Breagh Isabel: GOLD news for Good News

 

A HUGE congratulations to former Talent Trust scholarship recipient and current Talent Trust Board member Breagh Isabel on her first GOLD Record for Good News, recorded with Classified and O'Sound!!

Breagh is a Canadian recording artist, songwriter, and up-and-coming producer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has written for Canadian artists including Donovan Woods, Classified, Jocelyn Alice, and Ria Mae.

Breagh was the winner of the Talent Trust's 2013 Chico Berardi Award.

You can visit Breagh's website for more info.

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today! (smile)

Special Presentation: Lala Lee and David Liam Roberts performance

As part of the Cecilia Concerts (Halifax's Chamber Music Series) Talent Trust recipient Lala Lee will be performing with David Liam Roberts on Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 7p.m. and 9p.m.

There is a waitlist for the 7p.m. show, the 9p.m. show still has availability and tickets can be purchased here.

About the performance (from Cecilia Concerts website):

David Liam Roberts, cello; LaLa Lee, piano

For the third evening of our 32nd season, we welcome pianist LaLa Lee and cellist David Liam Roberts to our stage in the Lilian Piercey Concert Hall for a riveting program of works that includes Luigi Bocceherini’s challenging Cello Sonata in A major, G. 4, Robert Schumann’s simple but boldly expressive Five Pieces in Folk Style, and Frédéric Chopin's dazzling Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3. The pair will also perform Christos Hatzis’ coaxing and dramatic Atonement, which impressively fuses tango, jazz elements, and a Jewish theme, as well as Swiss-born composer Ernest Bloch’s From Jewish Life: Prayer, a work that captures the complex, ardent Jewish spirit and soul. Known for his extraordinary technique and sincerely communicative performances, Métis cellist David Liam Roberts is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting Canadian cellists of his generation. A local audience favorite, pianist LaLa Lee has delighted audiences worldwide as well with solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. Both artists have been featured on CBC Music’s list of Canada’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians under 30”.

Lala is a two-time winner of the Tietje Zonneveld Award, which recognizes excellence in piano. And the 2019 winner of the The Lieutenant Governor’s Award.

Want to hear more? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotia artists? Donate today!

Devin Huang: November 18th Music Room Chamber Players Series

As part of the Music Room Chamber Players Series Talent Trust Recipient, Devin Huang will be performing on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 5:30pm and 7:30pm at The Peggy Corkum Music Room, Halifax. While the live performance is sold out, the performance will be livestreamed.

About Devin:

Pianist Devin Huang was just named one of the CBC’s “30 hot classical musicians under 30” for 2020.  

Other achievements of Devin's include, but are not limited to, the Presidents' Cup Award from the Nova Scotia Kiwanis Festival, the Maureen Hopkins Memorial Rose Bowl, Halifax Ladies Musical Club Award, the 2019 Peggy Corkum/Musique Royale Legacy Award and the first winner of the Gordan Murray Rising Star Award.

Devin consistently places first in the Canadian Music Competition finals.

Devin studies with Lynn Stodola, who teaches young gifted pianists after retiring from a distinguished career with the Fountain School of Performing Arts at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Want to hear more? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotia artists? Donate today!

Jane Archibald & Jennifer King Special Presentation

Celebrated coloratura soprano Jane Archibald and award-winning pianist Jennifer King, both past Talent Trust recipients, are performing Saturday, October 24th (at 7pm and 9pm) as part of the Cecilia Concerts series.

While the performance is currently at capacity, you can join the waitlist here.

About Jane Archibald (from her website)

After beginning her professional opera career in her native Canada, Jane was an Adler Fellow and Merola participant with the San Francisco Opera. She then moved to the Vienna State Opera as a member of the ensemble, debuting many coloratura roles.

Her 2019-2020 season includes performances of Mathilde (William Tell) at the Opera de Lyon, the title role in Semele for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra with Long Yu, recitals in Toronto and environs, Messiah with the Toronto Symphony, concerts in Chicago (Handel/Mozart), Dresden (Lehar) and Madrid (Vaughn Williams), and Ginevra (Ariodante) in Valencia and Donna Anna in Zurich.

About Jennifer King (from her website)

Jennifer King is a versatile Nova Scotian pianist and teacher who loves performing, working with students of all ages and collaboration on the concert stage. Her first solo album O Mistress Moon gained two nominations for Best Classical Album of the Year 2019 with East Coast Music Association and Music Nova Scotia. With a busy career spanning thirty years, she has established herself as a sought-after performer and solo recording artist in the region.

