Scholarship Winners Concert

This concert features the winners of WMC’s Scholarship Competition held annually in May. The six scholarships total $11,500, and are offered to aspiring Manitoban instrumentalists and vocalists to further their musical training. 

The 2023 winners are:

Christina Thanisch-Smith - WMC Scholarship $3000

Ari Hooker - WMC Scholarship $2500

Alice Macgregor - Madeleine Gauvin Scholarship $2000

Angela Suet Kee Ng - Holtby Scholarship $1500

Sam Ferguson - Phyllis Ilavsky Scholarship $1500

River Sawchyn - Berythe Birse Scholarship $1000

Christina Thanisch-Smith is an alumna of McGill University (M.Mus.), the University of Manitoba (B.Mus./studio of Monica Huisman), Toronto Summer Music Festival, Wendy Nielsen's Opera Workshop, Stratford Summer Music Academy, and Opera NUOVA.   

Ari Hooker is currently in piano performance and composition at the University of Manitoba, where he studies with David Moroz. In March 2023, he premiered his Piano Concerto in C, live with MIDI orchestra at the UofM’s Eva Clare Hall. His highest aspiration is to become a film/media composer.   

Alice Macgregor is a Tudor Bowl Winner (Wpg Music Festival), currently in Voice Performance at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, where she studies with Tracy Dahl.   

Angela Suet Kee Ng is at the University of Toronto, where she studies with Jamie Parker. She was a Grand Prize winner in the Canadian Music Competition in 2017, and recipient of the Aikins Memorial Trophy with the Winnipeg Music Festival in 2021.   

Sam Ferguson is currently a student at Fort Richmond Collegiate. His long list of prizes includes scholarships from Winnipeg's local festivals, the Manitoba Band Association, and the 2023 Tanglewood Institute at Boston University.   

River Sawchyn holds trophies and scholarships from a variety of organizations. and is presently in Bachelor of Music and Violin Performance studies at Mercer University, Georgia. Also a composer, his works have been premiered by his contemporaries.