Tickets available here, or by visiting/phoning our box office.
Historic St. Mary’s, 1374 Hamilton Rd – (902) 836-3733. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12 – 5pm.
On June 24th – Under the expert direction of Kelsea McLean, Sirens choral ensemble has achieved successes far beyond the shores of PEI. The artistic director and dedicated vocal members have shaped a choral group who strives to achieve tight musical precision, excellence in tonality, and sensitive musicianship. The Sirens ensemble puts together two full-length programs each season to perform, and also participates in various community events such as festivals, fundraisers and and concerts. In previous seasons, Sirens have performed with the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra, the Halifax Camerata Singers, The Aeolian Singers, The Mi’kmaq Heritage Actors, The Atlantic String Machine, singer-songwriter Meaghan Blanchard, soprano Tracy Cantin, and pianist Robert Kortgaard. In July 2018, Sirens was featured in performance at Podium (St. John’s, NL), Canada’s national choral conference and festival. Their debut album Boundless was released in 2020, and earned them four Music PEI nominations. In 2023, the ensemble won an East Coast Music Award for Choral Recording of the Year for ‘In Her Image.’
On June 25th – The Youth Legacy Concert will highlight five classical musicians from Atlantic Canada. Under the Spire Music Festival values celebrating and fostering emerging artists. This year, performers will represent the winners of the PEI Kiwanis Music Festival, finalists for the National Music Festival, the recipients of the Debut Atlantic Emerging Artist Award, and more. Performers this year include Devin Huang (piano), Olive MacPhail (tuba), Jacob Reddin (trombone), Samel Sunil (voice) and Olivia Zhang (piano). These young musicians embody dedication to their craft, passion for music, and a hard work ethic. We are so pleased to have them performing in our space this upcoming weekend. More information on this year’s performers can be found below.
Devin Huang (piano)
Devin is a grade 11 student at Sacred Heart School of Halifax and has been a student of Prof. Lynn Stodola since 2016. In summer 2022, Devin participated at the international Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Music Festival in 2022 and was the youngest accepted to the program. Devin competed in two prestigious National competitions in 2021: The Federation of Canadian Music Festivals National Competition in August, where Devin won the First Prize in the Emerging Artist Piano Division, and representing the NSRTA at the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association Piano Competition in July, he won the Third Prize as well as the Chopin Award for the best performance of a work by Chopin. Devin was the youngest competitor in both of these competitions. In August 2020, Devin was selected by CBC Music as one of Canada’s hot “30 under 30” classical musicians. Devin has been a regular participant in numerous Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festivals, placing first in all his classes and winning several prizes and scholarships, including the prestigious President’s Cup for the past four years and the Dr. Piano and Yamaha Canada Rose Bowl in 2020 and 2021. He has been both a Junior and Senior Piano prize winner at the Nova Scotia Provincial Finals in previous years, as well as the winner of the Nova Scotia Registered Teachers’ Association Scholarship Competition in the Senior and Advanced Divisions (2020-2021). He has been a National Finalist in the Canadian Music Competition (2017-2019), winning first place each year in his age category as well as the Grand Prize in all instruments overall in 2018. In February 2023, Devin performed as a pianist with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra in a joint concert with Symphony Nova Scotia.
Olive MacPhail (tuba)
Olive was raised as a young fiddler in Meadowbank, Prince Edward Island. They recently completed their Bachelor of Music Education and tuba performance at the University of Prince Edward Island, and will begin their Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy at Memorial University of Newfoundland in the fall of 2023. Olive plays tuba with the UPEI Wind Symphony, UPEI Brass Ensemble, and the Confederation Brass Quintet. They also have had multiple solo performances at various events across PEI. Olive has received multiple awards for their solo performances in music competitions, including the 2021 Queen’s County Senior Rose Bowl, 1st place in the Brass category at the 2022 FCMF National Music Festival, 1st place in the 2021 and 2023 Frances Gray Performance Competition, and 2nd place in the 2022 Frances Gray Performance Competition. Olive also had the opportunity to perform a junior recital in collaboration with Alex Sorensen and Frances McBurnie in March 2021 and an independent senior recital with Frances McBurnie in April 2022. Other recent performances include their rendition of Edward Gregson’s Tuba Concerto with the UPEI Wind Symphony and their Directed Studies Lecture Recital, Tuba and the Orchestra, in December 2022. Olive has a passion for teaching music and has experience teaching in both elementary and secondary music programs in the Public School System on Prince Edward Island. Olive finds incredible joy in bringing music into the lives of their students. After completing their graduate studies, Olive plans to return to Prince Edward Island to become a full-time music educator and performer before pursuing a Ph.D. in Music and Arts Education, eventually instructing at the post-secondary level.
Jacob Reddin (trombone)
Jacob Reddin is a practiced trombonist and arranger with experiences in various genres of music. With a heavy background in jazz, Jacob is an active member of the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble, has played with various popular music groups on the island, and is band leader to the four piece funk band “Jacob Reddin and the Striped Shirt Band”. Along with their experience in jazz and popular music, Jacob is also an active solo performer and ensemble player in the classical world, acting as principal trombone with the Luminos Chamber Orchestra and UPEI Wind Symphony.
Samel Sunil (voice)
Samel Sunil is sixteen years old, and will be entering grade 12 at Colonel Gray Highschool this fall. Samel has been performing and singing since age three, and has fallen in love with his craft. His passion for singing and acting has grown, and he has performed on stage as lead actor Jack Kelly in Newsies: The Musical, as well as Anne of Green Gables, The Wizard of Oz, Frozen Jr., and more. Aside from performing on stage, he plays various instruments, including the trumpet, which he plays with the Prince Edward Island Army Regiment Band. He has also participate din the Canadian Model Talent competition in Toronto in 2022 and received the 2nd runner-up awards from TV/Film casting, self-tape, and singing.
Olivia Zhang (piano)
Olivia is twelve years old, and is a grade 7 student at Grace Christian School. She has been playing piano for seven years, and studies with professor Glen Montgomery. Since she began playing piano, she has competed annually in the Queen’s County Music Festival and has achieved first place in provincials twice. This year, she will be competing in the Emerging Artist stream of the National Music Festival. Aside from playing the piano, she also enjoys speed skating, dancing, drawing, and composing music. Her first composition, The Puppy Dance, won the PEIRMTA Student Competition last year, and also won first place at the CFMTA National Competition. She also composed a piece for her school jazz band, titled Mr. Mischief, which won first place in the Queen’s County Music Festival this year. She enjoys spending time with her cat, Cuddles, who gives her inspiration for some of her compositions. Since she was young, she has dreamed of influencing the world in some way. She is appreciative of everybody attending the concert to come and hear the beauty of music, and she hopes you enjoy her performance.
June 16th-18th Weekly Update: Jeremy Dutcher and Choral Fundraiser