Dedicated to nurturing musical learning, enjoyment and excellence.
Register now for summer piano camps! Students aged 6-8 will be working with Jennifer Fawcett and Kim Clarke as they work on their piano skills. The three sessions will run from 10am – noon. For more information and to register, contact kimclarkepianostudio@gmail.com
Music Summer Mini Camps, happening at the Music School, July 31 – August 4 and August 14 – 18! Contact Natalie Kober for more information at kobernatalie@gmail.com
What a great end to the school year! The school continues to build the magic of music through our students and teachers; from the 100 Days of Practice Challenge to Country Fair, recitals, festivals and masterclasses, this season has been spectacular. Thank you to all of our students for your ongoing commitment to music, and thank you to all of our families for your ongoing support for our students, teachers, and the school. We are ecstatic to have finished the year with excellence, as many of our senior students won scholarships and placed highly in festivals. Congratulations to everyone for such a successful year! For a .pdf copy of the newsletter, please visit our website.
Registration is open for students returning next year; please let your teacher know if you are coming back or not, so that they can keep space for you in their schedule.
Enjoy your summer, we will see you again in September!
Congratulations to all of the scholarship winners at the annual Vernon Community Music School Scholarship Recital, held this past weekend! We are so proud of your accomplishments this year; completing the 100 Days of Practice Challenge, performing at Festivals and now the Scholarship Recital. Thank you for representing the school so well, we are extremely excited to see what next year brings for you!
Thank you so much to the community for your support of our students; your unwavering investment through scholarships is so appreciated and immensely helpful for our students to not only reach their goals in music but to also bring our community closer together.
We are so excited, we can bearly keep our ducks in a row! No, we aren’t horsing around, Country Fair is back this year and plans are underway to make it the G.O.A.T. Mystery jars, candy stores, cake walks and more, slither your way to the school on Friday, June 2nd for the purrrrfect way to end the school year. Oh, and the theme? ANIMALS! Come dressed as your favourite animal and join us as we dance by the barn to ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’. Can we get a HAY YEAH?! See you then!
*G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time). No animals were harmed in the making of this post.
ClassicalValley, the Okanagan Valley’s first international chamber music festival, is born from a dream of two long-time friends to bring some of the world’s best classical musicians to one of the world’s most spectacular wine regions.
Through a unique experience pairing innovative programming and events with the innovative wines of the Okanagan, ClassicalValley will show why one of the fastest growing communities in Canada is a musical destination worth getting a taste of.
May 16th at the Vernon Community Music School, 7:30pm
PIANO QUARTETS FROM FRANCE AND SPAIN
Experience the lush colours of piano quartets by Gabriel Fauré and Joaquín Turina, alongside innovative works by Rebecca Clarke and Ana Sokolovic, presented in the intimate environment of the Carriage House at the Vernon Community Music School.
Regular $30 / Student $15 + taxes & fees
ARTISTS
Violaine Melançon violin || Marina Thibeault viola || Nicholas Denton Protsack cello || Meagan Milatz piano
PROGRAM
JOAQUIN TURINA Piano quartet in a minor, op. 67
REBECCA CLARKE Two Pieces for Viola and Cello
ANA SOKOLOVIC Chants for violin and piano
GABRIEL FAURÉ Piano Quartet no. 1 in c minor, op. 15
May 18th at the Vernon Community Music School, 7:30pm
HAO ZHOU & PHILIP CHIU
Experience the mastery of Montreal International Violin Competition 1st prize laureate Hao Zhou and JUNO award-winning pianist Philip Chiu, as they embark on a lyrical journey of vocal and opera-inspired music for violin and piano. Featuring Strauss’ towering Sonata for violin and piano, this is a rare chance to hear two of Canada’s top musicians in an intimate setting!
Regular $30 / Student $15 + taxes & fees
ARTISTS
Hao Zhou violin || Philip Chiu piano
PROGRAM
WILLIAM GRANT STILL Mother and Child
LI ZILI Fisherman’s Harvest Song
ANTONIN DVORAK Songs my Mother Taught Me
RICHARD WAGNER Albumblatt, WWV 94
RICHARD STRAUSS Violin Sonata in E flat major, op. 18
The Vernon Community Music School celebrated our first annual piano festival at the end of April. Adjudicators Malinda and Jenny Sunderland offered their expertise providing advice for students in a wide variety of styles in the non-competitive and competitive categories of the festival. There were over 50 students sharing their talents over three days. Plans are already in the works for next year! Congratulations to the following winners:
· Luca Russell, Prep A
· Zeke Martyn, Prep B
· Ritish Jakhu, Level 1
· Liam McBride, Level 2
· Anna-Maria Zebroff, Level 3
· Coby Martyn, Level 5
· Eliyah Jones, Level 6
· Hadley Lanaway, Level 7
· Dionne Martyn, ARCT
Thank you to everyone who participated, and for representing the Music School so beautifully!
Last week we were so proud to present a ‘meagan&amy’ Masterclass, aimed at providing tips and suggestions on ways to enhance pieces for some of our violin and piano students heading to festivals and recitals.
Meagan & Amy are a vibrant Canadian duo consisting of violinist Amy Hillis and pianist Meagan Milatz; they share an intense passion for innovative programming and fearless music-making. Their individual strengths – Meagan’s interest in the fortepiano and Amy’s in contemporary music combine in their wide range of repertoire. During the masterclass both Meagan & Amy focused on the importance of bringing emotion and playing from your soul to tell a story in your piece—no matter who the composer is. Understanding the societal times of when a piece was composed can make it easier to visualize emotions behind the notes on the page, thus engaging the audience in a way that makes them want more as they are leaving. Music is about making that connection to a piece and stirring the passion, joy or despair within us.
Thank you to all of the students who participated, it felt like a truly special morning; the rooms were full of energy, enthusiasm and knowledge!
Over Spring Break, some of the faculty from the Music School were asked to participate at the Children’s Festival, which happened at the Performing Arts Centre. Participants were able to go on a Nursery Land adventure by moving, rhyming and singing their way through Nursery Land together. This workshop was led by our Suzuki violin teacher Ardeth Erikson, and was full of laughter, learning and adventure!
Children’s Festival participants were also able to activate their imaginations by expressing themselves! Our performing arts instructor Rachel Wyatt presented a magical movement journey, where we were able to enjoy dancing to different styles of music. We explored the many different shapes, rhythms and sounds you can make with your body! We also became your favorite animals, and had so much fun for the whole family in this half hour of creative play.
Eager participants were also able to join our Suzuki violin teacher Natalie Kober for a 30-minute workshop exploring and creating a kaleidoscope of sound. It was a jungle in there! Through story and song, participants had the chance to explore and experience a variety of percussion instruments. We were all able to test and hear the differences between the different types of instruments, and some of us danced throughout the workshop! It was so much fun to be a musical explorer!
We are so looking forward to the Children’s Festival next year! Thank you to the Performing Arts Centre for organizing this festival, and thank you to everyone who came out and participated in these really fun workshops; we are so grateful to be a part of such a vibrant, fun and musical community.
The Music School is proud to welcome the athletes who will be competing in the BC Winter Games 2023. “These athletes are from all over the province and range in age, but they all share one thing in common – their dedication and hard work toward their sport. As music students, we know how much time and effort it takes to excel in our craft, just like these athletes. Sports and music both have the power to unify a community and bring people together, regardless of their background or age.”
Students, while you are waiting for your lesson this week please feel free to create a welcome card to show your support! We look forward to all of the artwork to come. Let’s go, Vernon, let’s go!
