Pre-show butterflies are no strangers to an accomplished French horn player, but she did not play like it as she was named Most Promising Performer in the instrumental category at the 2011 High River and District Lions Music Festival.
Breanne Jaimieson, who performed at the festival’s annual Adjudicator’s Showcase on March 30, said playing in the showcase made her more than a little anxious but it could have been far worse if she hadn’t prepared for the demands of being in front of a live audience.
“I tend to get very nervous,” she said. “But I’ve practiced playing in front of people a lot this past year so I could get more used to it.”
Jaimieson, a student at Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks, is actively pursing making music her focus as she heads to post-secondary education.
“I’m looking to get a performance degree,” she said. “I’d like to play professionally in an orchestra someday.”
Jamieson was obviously able to keep her nerves in check during her festival performance because they punched her ticket to the Provincial Solo, Ensemble and Choral Speech Festival May 25 to May 28 in Edmonton. Joining her will be 12 other young people from the Foothills who received provincial recommendations at the High River event.
The other recipients of the Most Promising Performer award were repeat winner Michael Sun (piano), Tayte Mitchell (vocal) and Samuel Spangler (speech arts). Spangler, a Blackie resident currently in Grade 11 at Highwood High School, not only received a provincial recommendation for his performance but also was selected in the instrumental category for his playing of the brass instrument the euphonium.
Of his two passions Spangler explained in future it would likely be music he would continue to pursue.
“I’d always like to be able play my euphonium and continue in music,” he said. “I think that’ll be a passion throughout my life. With speech I don’t really plan to carry on with it long term but I’d like to use the skills I have gained from it, as I get older. It’s nice to know I’d have the confidence to do stand up and do public speaking and things like that if I need to without getting too nervous.”
Even with his formidable speech skills — he was honoured once before as Most Promising Performer in the category at the Lions festival — Spangler confessed he is not interested in pursuing acting as a profession.
“At Highwood I’m in the band program,” he said. “So next year I’d like to have a part in the musical just to experience it, but I don’t plan on going on theatre or anything like that.”
Spangler said he is looking forward to attending provincials this year in his two chosen areas of competition. He competed in both categories two years ago, but last year he went to Edmonton for speech only.
As a provincials veteran he explained it is difficult getting accustomed to the ambience in Edmonton.
“Provincials is not quite the nice atmosphere you have at the local level,” Spangler said. “I think it’s probably worst for people in piano but there’s some very serious parents and kids there. When I’ve gone before I was in it mostly for the experience. I wasn’t acting like I was competing to the death as some people do.”
Other Foothills performers selected to join Jaimieson and Spangler in the heated climate of provincials are: in vocal and musical theatre, Alexandra Fisher and Alexandra Enman; in vocal and piano, Evangeline Mably; in speech arts, Chantal Beaulne and Gabriel Navarro-Fournier; in vocal Tayte Mitchell; in instrumental, Ashton Sigueira; in musical theatre, Alecia Pagnotta, Breighanne Brandford, and Daniella Vaniersel; and in piano, Michel Sun.
