Dancer, Carrigan MacDonald, trains through COVID-19

Talent Trust Alumna Carrigan MacDonald shares her story of dancing through COVID-19.

"It keeps us connected and it keeps us in shape", she shared with the Montreal Gazette (Dancers on the cusp of professional career innovate to stay in shape).

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Carrigan started dancing at the age of 4. She danced at Halifax Dance from 2008-2015. She moved to Montreal in the Fall of 2015 to attend École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec, where she is currently training. She has had the opportunity to attend summer programs at schools such as The National Ballet School of Canada in 2011 and 2012, and Arts Umbrella in 2018.

While in Montreal, Carrigan has had the chance to work with companies such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for their Nutcracker in 2016, 2018, and 2019 and Rubberbandance for theor production Fils de Ville in 2017.

As a choreographer she has created pieces for École Supérieure's choreography competition, in both their junior and senior versions. Her piece Passion Project won the judges choice award in 2019. In the Fall of 2019 she had the chance to perform a duet choreographed by Gaby Baars at the Opera Gala in Regensburg, Germany.

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Reeny Smith supports regional hospitals with her new song 'Survive'

photo: Reeny Smith at iamreeny.com

Talent Trust alumna Reeny Smith has a special gift for our COVID 19 care workers. 

From her website http://www.iamreeny.com/survive-press-release.html

“SURVIVE”, singer Reeny Smith’s inspiring anthem about standing strong in the face of adversity, will be sent out to radio across Nova Scotia next week.  

The resulting air play royalties will be donated to our regional hospitals to purchase much-needed supplies in the fight against COVID 19. 

The campaign was inspired last week by simultaneous calls for Reeny to submit videos to CTV’s Live at 5 Quarantunes feature and to the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation for their own artist-driven on-line campaign in the fight against the pandemic.

Audience response was strong on both fronts.  The song’s message of resilience and strength resonated and it seemed the perfect vehicle to raise-much needed funds for the fight to contain the disease.

“If ‘SURVIVE' can help people get through these painful and frightening times, I’m happy to to be a part of it…”says Reeny from her home in North Preston. “We all need help to get through this together.”


Thank you Reeny!!!

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Join India Gailey live online on May 6, 2020

Talent Trust alumna India Gailey

will be live online with her cello on Wednesday, May 6 at 9 p.m. (ADT)
In 2017, she won the Yue Lih and Marion Kuo Award through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. Don't miss it.

India Gailey is an award-winning cellist who draws from many eras and genres. Originally from Halifax, things she has been up to recently include: releasing her first solo album, "Lucid"; earning her Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Matt Haimovitz at McGill’s Schulich School of Music; working with Philip Glass at Scotia Festival; receiving a Graduate Mobility Award from McGill to perform in Germany; and holding a fellowship at Garth Newel Music Center in Virginia. India also tours regularly with the acclaimed environmental improvisation quartet New Hermitage. https://indiayeshe.com/
Link to performance website: 
https://www.livingroomlive.ca/live-stream?fbclid=IwAR2OTSoGZO_l-oKqJRQOWQ3uXrrhUCbSWm6rcMniKWIIqbHlqLIFey-9OM0

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Pianist Vlad Chiriac wins Debut Atlantic's Award for Musical Excellence

Vlad Chiriac - photo Debut Atlantic website

Congratulations to former scholarship recipient Vlad Chiriac for winning the Debut Atlantic's Award for Musical Excellence!

From Debut Atlantic's website:

Vlad Chiriac is a grade 12 student at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, NS, where he attends the International Baccalaureate French Immersion Program. 

He has completed the level 10 practical examination with the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program and is currently preparing for the ARCT exam.

Vlad started studying the piano at the age of seven, and will be continuing his piano studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. He is honored to be the recipient for this year’s Debut Atlantic award, and stated that he is “very grateful that there are avenues like these to give hardworking musicians the chance to excel, piano performance is and will stay my passion.”

Read more on the Debut Atlantic website at 

https://www.debutatlantic.ca/debut/nova-scotian-pianist-vlad-chiriac-wins-debut-atlantics-award-for-musical-excellence

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Scholarship Applications for May 1 Deadline Now Accepted

Applications are now accepted for our May 1 at 5 p.m. ADT deadline for Fall/Winter studies between September 1, 2020 and April 31, 2021. 

Apply early so that we can help you improve your application and avoid last minute technical problems. Use Chrome as your browser. 

Please let the studying artists in your life know about our scholarship program.

Like you, the Talent Trust is taking measures to keep the curve of the COVID-19 infection as flat as possible.
Our staff is working from home and can be reached by email.

For questions about scholarships and applications please get in touch with our Scholarship Program Coordinator Jackie Dowling at scholarship(at)nstalenttrust.ns.ca 

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Talent Trust Alumna Ariella Pahlke's Documentary 'Conviction' is part of FIN Fridays at the AGNS

Alumna Ariella Pahlke is one

Ariella Pahlke (photo credit: goodpitch.org)

of the filmmakers of Conviction.

The Documentary will be shown at FIN Fridays at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

Friday, March 27, 2020
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Conviction by Nance Ackerman, Ariella Pahlke, Teresa MacInnes, 2019, 78 minutes

Three filmmakers collaborate with women on the inside to imagine what they would have needed in their lives to avoid incarceration.

Bianca, Treena, Laura, and Caitlin are a stark reflection of the troubling worldwide tendency to criminalize and imprison the most vulnerable in society—those most affected by poverty, addiction, childhood trauma, and mental illness. Together with long-time prisoners’ rights advocate Kim Pate and others, these women collaborate with the filmmakers to answer a deceptively simple question: What would you have needed to avoid incarceration? Through art, photography, filmmaking and poetry, the women inside ....

Read more at 
https://artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/events-programs/fin-fridays-conviction

FIN Fridays is part of the Atlantic Cinematheque, a new partnership by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia with FIN Atlantic International Film Festival that focuses on works by Atlantic Canadian filmmakers about Atlantic Canada that screens in the Windsor Foundation Theatre on the last Friday of every month.

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Congratulations To All Theatre NS Award Nominees Including Talent Trust Alumni

Congratulation to our Talent Trust alumnae for their nominations for a Theatre Nova Scotia 2020 Robert Merritt Award!

Veronique MacKenzie for Outstanding Choreography in Ben Hur with Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre and The Children with Keep Good [Theatre] Company.

Laura Vingoe-Cram for Outstanding Direction in The Children with Keep Good [Theatre] Company.

Eszther Horvath for Outstanding Musical Direction in Brundibar with Halifax Theatre for Young People. 

Shauntay Grant for Outstanding New Play by A Nova Scotian and Outstanding Production for The Bridge with 2b theatre and Neptune Theatre in association with Obsidian Theatre. 

Congratulations to all nominees! You can find the full list at Theatre Nova Scotia's website: 
https://www.theatrens.ca/robert-merritt-awards/nominations

photo credit: websites of all the mentioned artists above


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