St. Thomas, ON - The Rotary Music Festival Keynotes Concert on April 7 concluded the 63rd Music Festival held Feb. 21 – 24. The enthusiastically received concert was held at the Salvation Army.
To open the evening, the Aylmer Area Community Choir led the audience in the singing of O Canada. This was followed by the presentation of engraved trophies and scholarships to the finalists in the major competitions for piano, violin, instruments, and choral singing. There was no winner of the Rose Bowl this year.
The presentations were followed by a rapid paced and thrilling rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor Opus 23 no. 5, played by the Silver Tray winner Matthew Zhou of London. St. Thomas jazz enthusiast Jonathan Renaud, winner of the Stephanie Leung Memorial Trophy and Scholarship, played Paganini Variations by John Maul; and Sarah Looby, winner of the new Harrington-Catchpole scholarship and trophy for strings, played J.S. Bach’s Sarabande in D Minor for the violin.
The presentations were followed by a rapid paced and thrilling rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor Opus 23 no. 5, played by the Silver Tray winner Matthew Zhou of London. St. Thomas jazz enthusiast Jonathan Renaud, winner of the Stephanie Leung Memorial Trophy and Scholarship, played Paganini Variations by John Maul; and Sarah Looby, winner of the new Harrington-Catchpole scholarship and trophy for strings, played J.S. Bach’s Sarabande in D Minor for the violin.
  |  Jonathan Renaud (top left); Matthew Zhou (bottom left); Sarah Looby (right) |
Aylmer Area Community Choir conducted by Sarah Twininem sang two numbers ‘Ho Ho Watanay’ and ‘Away from the Roll of the Sea’, followed by Ken Jacklin and his popular harmonica with the ‘Merry Widow’s Waltz’ and singing ‘The Last Farewell’. He was presented the Thomas J. Cunniffe Scholarship for Instruments. Alumnus Dave Hoy provided the toe tapping ragtime closure ‘The Entertainer’ by Scott Joplin which formed the theme song for The Sting.
Throughout the evening, Rotary representatives presented scholarships ranging from $100 to $500, this year to 41 festival winners, for a total value of $6,300. Scholarships are paid to students based upon the marks awarded by the adjudicators.
It was noted that Rotary is most appreciative of the donors who maintain the long standing scholarship funding and also of the new donors each year. Community support for the scholarship program encourages young people to continue their studies in music as does the continuation of the Festival’s professional adjudication.
Throughout the evening, Rotary representatives presented scholarships ranging from $100 to $500, this year to 41 festival winners, for a total value of $6,300. Scholarships are paid to students based upon the marks awarded by the adjudicators.
It was noted that Rotary is most appreciative of the donors who maintain the long standing scholarship funding and also of the new donors each year. Community support for the scholarship program encourages young people to continue their studies in music as does the continuation of the Festival’s professional adjudication.
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