250.386.5311 • 900 Johnson at Quadra • www.vcm.bc.ca

A newsletter for the VCM community - Spring/Summer 2012

Winifred Jean Scott Wood1924 – 2012

In this issue…

Eric Charman Birthday GalaPage 3

VCM events roundupPages 4 & 5

Dean search updatePage 5

A Fish Festival storyPage 7

Round of Applause Page 7 & 8

“I think teaching music, particularly piano, is heaven. You can bring out so much in people that they don’t realize they have.” Winifred Scott Wood

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a very special member of our VCM family, Mrs. Winifred Scott Wood. We will forever remember Mrs. Wood’s passion for teaching, her endless encouragement to all of her students, and her witty humour.

Born into a large musical family in Winnipeg, Winifred never imagined a life without music. When she finished high school, she began to work towards building a career in music. She auditioned for Juilliard in New York and was accepted, but was told that she

would need to wait until the next intake of students. In the meantime, word came that she had been awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London. She met her future husband – a young man from Victoria named Robin Wood – on the boat going over to London. Robin had also won a scholarship to the Royal Academy to study piano. Together they would begin a magical journey with music that would last both of their lifetimes.

From Mrs. Wood’s memoirs: “… In 1964 a long-distance call came from Victoria, BC. The call was from Gertrude Huntly Green, one of Canada’s first world-known concert pianists, and one of the Conservatory’s far-seeing founders. She invited my husband back to Victoria to act as principal of the fledging School of Music. As fate would have it, this all coincided with another invitation. The Royal Academy, where we were both teaching, asked Robin to become Warden, a prestigious post similar to vice-principal. What a dilemma! After much thought, the lure of helping to build a Conservatory persuaded us to return with our two young children to our native land. We agreed to leave our flourishing careers and the excitement of London life, but only for the trial period of our two years’ leave of absence.” Continued on page 2

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Once they arrived there was no turning back. There was nothing more exciting to the Woods’ than building this new school.

Winifred writes: “The small original number of forty students quickly grew as we enthusiasti-cally created new programs. Good ideas from our Royal Academy past mixed with new ideas that were possible in this less history-bound setting. A small but good faculty was gradually brought together; some of these colleagues are still contributing to the high standard of the Conservatory today. More and more students

began to come from other provinces and other lands to join the original ones from Victoria.”

By 1968 the thriving Victoria School of Music became the renowned Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Of her many accomplishments – including being named an Honorary Citizen of the City of Victoria and awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the BC Lieutenant Governor in 2004 – Winifred was most proud of the piano pedagogy program she developed at the VCM. The Victoria Conservatory Teacher Training Program began in the fall of 1975 and, soon after, each department at the Conservatory embraced the new program, creating their own pedagogy programs with Mrs. Wood’s program as inspiration.

In July 2009, Mrs. Wood was unanimously nominated and awarded the Hugheen Ferguson Distinguished Teacher Award at the biennial CFMTA Convention in New Brunswick. She was one of five Canadians so honoured for outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of music teaching. She has been a mentor to hundreds of piano teachers and students for decades.

As the VCM grew and moved from its original location in Union Hall on Pandora Avenue, to Craigdarroch Castle, to St. Ann’s Academy Annex, and now to its current home in the Metropolitan United Church at 900 Johnson Street, the Woods cared for their VCM until the end. Just as Robin did until the days leading up to his death in 2004, Winifred was teaching her beloved students in private lessons and masterclasses all the way until her final days.

Together with her husband Robin, Winifred Scott Wood made an outstanding musical contribution to the Victoria Community. They dedicated their extraordinary lives to the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and for that we are eternally grateful.

A Celebration of Life in honour of Winifred Scott Wood will take place on Sunday, June 24th at 2:30pm in the Alix Goolden Performance Hall, with a reception to follow. Please join us as we pay tribute to a very special member of our VCM family, and her outstanding musical contribution to the Victoria community.

By Mary Byrne

VCM’s newest concert series, Concordance!, hit the stage this spring. The talented young students and exceptional conduct-ing faculty of the VCM/Camosun partnership programmes brought forward four concerts in April to enchant audiences with all that is best in music.

The 2012 Concordance! Series featured dozens of ensembles across four great events. All con-certs took place in Alix Goolden Performance Hall, and were admission by donation.

In one of its many roles within the community, the VCM is the music department of Camosun College, offering three credential music programmes in university transfer, university entrance prep-aration, and professional development. If these passed you by this spring, make a note in your diary to watch for these fine musicians on stage in December 2012 and then again in April 2013.

