A virtuoso whose enthusiasm is genuinely contagious, Canadian pianist Julien LeBlanc is renowned for his great musical sensibility and his talent as a communicator. Based in Montreal, Julien is a well sought-after soloist, chamber player and accompanist.  He has recently launched his first solo album “Mélancolies” which is dedicated a program of works by Dutilleux, Franck and Poulenc . He also has made two albums as a member of Trio Arkaède.  Since 2012, Julien has been acting as co-artistic director of the summer concert series Barachois Summer Music in New-Brunswick. He has taken part in many concert tours across Canada with violinist Marc Djokic as well as soprano Miriam Khalil and Mezzo Lauren Segal for Jeunesses Musicales du Canada as well as Debut Atlantic. He is a part-time teacher at the University of Ottawa and works as a vocal coach and accompanist both at McGill University and Université de Montréal. He has given master classes in several universities across Canada and his frequently asked to sit on juries for music competitions.

Testimonial:

The New Brunswick Competitive Festival of Music was always an event I was looking forward to every year. It was not only the chance to perform and get comments on repertoire I had been working on and preparing very seriously for this competition, but also the occasion to hear and meet many other pianists and musicians. It is where I had the chance to meet wonderful people like Stepan Arman, Ann Larlee, Jessica McCormack, Lance Ouellette and Jasper Wood.  Growing up in a very small community with no music program at our school, this event was key in my musical development. It was a great forum to exchange about music, practice and performing.  I have many fond memories of those years.

After a twenty-five year career on the international opera and concert stages, soprano Wendy Nielsen is now Head of Voice and a Lecturer in Voice and Opera at the University of Toronto. In addition, she is Head Vocal Consultant for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and maintains an active private voice studio in Toronto teaching many of Canada’s prominent performers. Ms. Nielsen made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1996 as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte under the baton of James Levine. Subsequent performances there over twelve seasons included: Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Micaela in Carmen and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her international orchestral perfomances were numerous, notably opening the Lucerne Summer Festival as Elsa in Lohengrin with Ivan Fisher conducting the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Other significant performances included appearances with the Bejing Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Beethoven Festival in Krakow Poland, Madrid Sinfonica, Prague Autumn Festival, Toronto Symphony, Düsseldorf Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony.

A native of New Brunswick, Ms Nielsen attended Mount Allison University and earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Lethbridge, and a Masters of Music in Opera from the University of British Columbia. In addition, Ms. Nielsen holds three honorary doctorates and has garnered numerous awards recognizing her contributions nationally, provincially and locally. Ms. Nielsen is the Artistic Director of three vocal programs at St. Andrews by the Sea, namely: Vocal Techniques Workshop for undergraduates, Opera Workshop for graduate students and young professionals, and a Professional Development Workshop for those in mid-career. She has guided these programs since 1994, helping them to evolve into the nationally recognized programs that they are today.

Testimonial:

The NB Competitive Festival of Music played a large role in my early development. I was chosen as Star in 1985 and that was just the encouragement I needed going forward to complete my graduate degree in Opera. The scholarships were very helpful also! It was a difficult spring for me as my grandfather died the week before the festival, I very nearly didn’t compete as I didn’t feel somehow that it was respectful and I was also emotionally tired. My grandmother, his wife, told me that I should absolutely sing in the festival as he was such a music lover. Borti Nielsen, my grandfather, emigrated from Denmark to NB around 1920. He met my grandmother and they had four children. Music was a priority and all of the children had music lessons.

I have enjoyed now two careers in music. For twenty-five years I sang in opera and concert venues around the world including the Metropolitan Opera for twelve seasons. Now, I am Head of Voice at the University of Toronto and am the Head Vocal Consultant for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. I feel very fortunate to be passing on my knowledge both at these two institutions and in St. Andrews, NB at the opera program that I oversee every summer.

Music festivals are so important to young musicians, thank you and keep up the good work NBCFM! Congrats on 80 glorious years!

Noted by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a singer of rare gifts and artistic intensity” and by the Miami Herald for possessing “a superb voice capable of just about everything, Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman has emerged as one of the most magnificent performers and vibrant personalities of the day. She is critically acclaimed by the international press as much for her innate musicianship and voluptuous voice as for a sovereign stage presence far beyond her years.

Recently, for the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s 2015 season, she reprised her impressive Madrid performance of Jenny in Graham Vick’s production of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny under John Axeldrod. Amongst other notable performances, Ms Brueggergosman was honoured with performing the Olympic Hymn before a global audience of 3.2 billion viewers for the Opening Ceremoneies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Recent stage performances include an extraordinary Berlin Philharmonic debut in concert performances of Porgy and Bess under the baton of Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle. She has also performed Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder andAngels in America, under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Her extraordinary versatility, intuitive musicality and radiant star quality are reflected in the array of recordings, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with internationally recognized artists. Ms Brueggergosman currently resides in rural Nova Scotia with her husband and two children.

Testimonial:

There are few finer or more challenging opportunities for young musicians and singers than competing in the New Brunswick Competitive Festival of Music. Surrounded as I was by budding and inspiring talent, it represented that first solid step towards my future as a performer. For all competitors, it is also a recognition that the long hours of practice, family support, memorizing repertoire and endless lessons have come to fruition. That the NBCFM is in its 80^th year is a testament to its critical role in nurturing and showcasing talent in the Maritimes.

