Subject: Phoebe Tsang

Confession: She likes hip-hop

Profile

These days the ‘well rounded’ musician is becoming more and more of a commonality when you look at successful artists. It is rare that a superstar musician is able to define their professional success by simply their practiced craft. Musicians today must be diverse in the arts world in order to succeed, meaning they are more than just singers, orchestral players, or pianists. Often they must become accomplished at a variety of musical genres, develop skills as a concert lecturer, teacher, and stretch their tool box in a variety of ways away from the piano or violin. ViolinistPhoebe Tsangis one of those musicians, and quite happy to do so. Phoebe grew up overseas in theUKand was driven simply by the love of music and her first violin teacher, Lorand Fenvyes who passed away in 2004. Phoebe moved toCanadaspecifically to study with Ms. Fenvyes due to her reputation, musicianship, not to mention her international career. This relationship helped to cultivate Phoebe’s musical appreciation because to her, music means trying to learn as many styles as possible to appreciate it as a whole. Phoebe is constantly influenced by folk, tango, hip hop, and Cole Porter. Why? The dynamic use of modes, flexible structures, freedom to embellish the repetitive chords as well as the high energy gives her a great starting point for improvisation.

Along with these elements Phoebe believes that creativity is something everyone has and it can be expressed in any medium, classical or not. She is very fortunate for the creativity she has been able to develop with access to many varieties of art. Some, however, are not as fortunate and Phoebe sees this as a real sociological problem. In today’s society there are so many choices and so much going on it can be hard to structure a well rounded education. The arts is such a gift in giving creative structure since it helps provides many different ways to utilize the brain encouraging to new learning, discipline, and creativity. This type of thinking helps one to see Phoebe’s love and passion for both music, and art which has give her the ability to communicate outwards and touch people on a deep level without words. One could argue that it is even magical at times.

One of Phoebe’s favorite aspects of being a musician is performing while connecting with an audience to experience the ‘moment’ together. Fortunately, Phoebe has had the opportunity to perform on a regular basis with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately, Phoebe has decided to continue her creative journey by returning toTorontoin the fall. The MCMA will miss her devotion to her students and her committed love of music.

My Journey with Music

          Hello. My name is Alex Major. I am currently 14 years old and attending Clearspring Middle School in Steinbach, Manitoba. I have lots of interests. I play hockey, am involved with the social justice club in my school, and really enjoy airsofting as well as other enjoying other activities with my friends. I also own a cabin in northeastern Ontario, and my family goes there regularly.

  Although I do all of these things, there is one thing in my life that I enjoy the most. That “thing” is music. I’m currently in my 8^th year of piano, and have studied with two of arguably the best piano teachers in Manitoba. They are Jane Duerksen and Mike Oike. They have taught me everything and anything I choose to pursue in music. Without their help, guidance, and experience, I would have not come nearly (not even comprehensible) as far as I have today without them.

          I absolutely love music. I also know it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance to accomplish things in music. I [try] to practice at least 30 minutes per day, and focus on all things from Gershwin, to Schubert, and everything in-between. As of today, I’ve personally accomplished lots of great things with music and (hopefully) for others as well. I tend to accept every chance I have to perform anywhere I can. Music defines who I am, and I think its key for people to know what defines every person in the entire world, because everybody is unique in some way.

          Without music, society would almost certainly be a lot duller, and millions of teen girls would be seriously depressed without people/groups like 1Direction, Justin Bieber, and theJonas Brothers.

          I believe that the main reason kids in elementary school drop out of music because of the song choices given. Sometimes they are boring, (classical stuff) but they’re key for your development. But on the other side of things, I do encourage teachers to be more open with song choices, because their students signed up (or their parents did) because they wanted to enjoy music. I think that’s why Jane and Mr. Oike really hit the spot with me. We met in the middle with our song choices, and we both enjoyed ourselves, but also gained TONS of extra skill set and experience. But young players should be open to songs out of their comfort zone, because being open minded makes a good musician. That’s why I’m in my Grade 5 piano and going strong.

          I like to save my credentials for the end, because when someone brags about their accomplishments, they lose the point of what everyone needs to accomplish. I have performed at Steinbach’s annual “Summer In the City” festival, with the wildly talented musician and former Olympian Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, I have also performed at my school’(s) talent shows (the most recent I have no issues forgetting) and I also performed at K.R. Barkman’s Concert In the Park, an outdoors concert, where widely known Elvis impersonator Corny Rempel, up and coming country group McKenzie Road, and the wonderfully Murray Lawrence’s junior high bands perform.  Touching on that note, I’d like to acknowledge my current band teacher Toban Janzen. He’s an awesome guy that really knows his way around music, and has really helped to mould me into the kind of musician I want to be this year.

