The very best in local musicians let their songs soar this weekend.
For more than a week, the Prince George And District Music Festival has called to the stage every conceivable kind and level of musician, from beginner to expert and from child to elder. Scores of categories for all forms of instrument and voice were given their chance. Now, after careful adjudication, the best of the best have been selected for two live performance showcases, both held on Saturday.
The first event is the Showcase Recital taking place at 5:30 p.m. at Vanier Hall. Admission is free.
The second event is the Festival Gala Concert which happens at 8 p.m. at Vanier Hall. Admission is $10 (tickets available at Studio 2880 or at the Door).
"These two concerts will feature some of the top performances of our festival from all of the disciplines," said Gina Bialuski, one of the festival volunteers.
"The Showcase Recital highlights memorable performances from the Junior Classes (Beginner to Grade 5) in all festival disciplines," explained festival's director Sandy Miller. "The Gala Concert features outstanding performances from the Intermediate and Senior Classes (Grade 6 to ARCT) in all festival disciplines."
This year marks the 64th annual festival for Prince George, and the two command performances at the finale are always highlights for the musicians who are being rewarded for their exceptional skills, and for the audience that gets treated to local talent that has earned a particularly bright spotlight.
"All performances for the Showcase and Gala were selected by our adjudicators," said Miller. "Each adjudicator chose a variety of styles that they felt would make a memorable impression on the audience. We never cease to marvel at the tremendous display of talent and dedication presented each and every year.
The students are to be commended."
There were more than 900 participants in this year's festival. For a full list of winners, refer to this story on the Prince George Citizen website.
AND THE PERFORMERS ARE....
Showcase recital.....
Piano
Micah Jolley-Shul
Chloe Bialuski
Wesley Luo
Jeslyn Yu
Ethan Hofstede
Anthony Lee
Grace Li
Audille Ocbena
Chloe Bialuski/Erika Kim (duet)
Daniel Ly/Amrith Vincent (duet)
Luke Chen
Vocal
Victoria van Delft
Sean Robinson
Olivia Kozoris
Chloe Boulianne
Emmanuelle Jacob
Keara Hicks
Olivia Forgeron
Sarah Dereshkevich
Sofie McCarthy
Strings
Isla Cadell
Faren Brinkman
Carolyn Jacob (Suzuki Strings
Abigail Yin
Instrumental
Delainey Stolz
Choral
District #57 Tapestry Singers - Junior
Gala Concert.....
Piano
Sadie Bialuski
Nancy Li
Keerthana Vincent
Arsham Javaherdashti
James Corbett
Keshav Mann
Katherine Li
Maggie Maloney
Anican Yu
Vocal
Neyve Egger
Makenna Thiffault
Paige Marriot
Elayne Taylor
Braun Brothers (Drew, Joel, & Rylie)
Finlay Peterson
Maggie Trepanier
Susie MacRae, Kate Preston & Joel Siefert (Trio)
Sarah Gyorfi
Strings
Silas Godber
Brittany Iwanciwski
Gabrielle Jacob
Instrumental
Tony Yang
Choral
Nove Voce
Bel Canto Youth Choir
FULL LIST OF WINNERS FROM THE 2015 PRINCE GEORGE & DISTRICT MUSIC FESTIVAL
The grades refer to the Royal Conservatory of Music's levels of progress, not the age of the competitor. The ARCT level (Associate of The Royal Conservatory) is the highest.