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today!  (smile)

Carmen Peng: Piano is not just a hobby, it is a passion!

We can't thank Talent Trust recipient Carmen Peng enough for taking the time to share with us a bit about what piano means to her, what her memories are of music and more!

Carmen Peng is a 15-year-old pianist and organist from Nova Scotia, Canada. She started piano at age four and currently studies with Professor John Hansen. Carmen has won major awards in many competitions including first place at NSRMTA Scholarship Competition, first place at Great Composers International Competition: Music of the 20th Century and winning Colin Winter MacIntosh Bach Memorial Award from Kiwanis Music Festival. At Annapolis Valley Music Festival, Carmen has won Acadia University Rose Bowl, Hester Jackson Baroque Award five times, Most Outstanding Pianist, Herbin Bowl, Senior Piano, Vocal under 14 and Chamber Ensemble Award. She has performed for Wolfville Mayor’s Levee, the Canadian Prime Minister, Ted Ex events and was recognized by Nova Scotia Assembly for her musicianship. 

Carmen is an avid volunteer and plays for her school’s Jazz Band and Choir. She placed first at Start it Up as an entrepreneur, and is an organist for numerous churches. Carmen is currently a Finalist for Great Composers International Competition: Rising Stars of America and will play at Carnegie Hall for her first-place win from American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition in December 2020.

What are your earliest memories of your art?

When I was younger, my mother would play classical music in the house as she was cleaning, cooking, relaxing, etc. and I would always listen along with her. I loved listening to Chopin since his lyrical melodies and fast runs made me want to learn the piano and play his music. I started lessons at the age of five and I can remember it took my piano teacher nearly a month to teach me a basic C major since I could never get the correct fingering. It was so hard! Thankfully, after ten years, I can play it.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years, in relation to your art?

Piano is not just a hobby: it is a passion. It has played a crucial part in my life - bringing me undeniable joy and delight and it increased my self-esteem. As a high schooler, I hope to complete my RCM ARCT Diploma in the next two years and continue my piano studies at university. In the future, I would like to pursue a career as a classical pianist or piano professor to teach others the joy that the piano can bring. 

What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?

My biggest accomplishment I can proudly brag is that I was fortunate to join the One Minute Flashcard Club my piano teacher founded. This club is for novice pianists who are learning how to read notes and identify said notes on the keyboard. There are a bunch of cards with notes ranging from both clefs that you must complete under one minute. If you do, you are able to join, and if not, sorry. I was very proud of that accomplishment since not everyone was able to join. I practiced so much that after the audition (you can only do it once), I threw the cards away. I was five and now ten years later, I feel like an alumnus, which is giving me more bragging rights.

What has been your greatest challenge in relation to your art? Why?

I do not have a good ear. In a literal sense, I constantly have to ask people to repeat what they said since I cannot hear. But in my music studies, it means that I have trouble identifying chords and melody playback when it comes to RCM exams. I'm fine with intervals - thank goodness for songs like Happy Birthday, O Christmas Tree, etc. - however, being able to identify chords and play melodies you hear thrice? It has been my greatest challenge. I don't know why, but the rest of my siblings have excellent ears and I'm pretty sure they have perfect pitch. I've practiced and practiced so much but my ears and brain cannot tell the difference between a triad and a first inversion triad. I'm better at visuals like memorization than aural.

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today!  (smile)

Talent Trust Recipients & CBC Music's 30 under30!

Congratulations to Talent Trust recipients, Devin Huang (pianist) and Marcel d'Entremont (tenor), who have both been named to CBC Music's annual classical '30 under 30' list. What an amazing accomplishment! 

'Every year since 2013, we've (CBC Music) taken a moment to shine a spotlight on Canada's emerging classical musicians. They're winning competitions and awards, graduating from top music schools, making exciting debuts — and we think they're amazing'. (from CBC Music)

Marcel d'Entremont won the NSTT's Portia White Award in 2013. The award is supported by Dalhousie Music in Medicine HEALS Program.

In 2019, Devin Huang won the new Peggy Corkum - Musique Royale Legacy Award which is supported by Musique Royale, Barbara Butler and friends. 

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today!  (smile)

Connecting Family and Gaelic Culture

Sisters, and recent Talent Trust scholarship recipients, Abby and Ella Hanson share their thoughts on culture, family and community.

