list of all the Talent Trust alumni who took home ECMA's:
1998 - Four the Moment (Anne-Marie Woods) - African-Canadian Recording of the Year
1999 - David MacDonald - Classical Recording of the Year
2003 - Denise Djokic - Classical Recording of the Year
2006 - Denise Djokic - Classical Recording of the Year
2010 - Gypsophilia (Gina Burgess, Matt Myer) - Jazz Recording of the Year
2012 - Gypsophilia (Gina Burgess, Matt Myer) - Jazz Recording of the Year
2013 - Gypsophilia (Gina Burgess, Matt Myer) - World Recording of the Year
2017 - Duo Concertante (Nancy Dahn) - Classical Recording of the Year
2018 - Duo Concertante (Nancy Dahn) - Classical Recording of the Year
2019 - Duo Concertante (Nancy Dahn) - Classical Recording of the Year
2019 - Reeny Smith - Bucky Adams Memorial Award
2019 - Reeny Smith - R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
2020 - Marc Djokic - Classical Recording of the Year
2022 - Breagh Isabel - Songwriter of the Year
We can't wait to celebrate the Talent Trust, ECMA's, and the incredible East coast music industry this weekend!
You can find us at the Halifax Harbourfront Marriott Hotel Thursday to Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-1pm. For more info about the ECMA's and the full list of nominees, please visit their website.
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