PIANO DIVISION
Romantic
Grade 3: Chloe Bialuski
Grade 5: Elise Ryan
Grade 6: Olivia Wankling, Justin Corbett
Grade 9: Keerthana Vincent
Grade 10: Katherine Li, Arsham Javaherdashti
Duo
Junior: Kimberlyn Chow/Stashia Telford
Duet
- Junior: Paige Danilec/Sophia Fuller, Erin Rushton/Abigail Smith, Jordan Kruger/Zahra Murad, Chloe Bialuski/Erika Kim, Daniel Ly/ Amrith Sancto Vincent
- Intermediate: Grace Li/James Yu, Sabrina Gyllich/Sarah Gyllich, Ryder Anderson/Marlo Wilson, Jonathan Doyon/Owen Trepanier
- Senior: Sadie Bialuski/Finlay Peterson, Katherine Li/ Nancy Li
Classical Concert Group
Grade 1: Erin Wiebe, Edriane Ancheta, Patti Chen, Olivia Masich
Grade 2: Anthony Lee, Mycah Jolley-Shul, Reece Halovich
Grade 3: Jeslyn Yu, Sherwyn Wang, Wesley Luo, Paige Woolgar, Abigail Smith, Julianna Hunter
Grade 4: Daniel Chui, Erin Unger
Grade 5: Grace Li, Samantha Bleackley
Grade 8: Finlay Peterson
Grade 9: Nancy Li, James Corbett, Zakery Simpson
Concerto
Grade 3: Jeslyn Yu, Reirei Ge, Wesley Luo, Tadd Mao, Audille Ocbena
Grade 5: Grace Li
Grade 6: James Yu
Grade 7: Justin Corbett
Grade 8: Bruis Yu
Grade 9: Nancy Li
Grade 10: Katherine Li
Own Choice
Grade 1: Jai Singh, Paige Danilec
Grade 3: McKinley J. Witteveen
Grade 4: Ethan Hofstede
Grade 5: Grace Li
Grade 6: James Yu
Pop/TV/ Movie
Grade 1: Sophia Fuller
Grade 2: Cole Wankling, Zahra Murad
Grade 3: Chloe Bialuski, Abigail Smith, Audille Ocbena
Grade 4: Daniel Chui
Grade 7: Elizabeth Van Roode
Repertoire
Grade 2: Anthony Lee,
Grade 3: Jeslyn Yu, Wesley Luo, Tadd Mao
Grade 5: Luke Chen, Grace Li
Grade 6: James Yu
Grade 9: Nancy Li
Grade 10: Keshav Mann, Katherine Li
Contemporary 20th or 21st Century
Grade 1: Jai Singh, Connor Normandeau
Grade 3: Jeslyn Yu
Grade 4: Ethan Hofstede
Grade 5: Luke Chen
Grade 6: James Yu
Grade 8: Bruis Yu
Grade 9: Sadie Bialuski, Keerthana Vincent
Grade 10: Arsham Javaherdashti
Post Romantic/Impressionist
Grade 3: Jordan Kruger
ARCT: Anican Yu
Baroque
Grade 3: Chloe Bialuski, Audille Ocbena
Grade 5: Luke Chen
Grade 8: Bruis Yu
Grade 9: Sadie Bialuski, Julia Yu, Keerthana Vincent, James Corbett, Amanda Carter
Grade 10: Katherine Li, Keshav Mann
ARCT: Maggie Maloney, Nicole McDonald, Emilialyn Carter
Canadian
Grade 1: Sophia Fuller, Paige Danilec
Grade 2: Erin Rushton
Grade 3: Wesley Luo, Heidi Winnig, Chloe Bialuski, Julianna Hunter, Audille Ocbena
Grade 5: Amrith Sancto Vincent
Grade 6: Lauren Siakaluk, Zeki Toyata
Classical
Grade 3: Chloe Bialuski, Alysha Krell, Audille Ocbena
Grade 4: Ethan Hofstede
Grade 5: Elizabeth Klassen
Grade 6: Olivia Wankling, James Yu
Grade 10: Katherine Li
ARCT: Maggie Maloney, Anican Yu
INSTRUMENTAL DIVISION
RCM Woodwind Class 12 and Under: Wyatt Holbrook (flute), Delainey Stolz (flute), Nyah Lamarre (flute)
RCM Woodwind Class Grade 2: Isabelle Lindsay (flute)
RCM Woodwind Grade 3: Courtney Bouwman (flute)
RCM Woodwind Grade 4: Rebecca Campbell (flute)
Sonata Class 16-and-Under: Tony Yang (saxophone)
Concerto Class: Tony Yang (saxophone)
Melody Writing: Tony Yang
VOCAL DIVISION
Musical Theatre
Grade 1: Jayde Waldner
Grade 2: Erika LeBlanc
Grade 3: Olivia Forgeron, Darcy MacDonald, Sofie McCarthy
Grade 4: Brett Dobson, Sarah Dereshkevich, Erin Rushton, Sloane Zogas
Grade 5: Brenna Jacobson
