SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING
Youth music is hugely important to ArtSpring: whether it’s our own Makana Youth Choir program or annual community concerts from the island’s music students.
So we’re excited to reconnect with the Victoria Conservatory of Music this season, and bring some of the finest pre-professional students in its Young Artists Collegium Program for an afternoon concert on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 1:30 p.m.
Founded in 2006, the Collegium assigns the 12 to 18-year-old participants to chamber ensembles, where they are coached by professionals, learning how to play great classical music and how to work together. For its 2022-23 program, there are 23 seniors and 14 juniors.
The Collegium continues to be highly successful at competitions across Canada. Artistic director Simon MacDonald proudly notes that this year, “Collegium groups took first place (senior), second place (intermediate) and first place (junior) at the provincials (Performing Arts BC); Collegium groups took first in all of the chamber categories at the inaugural Canada West Performing Arts Festival (24 and under and 17 and under chamber music divisions), and swept to an historic first place in the finals of the National Music Festival (first place in Junior, Intermediate and Advanced Chamber Music).”
Its graduates are launched onto the leading edge of musical (and non-musical) programs, giving them the skills to work collaboratively in any field that inspires them, and the confidence to walk on stage to present their ideas and their art with conviction.
MacDonald continues, “The Collegium also had two recent alumni, Lexie Krakowski, cello, and Jono Devey, piano, named as part of CBC’s 2022 30 under 30 Hot Classical Musicians.”
The concert at ArtSpring will see seven ensembles perform pieces by Haydn, Boismortier, Robert Fuchs, Darius Milhaud, Franz Doppler, Mozart and Moritz Moszkowski. In the audience will be cellist Joseph Elworthy, the president and CEO of the Vancouver Academy of Music, who’ll join the students onstage for a fascinating feedback/masterclass session.