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Eric Charman’s 80th Birthday Gala CelebrationThree of Victoria’s most celebrated musical arts organizations – the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the Victoria Symphony, and Pacific Opera Victoria – joined forces on March 4th to honour Mr. Eric Charman on the evening of his 80th birthday. Eric is the ultimate arts advocate and his tireless efforts in supporting the arts through the years have had a profound impact on each of our organizations. The evening was truly magical: over 300 guests enjoyed a delicious grazing supper created by the Marriott Hotel, imbibed in

incredible cocktail creations from Clive’s Classic Lounge, and enjoyed a magnificent concert that represented the work of the three organizations.

A unique twist marked this Gala as a true “Chair-ity” event! Fifteen prominent BC artists were invited to create beautiful and unique works of art using a chair as their subject, all in honour of Eric Charman - Victoria’s “Chairman of the Arts”. We sincerely thank artists Maarten Schaddelee, Robert Amos, Judy McLaren, Deb McKinley, Timothy Hoey, Randolph Parker, Nathan Scott, Anthony Balzer, Andy Wooldridge, Al Williams, Elka Nowicka, Grant Leier, Eric Charman and Ricky ChiuNixie Barton, Michel DesRochers, and David Hunwick for their stunning one-of-a-kind chair works of art which were the hallmark

of the auctions success.

The event was an unequalled success raising over $190,000 net of expenses and was an unforgettable collaboration in honour of an unforgettable man, Mr. Eric Charman!

Left: Eric Charman auctions off one of the incredible chairs.

Below: the Victoria Symphony performs with the Victoria Children’s Choir.

Concordance! Concert Series Makes its Debut

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Uncork Your PalateA wonderful night was had by all who attended the VCM’s “Uncork Your Palate” fundraising event which took place on Thursday, April 26 at Crystal Garden. Over 250 people were among the first to try the spring release wines of fifteen of the Naramata Bench wineries, paired with some of Victoria’s finest and favourite food providers. VCM jazz students played throughout the evening, and our strolling violinists entertained the crowd in between.

A huge thank you goes out to our Event Chairperson, Patricia Gibb, who went above and beyond the call of duty, and to all of our staff and volunteers for their hard work and extraordinary effort!

The 30th Annual Mother’s Day Garden Tour was spectacular in every way: the weather was incredible, the gardens were gorgeous and the music was magnificent!

This year’s event was dedicated to Mrs. Ann Nation who founded the Garden Tour in honour of her mother, Mrs. Alix Goolden.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Terry LeBlanc and Brian Johnston who, once again, did a superb job as the Event Co-Chairs; our most generous presenting sponsor, Newport Realty and Newport Property Management; and to all of our students and faculty who volunteered to perform in the gardens on this year’s tour…you all brought the magic to one of the best Garden Tours ever!

30th Annual Mother’s Day Garden Tour

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New Strategic Planning Process As we reported in the last issue of Quarter Notes, we have now entered into the Strategic Planning process for the next three years. The first part of the process involved meeting with groups of key VCM stakeholders - the students, parents, faculty, staff and donors - as we wanted to ensure that we incorporated the feed-back, suggestions, and ideas from the VCM’s major constituents in the planning process. Thank you to those who participated for your time, expertise and wisdom; your feedback has been crucial in helping us better develop and articulate the goals and objectives that will formulate our journey for the next three years.

The main Strategic Planning group consisted of every member of the Board of Governors, the Artistic Directorate and the Management team. The goals and objectives for the next three years have unanimously been established, and now a smaller working group comprised of two members of each group will work together to draft the actions that need to take place to achieve the goals.

Once a draft is prepared, we look forward to inviting you to a presentation of the new Strategic Plan.

Gary Karr and Harmon Lewis Concert On February 26, the world-renowned Karr-Lewis Duo gave a rare public performance in support of the VCM. Gary Karr, double bass, together with Harmon Lewis, piano and organ, were joined by outstanding students from the VCM’s Collegium Program for Young Musicians performing on violin, cello, guitar and harp.

The concert was absolutely spectacular and was enjoyed by a nearly full house. We are thrilled to report that the concert raised $47,000...there are no words to truly thank Gary and Harmon for sharing their extraordinary talents and for their generous gift!!

Search for the New Dean We have been very pleased to receive a significant amount of interest in the position of Dean from a wide range of very accomplished and talented candidates. The Search Committee has now completed the first round of interviews and have narrowed the search down to two very strong candidates who been invited to come to Victoria for second interviews. These final interviews will be a very intensive and day-long process which will include a more comprehensive interview with the Search Committee, an interview meeting with all members of the the Artistic Directorate, an informal lunch with members of the Board of Governors, a presentation and Q&A session with interested faculty and staff, and finally a master class with VCM students. The Q&A sessions will take place from 1:30-2:30pm on Wednesday, June 13th and Thursday, June 14th in Wood Hall.

