The Trail/Castlegar Registered Music Teachers’ Branch recently held a workshop and recital to celebrate Canada Music Week. During the morning and afternoon of November 24th, students attended a workshop on composition. They learned where to begin when writing a piece of music, and how to develop that idea into a piece. The clinician was Arne Sahlén of Kimberley, who performed many of his own compositions at the workshop, and worked with students on turning ideas into pieces of music.
The celebration continued in the evening with a Canada Music Week Concert, that featured students performing pieces composed by Canadians. Also Arne Sahlén performed for the students – a collection of his own pieces, as well as pieces written by other Canadian composers. The evening concluded with local students receiving Branch awards for the highest practical and theoretical marks in their respective exams.
The award winners are as follows: The Helen Dahlstrom Practical Awards – Grade 1: Benjamin Scully, Grade 1 Contemporary Idioms: Sam Miller, Grade 2: Aden Goertzen, Grade 3: Caleb Kavaloff, Grade 3 Contemporary Idioms: Martin Vickers, Grade 4: Hannah Klemmensen, Grade 5: Emma Profili, Grade 6: Gabriella Kenna, Grade 7: Victoria Francis, and Grade 9: Lisa Leffelaar. The Dora Tweeddale Theory Awards - Theory 2: Gabriella Kenna, and Advanced Rudiments: Jeanine McKay. The Margaret Purdy Scholarship for a student continuing studies at the senior level was presented to Lisa Leffelaar.