Submitted by Kootenay Voice Academy
Julie Higgins was one excited singer last week when she received notification from the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) that she was a Gold Medal recipient for her level during the 2021/2022 exam session year.
Higgins is a grade 10 student at Stanley Humphries Secondary School in Castlegar.
A Gold Medal recognizes the highest earned mark in an individual grade level and they are awarded regionally, by province. Julie’s award is for earning the highest mark – a 92 – in the province on her RCM Grade 4 voice exam. The exam was completed in March 2022.
Higgins shares this award with Eric Wang, another singer from outside the region.
Each exam tests students’ abilities to sing repertoire in various styles and languages as well as learn foundational music skills such as sight reading, interval identification and pattern recognition.
Higgins has been a student of Kootenay Voice Academy since 2020 and this was her second RCM exam. She has been invited to perform in a special awards recital in Vancouver on Jan. 15, 2023.
Higgins’s accomplishment and that of her teacher, Christina Allen from Kootenay Voice Academy have been published on the RCM website: https://www.rcmusic.com/learning/examinations/recognizing-achievement/recognizing-achievement-canada/celebrations-of-excellence-canada#BritishColumbiaandYukon-7
Higgins is currently working towards achieving her RCM Grade 5 Level in January/February 2023.
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