Tenor Marcel d'Entremont Wins Prestigious Wirth Vocal Prize

Marcel d'Entremont wins 2018-19
Wirth Vocal Prize

Congratulations to tenor Marcel d'Entremont, who has won McGill University’s 2018-2019 Wirth Vocal Prize.

The Prize recognizes a voice student who demonstrates exceptional talent and significant promise for an international career.

Marcel performed on November 25 with the other three finalists as part of the final round of competition. 

His musical collaborator was pianist and Talent Trust music scholarship recipient Dakota Scott-Digout, who also studies at McGill.

Marcel is a Talent Trust voice scholarship recipient who won the Talent Trust Portia White award in 2013.

Originally from Merigomish, Nova Scotia, Marcel is in Montréal to complete a Graduate Diploma in Performance.

In addition to his Talent Trust scholarship and Portia White Award, Marcel won the Hal Leonard International Vocal Competition and placed first in the Atlantic Young Artist Competition. 

In 2014 he represented Nova Scotia at the National Music Festival of Canada, where he placed first in the vocal division and won the grand award for overall best performer. 

Marcel has performed across Canada, singing the roles of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera McGill, Il Podesta in La Finta Giardiniera with Opera Nova Scotia, and Rodolfo in La Boheme with Opera Saskatoon. 

He toured with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada as the title role in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette as well as Alfredo in La Traviata.

Established in 2015 and awarded annually, the Wirth Vocal Prize brings the winner a $25,000 cash prize and a 14-karat Wirth Prize lapel pin. 

As part of the Wirth Prize win, Marcel is also scheduled to perform at La Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur on April 25, 2019.

India Yeshe Gailey in Vaso String Quartet Debut Concert in Toronto

India Yeshe Gailey and her cello join violinists Hua-Chu Huang, Aysel Taghi-Zada, and violist Peter Ayuso for their debut concert as Vaso String Quartet.

Formed in May 2018 at the Scotia Festival of Music, this ensemble brings together four dedicated musicians with a passion for contemporary repertoire. The concert will include music by Glass, Gershwin, Bosmans, Shaw, and Piazzolla.

India is working on a master’s degree in cello performance at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. She’s involved with several projects and creative ensembles, including New Hermitage, a Halifax-based environmental chamber jazz ensemble; Bonsai, a cello-percussion duo with Ken Shorley; and Ear Camera, an avant-garde composer collective in Montréal.

India also studied visual art at NSCAD University, which has significantly informed her work as a composer. In 2017 she was awarded the Talent Trust Yue Lih and Marion Kuo Award for exceptional commitment and potential in music as an instrumentalist.

Vaso String Quartet concert details:
August 24, 2018
Creeds Coffee Bar
390 Dupont Street, Toronto

Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Performance at 7:30 p.m. 

Tickets at the door (cash only)
$20 regular / $10 students

Cellist India Yeshe Gailey Master’s Recital at McGill University

Here’s a great excuse for a visit to Montreal, or a lovely way to spend part of your afternoon if you live there. Cellist India Yeshe Gailey performs her first master’s recital at McGill University on May 12, 2018. 

The performance features Bryce Lansdell on Piano and includes works by Jocelyn Morlock, György Ligeti, Kaija Saariaho, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Anton Webern.

The recital begins at 1:00 p.m. at Redpath Hall, 3461 rue McTavish (McTavish Gates). Admission is free.