VCM Presents:ConservatoryConcert SeriesOn Saturday, May 26th we welcomed the last artist in our inaugural VCM Presents series.

Sara Davis Buechner entertained a thoroughly appreciative audience with music by Haydn, Turina and Gershwin. Her “Rhapsody in Blue” was just one of the many highlights and can be seen on our website:vcm.bc.ca/events/ vcm-presents/sara-davis-buechner/

Stay tuned for information on our next season of exciting concerts!

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A Tale of Two PianosBy Mary Byrne

The VCM has been the music department for Camosun College for nearly 40 years. Camosun has some beautiful performance spaces in addition to the Gibson Auditorium on the Lansdowne campus, and we have an open invitation and strong encouragement from Camosun to fill their two campuses with music. But many good ideas just can’t come to fruition because there is no piano on the campuses other than the grand piano in the Gibson Auditorium. So this is where the story begins last November…

Our jazz students had been invited by Camosun’s United Way Campaign to give a concert which would highlight the VCM/Camosun partnership. Camosun’s VP Academic, John Boraas, and I were enjoying the concert that afternoon, when John asked, “What would it take to do this more often?” I replied, “A piano and a drum kit already on-site.” He countered with, “If I can arrange for storage, could you help with a piano?” I didn’t hesitate: of course, we could.

Almost as soon as I discovered that the VCM had managed to place all of its extra pianos into good homes, I discovered a little note from Paula Young, Camosun’s Chair of Humanities and a VCM alumnus, offering a piano for donation. Great! The idea that the piano would find a home at Camosun was perfect. The beautifully-maintained Heintzman upright would require very little work to bring to full playing condition. Soon, the instrument was moved to the VCM’s piano tech studio for refurbishment. When complete early this summer, the instrument will go to Camosun’s Interurban campus.

In the meanwhile, momentum was gaining to have the VCM issue an opinion on the “junker piano” in the Wilna Thomas Cultural Center on the Lansdowne campus. The little, well-loved Dominion piano was built in Bowmanville, Ontario more than 120 years ago. Everything on the piano is fully original. The design of the piano was specifically to stand up to Canada’s hard winters, and as a result it has weathered its century-plus very well. With a minimal amount of work, the piano can be brought back to its original playing condition or better, and with a bit more the piano can be brought back to its full aesthetic beauty. This piano is now at our VCM piano tech studio to be refurbished across the summer.

When we started on this project six months ago, I had no idea we’d be where we are now. I am so thrilled, as is Camosun, that we were able to work together to bring music to the campuses and to assist the project with our expertise. I wanted to share this good news with you!

Mark your Calendars!VCM’s Open House - Saturday, September 8th, 10:00am to 3:00pmJoin us for a very special day as we open our doors to the whole community to experience the VCM! This is a great opportunity for everyone to find out what they need to know to get the most out of their musical journey at the Conservatory. We will be looking for performers, teachers of mini-lessons, and volunteers of all kinds, so let us know if you’re interested in helping out!

For more information contact Susan Postma at 250-386-5311 ext. 2250, postma@vcm.bc.ca

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Key ConnectionsOn Sunday, April 1st the Keyboard Department held “Key Connections” a fun concert showcasing everything the department has to offer.

Many thanks to Linda Low for organizing this great event.

Linda Gould’s Play Piano Today class

Karmen Tse and Angela Xie

Anna and Maida Wu

Piccolomini: How a Fish Finds Herself at FestivalBy Mary Byrne

I’m not quite sure how it happened this year, but it did. Little Piccolomini – a 30+ year-old goldfish stuffy – has sat on the same shelf outside my home flute studio for more than 20 years. This year, she was adopted by a group of my students.

At first, she periodically came into the studio to attend lessons over the fall and winter. Then, as we ramped up to the last few rehearsals before Festival, Piccolomini was joining

in those rehearsals as well. As we gathered up the required music and adjudicator parts, extra flute stands and tool kits, knitting supplies and 35 dozen (yes, 35 DOZEN) cookies for the Woodwind Section of the Music Festival, I said that Piccolomini could come with us. Soon she was the official Festival 2012 mascot! She attended every class of the Festival and was cared for by students from my studio as well as students from other VCM flute studios. It is hard to say which provided the greater camaraderie with the students, Piccolomini or the cookies... but I think maybe Piccolomini. One student even knitted her a sweater which converts conveniently into a hat.

