Chilliwack – The Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra are now auditioning eight outstanding young musicians for the three finalist spots.
The performers will be playing with the CMO in March.
The gala is Sunday March 31 at G.W, Graham School Theatre, with the winners accompanied by the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra.
Meet some of the rising stars:
Jonah Kassel is a grade 5 student at Unsworth Elementary School. Jonah has been playing violin under Karin Fehlauer for 5 ½ years. In 2017, at 8 years old, Jonah won the Junior Strings division of the Chilliwack Lions Dance and Music Festival. In 2018, at 9 years old, Jonah was named Most Promising Violinist across all ages and categories of the Chilliwack Lions Festival and was awarded a violin. He also won the Earl Dunn cup for “Ouststanding Violinist of the Festival”, and was named “Most Outstanding Student in the Festival”. Jonah was named the Provincial Representative for Chilliwack at the 2018 Music Festival, but since he was only 9 years old he was too young to actually compete. Jonah attended the Provincial Festival in Victoria under a special provision as a Merited Participant where he attended workshops and performed in one of the gala celebrations. Jonah participated in the week-long 2018 UBC Strings camp. Shortly after arriving at the camp Jonah was asked if he would mind quickly learning to play the viola, as there was only one viola student enrolled in the camp, and the music director felt the viola section needed at least one more instrument for the gala performance. In a matter of four days Jonah learned how to read alto clef and play the larger instrument, and played both violin and viola for the gala concert at the Chan Center for Performing Arts. Besides violin Jonah also plays piano and is learning guitar. He plays club soccer, downhill skis, mountain bikes, and does some rather extensive alpine hiking with his family in the summer.
Jackson Howard began his musical studies at the age of three, starting piano at 5 and trombone at 13 years. He studies piano with Nita Pelletier, and completed his RCM Grade 10 with First Class Honours this past summer (2018). His trombone studies have been with Ellen Marple, Brian Wendel and have also been frequent with Gordon Cherry. In 2018, Jackson earned the Top Intermediate Brass award at the Performing Arts BC Festival, and he was selected for the BCMEA Honour Concert Band as well as the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Jackson is a member of the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. Jackson will be going on to study music next year in university.
The CMO Facebook Page is here.