          My journey with music has had lots of different sides to it, and it also took lots of work. I encourage young performers to work hard on the challenges their teachers give them, and to also know that everything in music ends with it benefitting you in some way shape or form.

In this short introduction to singing Linda De Pauw will provide a concise and simple insight into the study of vocal technique. It is designed for those who may be interested in finding out about singing lessons but aren’t sure if they’re ready for individual lessons, as well as for those who prefer to work in a group without the pressure of solo singing. This course will also benefit students who want a quick refresher course in order to check that they aren’t getting into bad habits while working on their own or in an ensemble setting.

Each class touches on a different aspect of technique, gradually building up to more intricate and advanced exercises that would suit any singer up to advanced level. The repertoire used in class is suited to the needs of the singers for comfort and challenge. Relaxed and fun exploration of vocal potential and enjoyment of music are important features of this course. No sight-singing is required!

Choir Members: This chorus is the ideal way to get ready for a new choir season! These classes will get your voice limbered up after a summer break. This fun intensive course will help your ensemble skills and vocal technique in a relaxed and enjoyable setting with other singers.

Choir Directors: Not only is this course the ideal way for your choir members to keep their voices in shape over the summer break, it’s also a valuable professional development course for choral directors. Spice up your class with new ideas to improve your choir’s sound.

Choose 1, or both sessions!

Session I: Getting (Re)Started

This sessions will deal with important essentials of breathing, articulation and sound production while using approachable repertoire.

Session II: Finding Your Voice

Students will expand their repertoire of singing exercises and use increasing vocal reange in new songs and group singing, encouraging a relaxed and confident environment.

For more information and to register please contact the Conservatory at 204.943.6090

PIANO

Junior: The Dr. Lorne Watson Memorial Piano Scholarship

• Winner – Faith Colobong (student of Maura Doyle)

• Runner Up – Ethan Laroque

Intermediate: The Alice Nakauchi Memorial Scholarship

• Winner – Maia Idzikowski (student of Linda Fox)

• Runner Up – Andrew Kort

Senior: The Roger Coll Memorial Piano Scholarship

• Winner – Caelan Loewen (student of Jane Duerksen)

• Runner Up – Ying Ni He

GUITAR

Junior: The Junior Guitar Scholarship

• Winner – Vishwa Srinivasan (student of Ryszard Tyborowski)

• Runner Up – Kieran Cucina

Intermediate/Senior: The Intermediate/Senior Guitar Scholarship

• Winner – Dylan Thomas (student of Michael Daher)

STRINGS

Junior: The Donna Grescoe Memorial Scholarship

• Winner – Sarah Park, cello (student of Blair Burns)

• Runner Up – Jacqueline Douglas and Eleonora Amato

Intermediate/Senior: The Intermediate/Senior Violin Scholarship

• Winner – Alexa Watson, cello (student of Blair Burns)

• Runner Up – Abigail Pudwill

VOICE

Junior: The Junior Voice Scholarship

• Winner – Kieran Cucina (student of Tuesday Royko)

• Runner Up – Geraldin Padilla

Intermediate: The Intermediate Voice Scholarship

• Winner – Teresa Surbey (student of Trish Reimer)

• Runner Up – Shelby Broatch

Senior: The Dr. Robert Thorlakson Memorial Scholarship

• Winner – Graham Alvare (student of Linda DePauw)

• Runner Up – Layla Levesque

WINDS/BRASS

Junior: The Junior Wind/Brass Scholarship

• Winner – Yuan Fei Wang, flute (student of Haley Rempel)

• Runner Up – Christina Fagerstrom

Intermediate/Senior: The Intermediate/Senior Wind/Brass Scholarship

• Winner – Kaori Matsuo, flute (student of Haley Rempel)

The CanWest Jazz Scholarship

• Winner – Claude Bellefeuille, piano (student of Paul De Gurse)
• Runner Up – Kyle Hauser

The Eric Lussier Baroque Scholarship

• Winner – Adam Kriegl, piano (student of Michael Oike)
• Runner Up – Derek Fisk and Luping Zhao

The Community Player Scholarship

The Community Player Scholarship recognizes individuals on their commitment and contributions to the music community as a whole.  This year’s scholarship winner is Grace Willmer.  Grace’s love of music began at an early age,  singing along with her Dad playing guitar. Since she began studying voice at the Conservatory with Trish Reimer, Grace says she can really “feel” her voice.  She has participated in the Winnipeg Music Festival and successfully auditioned for the children’s chorus in the 2010 Rainbow Stage production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  For the past three years, Grace has participated in the Junior Musical Theatre Company. Sharing her musical talents is very important to Grace and she generously gives her time to coach and mentor the younger members of the company. Along with her duties as a vocalist with the school jazz band, Grace also plays French horn in the concert band.  The music director of her school commented, “Grace performs at a very high level and contributes to the positive musical culture of the school.  Her presence is very much appreciated in each ensemble she is involved with.”  This year Grace collaborated with her friends at school to organize a performance at a seniors residence and performed a piano/voice duet at the school’s Open House.  Congratulations Grace, you are truly a Community Player!

