9-year-old Pianist Alex Yang in Performance at Evenings @ Government House

The Talent Trust has partnered with Government House to present a piano recital with scholarship recipient Alex Yang. Alex’s September 18 performance is part of the Evenings @ Government House series.

His repertoire will include pieces by J. S. Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Beethoven.

At nine years old, Alex is one of our youngest scholarship recipients. He’s studied piano with Lynn Stodola for the past three years, and also plays violin.

Alex won first place in each of his five piano repertoire classes at the 2018 Kiwanis Music Festival, and and was invited to perform at the Festival’s Gala, where he received the Gordon Murray Rising Star Award. 

Alex was the Bronze Prize winner of the 2017 Canadian Music Competition National Final and won the Silver Prize at the 2018 National Final. He was awarded 2018 scholarships for the intermediate group in piano and the junior group in violin by the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association Competition.

Evenings @ Government House concert details
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Government House, 1451 Barrington Street, Halifax

Arrival Time:  6:30 p.m. - 6:50 p.m.
Admission: Free

Registration open: Wednesday, August 29, 2018 to Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Seating is limited. Anyone wishing to attend must register by calling 902-424-7001 or by filling out the online attendance form (bottom of the page) at Evenings @ Government House.

Charlotte Wilson-Hammond Exhibition In/Visible Comes to Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore

Charlotte Wilson-Hammond with a piece from In/Visible. Photo credit: Elissa Barnard

Talent Trust board member Charlotte Wilson-Hammond brings her exhibition In/Visible to Memory Lane Heritage Village on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore.

Charlotte has been active in Nova Scotia’s arts community for the past 30 years, serving on the Board of Governors of NSCAD University, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and Canadian Artists Representation (CARFAC). 

She’s also our past chair, and continues to be a respected and active advocate for the arts.

In 2004 Charlotte was awarded the Portia White Prize, a $25,000 award honouring a senior artist in the Province of Nova Scotia. She used part of the award to establish the Charlotte Wilson-Hammond/Visual Arts Nova Scotia Scholarship, which is administered through the Talent Trust.

In/Visible explores the human condition: fragility, ageing, beauty and strength, incorporating images of her own body in the work. 

In/Visible was first exhibited at ARTsPLACE Gallery in Annapolis Royal earlier this year. The exhibition will be at St. F.X. University Gallery November 15 to December 17.

In/Visible
Opening Saturday, September 9, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Exhibition runs September 10 - 16, 2:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Admission: free

The Clam Factory
Memory Lane Heritage Village
28 Clam Harbour Road
Lake Charlotte, Nova Scotia

To learn more about Charlotte and her work, visit her website at charlottewilsonhammond.net.

Mike Hirschbach Presents Uncle Podger's Hat at Ship's Company Theatre

Mike Hirschbach presents Uncle Podger’s Hat at the Kids Stage of Ship’s Company Theatre on September 20 and 21, 2018. 

The performance weaves Mike’s skills at juggling, unicycling and physical comedy into the story of his Uncle Podger.

Ship’s Company Theatre is located in beautiful Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. From their website:

“Children of all ages are delighted by Hirschbach’s ‘tricks' that include playing a saw, conducting and whistling the William Tell Overture, and being kissed by a jack-in-the-box gone nuts - while presented within the gentle, nostalgic context of an adult telling a story about his mentor, his crazy, eccentric Uncle Podger.”

Mike received a Talent Trust scholarship in 1984 and has been a circus artist for 35 years. He performed from 2001-2003 with the Cirque du Soleil’s touring show “Dralion.” 

From 2003 – 2005 he was a Master Trainer with the Cirque’s social outreach program, Cirque du Monde, traveling the world training the trainers in the existing Cirque du Monde programs, upgrading their circus, social and teaching skills in Orlando, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, South Africa and Burkina Faso. 

Since 2005 Mike has served as Artistic Director and Head of Juggling/Circus at Halifax Circus and director of the outreach programs of Circus Circle.

Ticket Information

September 20 - 21

Kids Stage (school matinees)

Adults $12.50

Children $2.00

For tickets call 1-800-565-SHOW (7469)

Box office & theatre: 18 Lower Main St., Parrsboro

Barbara McLean in On & Off the Wall, a Peer Gallery Exhibition at the Chase Gallery in Halifax

Barbara McLean at the opening of
her solo exhibition Timelines in 2017

Barbara McLean and her colleagues at Peer Gallery celebrate their 17th anniversary by presenting On & Off the Wall, an exhibition at the Chase Gallery in Halifax.

Barbara studied at NSCAD University, where she earned her BFA (she received a Talent Trust scholarship to help further her studies as a painter). She also holds a Certificate of Design from Sheridan College. Barbara has taught painting classes for NSCAD Extended Studies and workshops across Nova Scotia.

Her abstract paintings are in corporate and private collections in Canada and abroad, and have been purchased by the Nova Scotia Art Bank.

Peer Gallery, founded in 2001, is a registered cooperative gallery in the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The gallery features established Nova Scotia artists who work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, mixed media, coloured fused glass, wood turning, and printmaking.

Exhibition details:
September 8 - 28, 2018
Chase Gallery, Nova Scotia Public Archives
6016 University Avenue Halifax

Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday - 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
Saturday - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday - closed

Member artists will be in attendance at the gallery from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Peer Gallery member artists: Zalman Amit, Jennie Carton, Jacqueline Cohen, Regina Coupar, Bob Hainstock, Anke Holm, Susan Hudson RCA, Barbara McLean, David Pember, Anne Tweed, George Walford, Tom Ward, Sally Warren, Jane Whitten, and Lisa Wright.