Question: What are your earliest memories of Gaelic culture in your family or community?

Ella and Abby: “We’ve always loved going to visit relatives in Cape Breton and, during the summer of 2014, we decided to go to the Gaelic College for a weeklong summer camp. While we were there, we took fiddle lessons and Gaelic language class and we began to talk more in our family about our own Gaelic ancestry. Because we loved spending time at the College so much, it was a natural progression into taking more intensive Gaelic immersion courses in addition to fiddle, step-dance, piano accompaniment, and Gaelic song lessons. We spend most of our vacation time in St Ann’s, whenever classes, events, and camps are held”

Question: What program/s are you participating in this summer and how has it been adjusting to studying online during the global pandemic?

Ella and Abby: “We know that all of the camps that we were going to be involved in this year both in Cape Breton at the Gaelic College and in Boston at the Boston States Fiddle Camp are going to be online, but details are still being worked out. Because of having to stay at home, we are going to be continuing with our weekly online fiddle lessons with mentor and teacher Wendy MacIsaac; Ella will also be doing step dance lessons and Abby is going to continue taking piano accompaniment online with performer Mac Morin and Gaelic song lessons with performer Cathy Ann MacPhee. For both of us, as it is for most people, giving and taking online lessons has been challenging but we are grateful that we can at least have something available.”

Question: How is it to study together as sisters?

Ella and Abby: “Sometimes challenging because we have completely different personalities when it comes to practice and performances, but also great because you always have someone to share the experiences with.”

Question: Why do you feel it is so important to share your culture with your community?

Ella and Abby: “We love knowing that we’re a part of such a unique and amazing community of people. Like members of any culture, we are proud of our language, history, music, and traditions and want to share with others; it is so important to learn from one another in order to understand and appreciate what we have in common and what is special about our differences. The Gaelic community is ensuring that their culture and language not only survives but is growing and thriving. Because of connections with the Gaelic College, Gaelic Affairs, and the Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia, we feel like we have an integral part to play. It’s also fun to visit with elementary school kids and introduce them to what it means to be a Gael in Nova Scotia today!”

Bio:

Abby and Ella Hanson are teenage sisters from Dartmouth with strong ties to Cape Breton and the Nova Scotia Gaelic community. They perform together in the traditional Cape Breton/Scottish Gaelic fiddling tradition; Ella also stepdances and Abby sings traditional and contemporary Gaelic songs. The sisters are partners in their business “Up With Gaelic” and have given Gaelic Culture demonstrations and presentations to community associations, government groups, educators, and over 5000 elementary students in the HRM and surrounding areas.

Ella's and Abby's Performances and Social Media links

Prayerful Hymn

Fiddle Set

Stepdance and song

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram 

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today! (smile)

Alex Yang: Practicing during hard times

Talent Trust recipient, Alex Yang, has some inspirational words for other young artists on practicing during these difficult times. To watch his video click here.
___

(Bio from Alex's family)

11-year-old Alex Yang is a grade six student at Halifax Grammar School, and has been a student of Professor Lynn Stodola since 2015. 

In June, 2019, he won First Place in both piano and violin (age 10 group) in the Canadian Music Competition (CMC) National Final in Calgary, Alberta, and was awarded the overall Grand Prize for all instruments age 7 - 10, having achieved the highest piano mark of 97 in that age division. 

As the 2019 winner of the Chebucto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, he was invited to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 this past November as soloist for their opening 2019/2020 Season Concert. And he was invited to give a full length solo concert in 2020/2021 Cecelia concert series on December, 2020. 

Recently, he was invited to perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, having won the First prize and Exceptional Young Musician prize in the International Classical Music Competition. 

In Feb, 2020 he won the Canadian Sinfonietta Young Artist Competition and played with the Orchestra in the 2020 Young Artist Concert in March. In the 2020 Halifax Kiwanis Music Festival, he received the Gordon Murray Rising Star Award for the third year in a row, the Halifax Ladies’ Music Club Junior Award, as well as the George Fleming Memorial Senior String Award for his outstanding performance in the Festival. 

Alex has been an RCM Gold Medalist (Atlantic Region) in both Piano and Violin, and winner of numerous Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers Association (NSRMTA) trophies and Scholarship Competitions in piano and violin. 

As one of the youngest Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship recipients in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, he was invited to perform a solo recital at Government House at their Music on Tuesday Series in 2018. 

