Dawn Boudreau has gotten all jazzed up for her Prince George homecoming.
The expatriate Prince George singer has been leaning into jazz for some time, but made it formal when she moved to the Lower Mainland in 2012 to attend Capilano University's music program, with the focus on that sweeping, swinging, improvising genre.
She has booked a return engagement in her hometown to show audiences what she's learned.
"I have worked really hard on my vocals this year," said Boudreau. "Especially on improvisation. I had a great teacher who didn't pull any punches and kicked my butt every week. It was actually gruelling, but it has been worth it. I feel like I'm a much better singer and musician than I was a year ago."
She was already scoring accolades for her work, putting out albums like Tinge of Tangerine and Love From the Piano Bar, opening for Divine Brown, performing in the Excalibur Theatre Arts production of Brigadoon, and other musical flares.
One of the primary paths her music has led her down is teaching and mentoring other musicians.
A consummate collaborator (she will be working with local guitar great Eric Tompkins and bass boss Kenny Ogilvie for this upcoming appearance, plus appearances by drummer Danny Bell, violinist Jose Delgado-Guevara and sax player Justin Frey), she had many students here before she went to Capilano to become one herself.
She still puts those up-and-coming musicians and singers high on her personal priority list. She ran the Prince George Idol competition for years, and after she moved to the Lower Mainland there was concern in music circles that there would be a void in that experiential learning opportunity. Not so. She changed the name to Limelight Quest but she will be holding the 2015 edition as per usual.
"Of course I am doing Limelight Quest again this year," she said. "The name change serves a couple of purposes. Firstly, it helps me create a brand. The name Idol has been done. Secondly, we aren't creating idols. What we are really doing is providing a stage, tools and opportunities for singers on their quest for the limelight. The new name is much more suitable for the kind of competition it is."
Boudreau will hold some preliminary vocal classes in the lead-up to Limelight Quest, including sessions for toddlers from June 22-July 4. These will be held at Dreamland School of the Arts.
Registration is now open online for the competition. "Registration closes on June 30 at midnight or when we reach the 40 contestant limit," she said. The competition runs July 5-17 starting with preliminary events at Dreamland, then playoffs will be held in increasingly bigger venues to develop the contestants' stagecraft.
Registration, rules, prize information and more can be found at dawnboudreau.com.
To see Boudreau in concert, she will be the headliner at Art Space on June 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available in advance at Books & Company.