But, from a teacher standpoint, I think Piccolomini provided a beautiful point of focus and distraction to keep students’ minds from fixating on the pressures of competing at Festival, and, in a way, gave the majority of the competitors something (someone?) to rally around, easing and even eliminating competitive lines. As I said, I’m not sure how it happened this year – Piccolomini asserted herself and gave a wonderful boost to the riot that is Festival.

Round of Applause

• Congratulations to Amber Chou for getting the Gold Medal, the top score in BC, on her Toronto Grade 8 Flute Exam along with a 98% score in Theory.

• Students of Lynda Simms McCliggott celebrated their exam marks at Boston Pizza. (l-r) Lynda Simms McCliggott, John Sanderson, 95% Grade 2 Thoery; Matthew Wong, 91% Grade 1 Piano; Kai Saunders, 94% Grade 1 Piano; Reven Lie, 94% Preliminary Rudiments.

Continued on back...

Round of Applause continued

• Italian Song Competition on Wednesday, February 22nd: Intermediate Division: First place - Emma Hannan, Esme Liddicoat Second place - Adam MacKenzie Honourable Mention - Anna Queen Senior Division: First Place - Kelsey Wheatley Honourable Mention - Eva Bild

• Tatiana Kostour, our new violin teacher proudly announced that her previous violin student in Ontario received a Gold Medal from RCM Exam in Toronto. As well, Tatiana’s VCM student Kate Moran performed beautifully at a String Student recital on March 17th. Tatiana, who is a producer of Violin CD’s “Royal Sequence” donated one set of 6 CDs to theVCM Library. Each CD includes all pieces of music from Frederick Harris Music Inc. for RCM violin repertoire books.

• We’re so excited to celebrate the accomplishments of some of our students in Collegium! The following students auditioned, at and were accepted to some of the world’s most prestigious music schools. When you see them next, make sure you congratulate them on their success!

Stephanie Galipeau: Accepted to Juilliard, Cleveland Institute of Music, Peabody Institute, University of Ottawa

Natasha Galitzine: Accepted to Juilliard, Cleveland Institute of Music, Peabody Institute

Karnsiri Laothamatas: Accepted to McGill University, waitlisted at Juilliard

Nelson Moneo: Accepted to New England Conservatory, University of Michigan, Cleveland Institute of Music

Rochelle Sumampong: Accepted to Robert McDuffie Centre for Strings (Georgia)

• The Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival was held during six weeks from March to May, and as usual our VCM students made us proud! Here is a list of the winners in each Department:

Piano: Ivy Fu, Mirin Hirano, Nio Hirano, Emmett Hodgins, Daniel Jordan, Karnsiri Laothamatas, Soo Ji Lee, Eric Manning, Keaton Ollech, Barry Tan, Karmen Tse, Tori Vermes, Jimmy Wang, Colleen Wong, Angela Xie, Victor Yoo, Sandra Zhou.

Winds, Brass and Percussion: Kelsey Dupuis, flute; Kate Thomas, flute; Emily Tsao, flute; Michelle Wood, flute; Jon Yenta, tuba.

Voice: Kiera Johnson, Chelsey Ternes, Emma Hannan, Esme Liddicoat, Anna Queen.

Strings: Ethan Allers, cello; Nate Bomans, violin; Ceilidh Briscoe, violin; Alex Chen, violin; Rae Gallimore, violin; Stephanie Galipeau, viola; Natasha Galitzine, viola; Emily Herle, viola; Elaina Hoh, violin; Ella Hopwood, cello; Thomas Kempster, violin; Chloe Kersen, cello; Eehjoon Kwon, violin; Bronwyn LeBlanc, cello; Nelson Moneo, violin; Danny Park, violin; Galen Rohon-O’Halloran, cello; Raina Saunders, violin; Rochelle Sumampong, violin; Jordan Vermes, violin.

Chamber Music: Shostokovich Quintet - Eehjoon Kwon, Ceilidh Briscoe, Natasha Galitzine, Anne Mauz, Karnsiri Laothamatas; Bartok Quartet - Nelson Moneo, Rochelle Sumampong, Stephanie Galipeau, Ethan Allers; Dvorak Quintet - Nathan Bomans, Alice Haekyo Lee, Jacob van der Sloot, Galen Rohon-O’Halloran, Jany Lu; ARB Trio - Aline Dumalski, Bronwyn LeBlanc, Ryan Cui; Collegium duo Lucy Gao, flute and Christina Chwyl, harp.

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