It has become a WMC tradition to present a special concert in December, showcasing the talented young musicians who have won our competitive scholarships. These scholarships have been made possible by generous donations to the WMC. Four of them, the Madeleine Gauvin Scholarship, the Phyllis Ilavsky Scholarship, the Holtby Scholarship, and the Berythe Birse Scholarship, are supported by legacies from the women after whom the scholarships have been named. With the Scholarship Competition coming up soon, it seems a fitting time to remember these special women.
Madeleine Gauvin was a Winnipeg teacher of piano and violin. As well as endowing the WMC’s Madeleine Gauvin Scholarship in 2010, she left a bequest to the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers Association for the Madeleine Gauvin Scholarship for Strings. Memories written by former pupils following her death in 2013 indicate a much-loved teacher: - “Madeleine was my violin teacher for 3 years when I was in grades 3 to 5 in Winnipeg from 1966 to 1969. I remember her for her enthusiasm for music and life in general. I still try to channel her zest for life whenever I remember to.” - “She taught me the importance of being a perfectionist when it came to music. She had terrible arthritis but [sic] did not stop her from teaching piano as she was well articulated with her words. I had learned much from this lady and in the end appreciated her far more than any other music teacher. Thanks Ms. Gauvin, for being the person you were.” The Phyllis Ilavsky Scholarship was established in 2017 as a gift from Phyllis’ family and friends in honour of her 80th birthday. Phyllis Ilavsky was a music teacher at Balmoral Hall from 1978 to 2000, and she enjoyed notable success at the Manitoba Music Festival with her student choirs and a bell ringing group, Balmoral Hall Belles. She was a member of the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir for 28 years, where her rich alto voice and solid musical training were “incredible assets to the choir”. She served on the Phil’s Board of Directors and was President in 1991-92. The Women’s Musical Club benefited from her expertise as our Treasurer and Associate Archivist. She is an Honourary Life Member of the WMC.
Phyllis Holtby was born in Winnipeg in 1906. She was a pianist, harpsichordist and teacher. A pupil of noted Winnipeg musicians Bernard Naylor and Eva Clare, she went on to perform as soloist with the CBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Duluth and Grand Forks Symphonies. In 1958 she performed Mendelssohn’s Concerto in G Minor for Arnold Spohr’s debut as director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She was president of the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association from 1971-74 and for many years was an examiner for the University of Manitoba. In 1988 she was named Manitoba’s Woman of the Year in the Arts category by the Winnipeg YM-YWCA. She received the Manitoba Centennial Medal from the Manitoba Historical Society in recognition of her “many years as a teacher of music during which she has contributed to the culture of the province”, as well as the Canada 125 medal. The Holtby Scholarship was established in 1995.
Berythe Ross Birse was born in Rossburn, Manitoba in 1904. She attended Wesley College (now the University of Winnipeg) and trained as a teacher at the Central Normal School, going on to a career teaching music in West Kildonan schools, Balmoral Hall and on the faculties of the Manitoba Teacher’s College and the University of Manitoba. She had an active career as a conductor of several Winnipeg choirs including the Young Women’s Musical Club choir and the Oriana Singers who performed on the CBC to critical acclaim. She also directed live chamber operas, most notably what is said to be the first Canadian performance of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. She was a founding member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, an Honourary Life Member of the Women’s Musical Club, the Wednesday Morning Musicale, and Director Emerita of the Manitoba Opera Association. The Berythe Birse Scholarship fund was established in 1984 by the friends and associates of Berythe Birse in honour of her 80th birthday.
Thank you to these women, music teachers all, who recognized the importance of supporting young musicians. Their legacies are the scholarship winners who we celebrate in concert each year.
Mary Lynn Duckworth WMC Chair of Archives March 2025 Sources: The Manitoba Historical Society The Canadian Encyclopedia Winnipeg Free Press “Passages” Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Archives
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