Shauntay Grant's New Picture Book Africville Launches at the Prismatic Arts Festival

Shauntay Grant's newest picture book, Africville (Groundwood Books), launches at the Prismatic Arts Festival on September 13. 

The event, which includes a reading from the book, takes place at the Africville Museum in Halifax.

Africville, a collaboration with illustrator Eva Campbell, is available through Indigo Books and Amazon. Bring your copy to the launch for Shauntay to sign, or you can purchase a copy at the Museum.

Africville was a longstanding, vibrant Black community that was demolished in the 1960s and its residents forcibly relocated. That story is a tragic one. Shauntay brings to life the Africville that those outside the community don't often hear about, through family stories shared with her young protagonist — stories of brightly painted houses, children playing, and fishing and rafting in the community pond. 

Shauntay Grant is a writer and storyteller from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She teaches creative writing at Dalhousie University, and as Halifax's third poet laureate, she organized Canada's first national gathering of Canadian poets laureate. 

A Talent Trust scholarship recipient, she’s presented her work at events including Canada’s national Word on the Street festivals, the Vancouver Writers Festival, Toronto's Luminato Festival, Australia's National Young Writers’ Festival, and the Jamaica Poetry Festival. 

Shauntay’s plays have been presented by 2b theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, and Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal, and b current in Toronto. 

Africville Book Launch and Reading
Thursday, September 13, 11:00 a.m.
Africville Museum
5795 Africville Road, Halifax

Admission: free

You can also see Shauntay at the Halifax Word on the Street Festival on September 15 at 2:00 p.m., where she’ll give a reading, followed by a book signing, at the Halifax Central Library.

Pianist Jennifer King Performs in UPEI Music Department Clarinet Spectrum Recital Series

Pianist Jennifer King performs Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time with Karem J. Simon (clarinet), Karen Graves (violin), and Natalie Williams Calhoun (cello). 

The concert, which takes place on September 8, is part of the UPEI Music Department Clarinet Spectrum Recital Series.

A skilled performer, respected adjudicator, coach, and clinician, Jennifer holds a Masters of Music degree in solo piano performance from McGill University, postgraduate diplomas from the University of Reading in the UK as well as the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. 

In addition to her Talent Trust scholarships, Jennifer received an Award of Appreciation from the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia for her contributions to musical life in the province. 

She’s a member of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association (NSRMTA) and a private piano instructor and faculty member of the Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Halifax.

Jennifer launched her album O Mistress Moon in January 2018. (Visit YouTube to hear her perform Claude Debussy’s La Lune.)

Quartet for the End of Time was written while Olivier Messiaen was was a prisoner of war at the Nazis' Stalag VIII-A camp. The work explores his struggle to endure the conditions of his imprisonment as well as his Catholic faith.

Concert details
Saturday, September 8
Dr. Steel Recital Hall, UPEI Campus
550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI

Adults: $20.00 + service fee
Students: $10.00 + service fee
Available to purchase online at Brown Paper Tickets

Wayne Burns and Susan Stackhouse in Shakespeare in Love at Neptune Theatre

Wayne Burns and Susan Stackhouse join the cast of Shakespeare in Love at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, which runs from September 4 - October 7.

Wayne Burns is a performer and producer who won the Talent Trust Theatre Nova Scotia award in 2011 and 2012. 

His most recognizable role is likely Lykos, the Prince of Athens, in the Syfy series Olympus. He can also be seen in Mr. D, Murdoch Mysteries, The Baroness Von Sketch Show, and Remedy.

Wayne is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and in addition to his acting career, has established his own production company, Dresser Drawer, which currently facilitates the creation and incubation of mixed media projects. 

His films have screened at international festivals including the REELWorld Film Festival, Toronto Youth Shorts (Winner – Industry Choice Award), InsideOut LGBT Film Festival, and NewFest – New York’s LGBT Film Festival. 

His first solo show, LIONESS, played to sold-out houses in Truro, Halifax and Toronto.

Susan Stackhouse is a specialist in voice and speech, and is a dialect coach as well as an actor. 

She’s a Talent Trust scholarship recipient who studied at Dalhousie University, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England, where she received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship.  

Susan began her career as an educator at George Brown College, and returned to her home province of Nova Scotia where she’s a professor in the Acting Program and Associate Director (Productions) in the Fountain School of Performing Arts at Dalhousie University.

Susan spent 16 seasons with the Shaw Festival in Ontario both as a member of the acting ensemble and as a voice coach. 

A few of her acting highlights include Pointe Valaine, An Inspector Calls, Peer Gynt, Marathon ’33, The Voysey Inheritance, Cavalcade, The Women, The Road to Mecca, and The Real Thing.

She won the 2011 Robert Merritt Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole.

Susan is a huge supporter of the Talent Trust, and we’re thrilled to have her as a vital part of our community.

Shakespeare in Love details
September 4 - October 7, 2018

Tuesday to Friday - 7:30pm
Saturday and Sunday - 2pm & 7:30pm

September 4 - Pay What You Can
September 7 - Opening Night
September 11 - Industry Night
September 12 - Talkback Night
September 23 - Relaxed Performance

For ticket information, visit Neptune Theatre’s website