Grade 6: Jennifer Bourque, Brenna Ryan, Elise Ryan, Laura Smith, Cecil MacRae, Airah Truant
Grade 9: Maggie Trepanier, Faith-Hannah Dale
Solo Pieces
Grade 4: Sean Robinson
Grade 6: Chloe Boulianne, Jennifer Bourque, Chloe Boulianne
Grade 8: Finlay Peterson, Makayla Lansall
Grade 9: Paige Marriot
Grade 10: Sarah Gyorfi
Open: Justin Frey
Musical Theatre Ensembles
Grade 9: Kate Preston, Susie MacRae and Joel Seifert, Isaiah Singh and Luke Lapp
Adult / Open / ARCT: Nevye Egger and Jim Brinkman
Classical Concert Group (Vocal)
Grade 4: Olivia Kozoris
Grade 5: Katie Hogan, Emmanuelle Jacob, Victoria van Delft
Grade 6: Libby Bell, Sophie Harris
Grade 7: Makenna Thiffault, Leah Welsh, Aine Hogan
Grade 8: Neyve Egger, Finaly Peterson, Emma Forgeron, Makayla Lansall, Jaymie Walker
Grade 9: Debbie Higgins, Natalie Bjarnason, Courtney Hayhurst, Susie MacRae, Erika Lacaille, Amy LeClerc, Paige Marriot
Grade 10: Sarah Gyorfi
Open / ARCT: Justin Frey, Ronald Prochot, Tracy Summerville
Musical Theatre Group
Grade 3: Nyah LaMarre
Vocal Medalists,
Grade 4: Keara Hicks, Olivia Kozoris, Elizabeth Simmons, Brooklyn Truant
Grade 5: Katie Hogan, Emmanuelle Jacob, Victoria van Delft
Grade 6: Lorna-Jane Simmons, Libby Bell, Steven Buchanan, Sophie Harris, Aine Hogan
Grade 7: Makenna Thiffault
Grade 8: Nevye Egger, Finlay Peterson, Emma Forgeron, Kate Preston, Elayne Taylor, Jaymie Walker
Grade 9: Faith-Hannah Dale, Erika Lacaille, Paige Marriot, Natalie Bjarnason, Courtney Hayhurst, Susie MacRae, Joel Seifert, Maggie Trepanier
Open Adult: Tracy Summerville
Intermediate Vocal Duets
Chloe Boulianne and Makayla Lansall
Intermediate Trio
Finlay Peterson, Courtney Hayhurst and Nevye Egger
Senior Duets
Adult Open Duets: Sarah Gyorfi and Barry Booth
School Choirs
Vanway Trebles
Ecole College Heights Senior Choir
Lac des Bois Senior Choir
Community/Church Boys Choir: Prince George Boys Choir
Community/Church Choir (12 & Under)
District 57 Tapestry Singers (Junior)
Bel Canto Children’s Choir
Community/Church Choir (25 & Under): Bel Canto Youth Choir
Community/Church Choir (16 & Under): District 57 Tapestry Singers (Senior)
Choral Ensemble Class (Any Age): Borealis Chamber Choir
Community/Church Choir (19 & Over)
Nove Voce
White Spruce City Chorus
STRINGS DIVISION
Suzuki Concert Group Level 3: Aislynn Russell and Levi Petkau
Suzuki Concert Group Level 4: Faren Brinkman and Sofie McCarthy
Suzuki Concert Group Level 5: Felix Nelles, Cedar Jacob, Eara Russell, Hannah Yin
Suzuki Concert Group level 8: Hailey Kitchen
Suzuki Concert Group Level 9: Emeline Nelles
Repertoire Solo Suzuki Level 4: Sofie McCarthy
Suzuki Solo Level 5: Tula Moore
Suzuki Solo Level 9: Isaak Andal
Suzuki Solo Level 7: Zepher Nelles
Suzuki Solo Level 8: Silas Godber
Suzuki Solo Level 9: Victoria Chui, Ethan Hofstede
Duet Suzuki Level 5: Erin and Megan Rowe
Popular Solo Level 5: Silas Godbar
Popular Concert Group Junior: Hamish Lamoureux and Elliott Godber
Conservatory Concert Group Grade 8: Christianne Foreman
Conservatory Concert Group Grade 7: Brooke Tower
Conservatory Solo Grade 10: Brittany Iwanciwski
Fiddle Group Mixed Grades: Dreamland Fiddle Band
Baroque Solo Grade 8: Jakob Hofstede
Classical Solo Grade 8: Jacob Hofstede
Repertoire Solo Grade 10: Brittany Iwanciwski
Classical Solo ARCT: Gabrielle Jacob
Romantic Solo ARCT: Gabrielle Jacob