Jeremy VanSlyke is a classical music recording producer, pianist and audio engineer based in Halifax, NS.  He has completed degrees in piano performance and sound recording from McGill University and an ARCT in piano performance with the Royal Conservatory of Music.  In 2012, he started the first classical recording label in Atlantic Canada, Leaf Music.  He has since produced award winning recordings by Trio Arkaède, the Saint John String Quartet, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, pianist Roger Lord and others.  He also works with Symphony New Brunswick as recording producer and Symphony Nova Scotia as production manager.

In addition to his work with classical recording artists, he has lent his skills to several film and television productions including This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Trailer Park Boys, and Haven and recorded music for video games including Assassins Creed III.  He is also active as a collaborative pianist, private piano instructor, and adjudicator at music festivals.

TESTIMONIAL

A huge thank-you, on behalf of all the past participants of the NB Competitive Festival of Music, to all the volunteers, sponsors and supporters of the festival who have contributed to the success and longevity of this important event.  For student musicians, participation in the festivals starts many months ahead and involves many hours of diligent practice and preparation.  The music festival experience helps shape our next generation of artists and builds up our community.  Many, many thanks.

“Warm, rich, clear and dynamic”…words written in various reviews to describe Cindy’s Soprano voice. She has performed on operatic and concert stages, across Canada, including her hometown, Saint John, New Brunswick and to Europe, including performances in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, singing various roles from opera to musical theatre and concert work with from song to oratorio.

Cindy is a versatile singer who loves creating form the ground up whether that be in creating a role or a song program, which in the past was primarily for herself but now includes helping other singers to achieve their performance goals.

“Lois Marshall has been an incredible influence in my professional singing career and now very much so in my teaching.

Greta Kraus was another important person in my life as a growing artist. Greta’s depth to teaching German lieder is something that I feel so grateful for having experienced while at UofT.

My family was also a huge influence as I grew up in a musical family as the daughter of a trumpet playing big band leader. My sisters and I all sang together, often imitating the “Andrew Sisters”. We had many jazz and big band recordings and very few classical but one that we had was that of Lois Marshall. I listened to that recording over and over again and was in awe of all that my ears perceived.

As my studies progressed, I was able to audition for University of Toronto. I was so privileged to meet Lois Marshall and then lucky enough to study with her from 1990 until her death in 1997. I would not have missed one lesson with her as what she offered to her students was a wealth of professional experience and artistry that as I have grown in my career, I have come to appreciate fully.

She was my mentor and my friend, and I think of her every day, looking at her picture which sits on the piano that she left to me when she passed.

My story would not be complete without mentioning my family.

My performing career shifted to further teaching when my daughter was born in 2005.

Marasia has special needs. I mention this in my as I feel very fortunate to have had the musical life that I have and have been able to share it with Marasia, a child that absolutely loves music and thrives in its presence.

Teaching has become a wonderful focus now in my career as it has allowed me to be close by for Marasia’s needs.

In my studio, I believe that a solid foundation of technique is vital to any style in which a singer wishes to pursue. My goal is to achieve technical success allowing for the full development of the individual voice to be explored and challenged within the appropriate musical level.

I encourage both piano and theory at a young age, especially, and of course, a choral background for young singers is always a plus!

Providing an open and positive environment for each student to achieve their full potential is key and offering opportunities to think of the many possibilities of the voice and the music being studied is paramount.

Juggling all that is required professionally and personally is certainly a challenge but I would not have it any other way and look forward to all that lies ahead!”

Still singing, Cindy is a sought after teacher, adjudicator and RCM examiner.

She lives in Toronto with her husband Danny and their beautiful Marasia.

Testimonial:

“ I am where I am today because of where I came from!  I am so proud to call myself a Maritimer and even prouder of my musical heritage.

New Brunswick, a place where opportunity for any style of music in is embraced and fully appreciated, a place where I could do a comprehensive Bachelor of Degree in Vocal Performance at Mount Allison University, and a place where a Provincial Music Festival can offer all that is required to motivate a career in music. That was my experience when, in 1990, I won the “star” of the NB Music festival.

I won a cash prize that allowed me to start to dream of what could be beyond my current studies, and that included a masterclass with the great Canadian singer Lois Marshall, someone whom I had admired from a young age and could not ever have thought I would end up infront of to sing!

But I did because of the NB Music Festival. I sang in a masterclass working on Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”. It was scary and magical, but just enough to get my studies and soon to be friendship with Lois Marshall off the ground. From that experience, I moved to Toronto to attend UofT, finishing off with grad studies in Operatic Performance. From there, a career that has included many performances with incredible musical experiences has brought me to where I am now, a very satisfied soprano, still singing when I can, and offering all the positivity that I was so fortunate to experience early in my career to other aspiring singers. And to, of course, jungling a home life which includes my husband and our daughter, Marasia, who has special needs. Marasia is in a wheelchair, something which I had much experience with in my relationship with Lois, as from the time I met her, she too, was in a wheelchair. I surely did learn a ton beyond the music from Lois about overcoming personal challenges to achieve your life’s work.

So, see, NB Festival of music…all of this started with you…a career full of singing, teaching and wonderful life experience! Thank you!”