Spark to Flame Student Showcase (sold out)

This event is now sold out.

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The annual Spark to Flame program is presented through the Ann & George Nation Conservatory School of Classical Music and supports the development of young emerging professional artists.

Open to all students of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, soloists are selected through audition, and then offered the opportunity to be mentored by various Conservatory faculty over the weeks leading up to the concert, including rehearsals with orchestra.

The concert is a magical evening, and this year’s performance on Saturday February 24, 2024, will feature seven very talented student soloists chosen this year to be accompanied by fellow student peers who are joined by faculty artists and other professional musicians.

Supported by the Henwood Family Fund and BC Gaming.

Venue Accessibility

The 900 Johnson Street entrance is at ground-level and wheelchair accessible. There is an elevator located on the first floor: as you enter the building go down the ramp to your right and the elevator is on the left at the bottom. Priority seating can be provided at concerts if you have accessibility issues; please contact the Venues Department . Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located on the main floor, beside the lobby in the Reception and Registration area.

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Congratulations to the following students who have been selected through audition to perform at this special event:

Simon Eskildsen, piano

Simon Eskildsen is 19 years old and studies piano under Robert Holliston at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He also performs regularly in the community, with frequent concerts in retirement homes and various other events such as Conservatory board meetings. He also participated in the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, in which he won the Open French award in 2023. Outside of piano, Simon studies the violin with Simon Macdonald.

Tyler Evans-Knott, flute

Originally from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario, Anishinaabe flutist Tyler Evans-Knott is currently pursuing a Diploma in Flute Performance through Camosun College and the Victoria Conservatory of Music, studying with Emily Nagelbach and also participating in the Collegium Young Artists program. A recipient of several awards and scholarships, Tyler has performed regularly as a soloist and in ensembles such as the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, Peterborough Concert Band, Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and in joint concerts with the Toronto Symphony and Vancouver Symphony. In April 2022, he performed in “The Path Forward” with the Vancouver Symphony and the VSO Indigenous Arts Council, playing in the orchestra and also performing the solo flute work Homeland by Allison Loggins-Hull. Recently, Tyler has begun his career as a freelance orchestral musician, performing works by Schumann, Schafer, and Schubert with the Victoria Symphony in January 2024. Tyler looks forward to performing the second movement of Michael Daugherty’s Trail of Tears Concerto, entitled “incantation,” which reflects upon the passing of loved ones who’ve travelled to the Spirit World.

Max Francis, violin

Max Francis is a 12-year old multi-instrumentalist and composer from Victoria, BC. Max is equally at home in the fiddle and classical worlds. In 2023, he was featured as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony, while at the National Music Festival his chamber trio was awarded first place and Max achieved the platinum standard for composition. He is the current US National Fiddle Champion for his age and the youngest person ever to win the BC Fiddle Championship and to be invited to compete at Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition where he has twice finished in the top 10. This is his second time to perform with Spark to Flame.

Elana Lin, violin

Elana Lin is 17 years old in Grade 12 at Mount Douglas Secondary School. She has been playing violin for 10 years with hopes of pursuing music performance for her university education currently studying with Simon MacDonald and Müge Büyükçelen at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. She previously worked with Tatiana Kostour and Catheryn Kennedy. Elana has been a part of the Collegium Young Artists Program for seven years and the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra for five years. She annually participates in the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival where she was further recommended to the Provincials festival for both solo and chamber classes. In 2022 her chamber ensemble was recommended to the Provincials Festival, Canada West Performing Arts Festival and the Nationals Festival (Federation of Canadian Music Festivals) and was successful in all rounds. These past few years, Elana has had the opportunity of soloing with the VCM Senior String Orchestra as well as the Victoria Chamber Orchestra as the winner of the 2023 Louis Sherman Concerto Competition. Elana has privileged of attending many summer music programs such as the Victoria Summer Strings Intensive, Rosamunde Summer Music Academy, Quartet Fest West, Domaine Forget de Charlevoix and the Ottawa Summer Music Academy. This year, she was successful in the Cowichan Consort Concerto Competition and will be performing with the Cowichan Consort Orchestra in March 2024.

Angela Pan, piano

Angela Pan, a ten-year-old piano enthusiast mentored by Ingrid Henderson at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, has achieved notable success. She earned prestigious awards at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, including the Junior Outstanding Musicianship Trophy, Concerto Trophy, and 20th/21st Century Award in 2022, and the Intermediate Concerto Trophy, French Trophy, and Baroque Award in 2023. Angela also received the esteemed Platinum Standard of Achievement at the 2023 FCMF National Music Festival, a recognition given to only 6 out of 31 participants nationwide. As the recipient of the VCM Millicent Lavoy piano scholarship in 2022, she has showcased her talent on various occasions at the Victoria Conservatory of Music Alix Goolden Performance Hall, including appearances at the Conservatory Piano Honours Concerts for the past two years.

Chloe Williams, flute

Chloe has been studying flute with Emily Nagelbach for almost six years. She is in her fourth year with the Collegium program and a past member of the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra. She is a grateful recipient of several awards and scholarships from the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival where she has been recommended a provincial competitor in her category several times. Chloe is honoured by the opportunity to perform in the Spark to Flame Showcase and acknowledges, with gratitude, the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples on whose territory she continues her learning at the Conservatory and as a grade 12 student at Oak Bay High School.

Filbert Zhang, piano

Filbert Zhang is 14 years old and currently studies with May-Ling Kwok, and is apart of the Senior Collegium program at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He’s been playing piano since 5 years of age, and has regularly participated in performances in the community, such as at garden tours and the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, having received a number of awards including the 2023 Senior Piano Concerto Cup. Apart from piano, Filbert enjoys playing tennis and doing really anything with friends. Filbert is also in his grade 9 year at Mount Douglas Secondary, and enjoys the obstacle that the Challenge Program offers.