Whenever song and sport line up together in Prince George, it seems to be Sage Bialuski waiting at the finish line.
The young singer-songwriter was only 16 when her composition Finish Line was selected to be the 2015 Canada Winter Games theme.
Now, at age 20, she was commissioned to write the theme for the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships. She called the song Know My Name and she will debut the song on Friday night at the opening ceremony, performing it live with Curtis Abriel and Nick Tindale backing up her piano/vocal skills.
"I'm really excited," she said, then immediately added the confession, "I'm nervous."
It's a constructive feeling for both sides of her Renaissance personality. In addition to her accomplishments in music, she is also a dedicated athlete. Her specialty is nordic skiing (check the last three letters of her family name: it was written in fate).
"My whole life I've had this sports side of me and the music side of me," she said.
"Musically, I write a lot, composition comes easily to me, and the sports side has taught me the hard work that it takes to excel, and I've been able to translate that into a song that combines those things. It's about how there's no rapid route when you want to be the best, just hard work, consistency, everybody thinks you're crazy for loving it so much, but you're devoted to your passion, you push through all those days, and you go with your heart."
She flexes that sports dedication in her professional life right now. She has launched Bialuski Studios where she teaches piano students (contacter her through Facebook).
It's also where she composes a lot of her original material, starting with chords, progressing to melody lines, then lyrics form around those core sounds.
"I want to be a singer-songwriter, that is the goal," she said.
Based on past evidence, little can successfully get in the way of her aspirations. She is closing in on her ARCT certification (the most advanced piano diploma offered by the Royal Conservatory of Music), she won the Integris Young Artist competition in 2013, she has performed with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, she has been a featured performer in various public appearances around the city in recent years, and her awards at the ski track are as numerous as her awards at the music festival.
The opening ceremony will be the only time she gets to perform Know My Name in a live setting. The recorded version will be played frequently during the World Para Nordic Ski Championships where she hopes it will help entertain the bystanders and inspire the athletes, officials, coaches and crews for each nation's ski teams.
"Its about believing in yourself, sticking with your passion," she said, no matter how many passions you might have.
To hear the original song in concert, come to the free event at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre at 7 p.m., and cheer on the international visitors and local creators behind this global event right here in Prince George. Help these special guests from afar know our name when they go home to their homes all over the world.