This concert features piano faculty members Michael Oike, cello faculty member Blair Burns, as well as violinist Christine Choi.

Concert Program coming soon!

For tickets or more information please visit the Conservatory at 201-211 Bannatyne Ave or call us at 204.943.6090.

Trevor Kirczenow – Violin

Trevor began studying the violin at the age of five at the Langley Community Music School in BC. In addition, he took piano, chamber music, and orchestra classes. As a teenager, he studied violin at the Vancouver Academy of Music with Gwen Thompson, one of Canada’s foremost violin teachers. From the ages of 16 to 19, Trevor spent his summers touring Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada as one of its co-concertmasters. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree (Hon) in political science at the University of British Columbia while participating in university chamber music courses and performing as a regular extra player with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Immediately upon graduating, Trevor won a position in the first violin section of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He played with the orchestra for four years before resigning in order to spend more time with his young son.

Are you interested in working on a

Board of Directors?

The Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts is currently seeking candidates for a two year term as on the Board of Directors. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about music education and building a community through music.

The Board meets 10 times per year; other Board responsibilities will include serving on at least one committee.

Particular skill sets we are seeking include fundraising, financial management, governance, legal experience, partnership building, interests in music, education and community outreach

If you are interested in getting more information about this potential volunteer experience, please call

Norine Harty, Executive Director at 204-943-6090.

To apply for this volunteer position, please send your letter of interest by email norine@mcma.ca. A professional and/or personal resume that accompanies your letter would be welcome, but is not essential.

Biography

Kristina has loved music and dance for as long as she can remember. She began violin lessons with her parents (both play with the WSO) and then went on to study with Gwen Hoebig, and later with Karl Stobbe. From 1999 to 2001 she played with the WSO,  after which she studied for 3 years  at the University of Milwaukee’s Institute of Chamber music under the direction of Myron and Stefan Kartman,  where she received an Artist Diploma in 2004.

As a child, her passion had been dance, and at age eleven, joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s professional division, where she studied until the age of sixteen. It was her love for dance and movement that compelled her, in 2005, to join the Canadian touring company Barrage, which took her all over the world, introducing her to many new cultures, cuisines, and musical styles. The company shut down in May 2012, and Kristina is very happy to be back in her home town of Winnipeg, and to be a new member of the Conservatory family.

Education/Training

Artists Diploma from Milwaukee’s Institute of Chamber Music (2004), mamber of touring company Barrage (2005-12)

Mike was born in Churchill Manitoba and raised in Kenora Ontario.   Starting on guitar at 12, Mike began learning blues and songs by bands like Kiss, AC/DC, Rush and Van Halen.

Upon completion of high school,  Mike attended St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia and earned a degree in Jazz guitar and composition.   While there he developed the ability to improvise on Jazz standards as well write for horns.  After graduation  Mike played jazz and rock in Halifax before moving to London Ontario to do a Bachelor of Education.

While in London Mike met a fellow guitarist who turned him on to the idea of playing on cruise ships.  Soon, Mike found himself touring the world playing as a solo guitarist, jazz combo guitarist, and show band musician backing a wide variety of guest artists.

Upon returning to Canada, Mike moved to Winnipeg and almost immediately started playing with local musicians such as Ron Paley, Janice Finlay, Michelle Gregoire, Walle Larsson, Kathy Kennedy Blues Band and with his own jazz/funk trio.  Mike also played for Rainbow Stage in productions of “Grease” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” and for CBC’s French program “Eclosion”.

Mike has taught guitar privately for over 20 years as well as at the University of Manitoba, Canadian Conservatory, and in the public school system.  Always honing his teaching skills, Mike recently published a lesson for Guitar Player magazine in April 2012 on jazz improvisation.  While spending time in New York, Mike also managed to study with Julliard jazz guitar professor Rodney Jones, Wayne Krantz (Steely Dan), and fusion ace Oz Noy.

With solid knowledge and experience in rock and contemporary music as well as a formal jazz education, Mike can cover a wide variety of musical territory as an instructor.   Soon to be released is Mike’s debut 5 song EP featuring all original compositions.  For more on Mike’s projects check out swickis.com.