ESP girl’s viola skills good as gold
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This article was published 17/11/2016 (3267 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
An 11-year-old East St. Paul resident was recently presented with a Royal Conservatory of Music Gold Medal for scoring the top mark on her Manitoba Level 1 viola examination.
Hannah Storsley, a Grade 6 student at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute, received her award on Sun., Oct. 30 at a public ceremony at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
She has been playing the viola for a year and a half.
“Before starting viola I took violin for two years, but I really liked the lower and richer sound of the viola,” Storsley told The Herald. “My mom had a friend who played viola in the symphony, so she asked her if she’d be willing to teach me, even though most people start when they’re a bit older.”
Her mother’s friend is the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Elise Lavallee.“Hannah comes from a very musical family so it’s not surprising that she has a great sense of pitch, tone and rhythm,” Lavallee said. “In her lessons she’s always dancing to the music, she gets the intention of the music, the emotions, the character … She always comes prepared, has done her practice.”
Storsley said studying with Lavallee has been “inspiring.”
“She’s helped me learn a lot by challenging me to sight read,” she said. “Reading notes in the alto clef is hard, but I’m getting better. She’s very passionate about viola and has helped me understand how rare and beautiful the viola is.”
Each academic year, the Royal Conservatory awards medals to the student with the highest mark, in Preparatory A and B, Grade 1 to 10, in their respective province or designated region. The Conservatory estimates that every year “nearly 100,000 examinations are written in communities across North America.”
While Storsley said she’s “not sure” about her long-term musical plans, she intends to keep playing the viola, along with the piano and French horn, through middle and high school.
“In a year or two I’d like to join the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra,” she added.
— with files from Tony Zerucha
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Twitter: @heraldWPG
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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