“Off the Ground”
WMC's Legacy: Supporting Manitoba’s Emerging Musicians
As we continue to explore the remarkable history preserved in the Archives of the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, certain themes appear again and again. One of the most enduring is our commitment to young musicians.
For generations, the WMC has done much more than present wonderful concerts. We have encouraged young artists, invested in their education, provided opportunities to perform, introduced them to audiences and professional musicians, and, perhaps most importantly, let them know that their musical community believes in them.
In other words, we have helped them get “off the ground.”
That commitment reaches back more than a century. In 1915, the WMC awarded its first scholarship, beginning what would become one of the Club’s most enduring traditions. In 1945, marking the Club’s 50th anniversary, the Scholarship Trust Fund was established and scholarship winners were invited to perform in recital the following season, a tradition that evolved into today’s annual Scholarship Competition and Scholarship Winners Concert.
More than 110 years after that first award, the program continues to flourish. In 2026, with the addition of the new Virtuosi Scholarship, the WMC now offers seven annual scholarships totalling $13,500 to aspiring Manitoba instrumentalists and vocalists.
And our support has grown far beyond scholarships.
In September 2005, the WMC announced the creation of the WMC McLellan Competition for Solo
Performance with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, made possible through the generous bequest of a longtime WMC supporter. The first competition followed in 2008.
Held biennially, the McLellan was created to provide career funding and performance opportunities for advanced Manitoba-educated musicians pursuing professional performance careers. Today, three finalists share $20,000 in prizes—$10,000, $6,000 and $4,000—and perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The 2026 event marked the 11th McLellan Competition.
These numbers tell us how the programs have grown. But perhaps the artists themselves tell us far more about what the WMC has meant.
Angela Suet Kee Ng, 2026 First Prize winner, described the experience beautifully:
“The WMC McLellan Competition was truly a wonderful experience as I begin my young professional career. All the members of the WMC and the WSO were so kind and supportive and I couldn’t have done it without them. Thanks for providing a platform and countless opportunities for emerging Manitoban musicians!”
Grace Budoloski, 2026 finalist, spoke of the joy of returning home to perform:
“I had the most wonderful time with the WMC McLellan Competition this year! It was so lovely to sing again in Winnipeg amongst all the beautiful talent. It is a fabulous organization and here’s to another one hundred years! Thank you so much for having me.”
For Christina Thanisch-Smith, 2024 finalist, the support of the WMC represents something even
deeper—a sense of belonging:
“In the early years of our careers, many of us do leave Manitoba. We go where life takes us, school-
wise and professionally. When we come back, we’re greeted with warmth, we feel loved, supported
and nurtured in a way that doesn’t happen in a strange city. I feel that I’m a part of the WMC’s love for music.”
In her young career, Christina has already sung numerous title roles with companies across Canada and has been featured as Opera Canada’s Artist of the Week. She has continued to build an impressive professional career while maintaining that connection to the musical community that first encouraged her.
David Liam Roberts, 2022 First Prize winner, called the McLellan “an exceptional opportunity for Manitoba musicians, particularly because three young artists are given the rare experience of performing a full concerto with the WSO.”
David Liam’s accomplishments have continued well beyond the McLellan stage. His awards include the Michael Measures Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, First Prize and Grand Award at the 2018 National Music Festival of Canada, and recognition among CBC’s “30 Classical Musicians under 30.” His Rilian Trio recently won First Prize, the Audience Prize and the Commission Prize at the 12th Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition in Norway.
Joshua Peters, 2014 First Prize winner, remembers the WMC as an important part of his
development as a young Manitoba musician:
“Thanks to the support of the Winnipeg Women’s Musical Club for the many scholarships and
performance opportunities I received over the years growing up in Winnipeg. WMC is the most
important source of support and community for young musicians in Manitoba.”
Joshua has been Second Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 2016. A multiple prize winner, his honours include First Prize in the 2015 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, two Sylva Gelber Foundation Awards and McGill University’s Golden Violin Award.
And Madeline Hildebrand, 2012 McLellan First Prize co-winner, remembers the Competition as a pivotal moment in her career:
“The WMC McLellan Competition was a career-turning event for me. Making my debut with the WSO allowed me to foster many connections in my community with the foremost players of classical music here on the prairies. Thanks to the WMC for affording this incredible opportunity to emerging classical musicians!”
Madeline went on to complete a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at Stony Brook University in New York, has performed throughout Canada, the United States and Europe, and is now a professor of piano at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Her career has also included performances with prominent artists including Philip Glass, Ariel Barnes and the Kronos Quartet, as well as recording projects of her own.
From that first scholarship in 1915, to seven scholarships in 2026; from the creation of the McLellan
Competition in 2005 to the remarkable young musicians taking the stage with the WSO today, there is a thread running through more than a century of WMC history.
It is the belief that talent deserves to be encouraged, opportunity should be created, and young musicians need more than applause - they need people who believe in them.
Perhaps that is one of the finest things the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg has done throughout its long history: we have helped give young artists the opportunity, confidence and
community they need to get “off the ground”, and then we have had the privilege of watching
them soar.
Joanne Pearson
Archives Chair
Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg
Comments