Alex also loves playing violin for school musicals, such as “Seussical” and “Newsies” and singing as a member of Halifax Boys Honour Choir. Alex enjoys music composition as well and recently won First Prize in the 2019 NSRMTA Composition Competition. Aside from music, Alex is a straight A+ student in school academics. In sports, He likes tennis, badminton and swimming, as well as reading, computer coding and computer games.

You can find more form Alex here and here.

Both performances are from the 2020 Kiwanis Music Festival and were marked 98, 97. Due to his stunning achievement on both piano and violin in the festival, he was award the following awards:

1) Rising Star Award in Memory of Gordon Murry

2) George Fleming Memorial Senior String Award

3) Halifax Ladies' Musical Club Junior Award

4) Patricia Bryson Piano Prize: Solo-Chopin-Senior

Want to hear more about the Talent Trust? Please sign up for our newsletter.

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotian artists? Donate today! (smile)

Announcing the Peggy Corkum/Musique Royale Legacy Award

Musique Royale and Barbara Butler join the Nova Scotia Talent Trust in supporting the legacy of Peggy Corkum's commitment to the arts. 

Believing that everyone needed music in their lives, Peggy Corkum donated grand pianos to Government House, St. David's Church, Dalhousie University, and the Central Halifax Library. She supported the Nova Scotia music community, including Symphony Nova Scotia, Cecilia Concerts, Musique Royale, the Music Room, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, Scotia Festival of Music and others. Having retired as a Major from the Canadian Armed Forces after a career of travelling the world as a flight nurse, Peggy enjoyed playing piano for the pure joy of making music.

After her passing in December 2018, her good friend Barbara Butler, Artistic Director of Musique Royale, started to fundraise for an award in Peggy Corkum’s honour to be administered by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. The award will go to the pianist who, amongst all others, shows the greatest artistic potential and excellence.

“After Peggy’s passing, I wanted to find a way to honour her. I imagined young pianists who aspired to a career in music having the opportunity someday to perform on the very pianos she so generously gave. I’ve always admired the work of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust and the celebration of your 75th anniversary seemed like the perfect opportunity to realize such an award. The generosity of friends of Musique Royale made it all possible,” says Barbara Butler.

The Peggy Corkum/Musique Royale Legacy Award is valued at $1000 and thanks to Peggy Corkum’s extended community, and Barbara Butler’s commitment, it will be awarded to aspiring artists for at least twenty years to come.

About Musique Royale

Musique Royale is a not-for-profit organization based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, dedicated to promoting traditional and early music in historic venues throughout the province. Since its founding in 1985, Musique Royale has continued to celebrate venues of architectural and historic significance and bring world-class music to communities across the province.

Founded in 1985 by John Grew and a small group of dedicated friends, the French and English overtones in the festival's name were chosen specifically to refer to the presence of more than one cultural force in Nova Scotia's development, and to pay tribute to the province's diverse musical heritage. Current Artistic Director, Barbara Butler, continues to guide the organization in its original mandate, while promoting its growth from a summer festival to include a year-round concert series on the south shore.

Want to hear more? Please sign up for our newsletter

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotia artists? Donate today!

Devin Huang Plays a Piano Recital at Government House

In support of our 75th anniversary the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia presents a inspiring piano recital from scholarship recipient Devin Huang, as part of the Evenings at the Government House Series.

Tuesday, October 8,  

7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Government House, 

1451 Barrington Street, Halifax


Free and open to the public.

Registration opens: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
To register fill out the attendance form or call 424-7001.


Since his introduction to piano at age 7, twelve-year-old Devin Huang has been blazing through repertoire, securing the loyalty of teachers like Mr. Gregory Watters and Lynn Stodola of the Fountain School of Performing Arts, and winning awards and recognition. 

Devin participated in the 2019 Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival and received first place in all his classes. He was invited to perform at the Festival Gala and received the Presidents’ Cup Award. As a junior pianist, Devin competed at the Nova Scotia Federation of Music Festivals on June 1st and received first place. He also won first place at the NSRMTA Scholarship Competition for the Advanced Level. 

This year, Devin was selected as a national finalist and travelled to Calgary, Alberta to play in the Canadian Music Competition finals. Devin received first place. 

Last year at the CMC National Finals, he received first place and also won the Grand Prize in the 11-14 age category for all instruments. He has been a first place winner for the past three years.

See Devin play with the Chebucto Symphony Orchestra. 

Want to hear more? Please sign up for our newsletter

Want to support the next generation of Nova Scotia artists? Donate today!