Right now, Halifax is playing host to hundreds of music educators from across Canada and around the world. They’re here to take part in the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations’ biennial convention, and last night, delegates were treated to a concert featuring a wide swath of Nova Scotian culture and music.
The music ranged from stirring soul gospel performed by North Preston’s “The Sanctified Brothers” to traditional Cape Breton dance tunes with Leanne Aucoin and Jesse Lewis (joined by a charming group of young dancers) and stories told in Gaelic by a student at Citadel High. Weldon and & Josée Boudreau (and electrifying father and daughter duo) performed Acadian tunes, Barry Shears gave an amusing and enlightening demo on the bagpipes and the Eastern Eagle Singers made Pier 21’s Rowe Hall ring with the music of the Mi’kmaq. The evening was launched by the angelic voices and effervescent personalities of the Halifax Boys’ Honour Choir.
An exciting component of the conference is that it hosts the finals of the competitions for young vocalists and pianists who have been selected in their provinces to compete. The adjudicators are world-renown pianists (André Laplante, Katherine Chi and Janina Fialkowska) and vocalists (Richard Margison Isabel Bayrakdarian and Mary Lou Fallis) who wowed the audience at the Gala with top-flight performances.
The public is invited to attend the voice competition finals from 1:30pm until approximately 3:30pm on Friday July 5th and the piano competition from 7:30pm until approximately 10:00pm also on Friday at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.
Tickets for each event are $30 and can be purchased in advance by calling the Rebecca Cohn Box Office at 1.800.874.1669.
