The 16th Annual Margaret Abbott Memorial English Art Song Competition

The Classical Voice department offers four annual Song Competitions for current students of the Victoria Conservatory of Music to perform, compete, and receive feedback from renowned and respected adjudicators.

First and Second Prizes as well as Honourable Mentions are available to be awarded for each competition, and for the Annual Margaret Abbott Memorial English Art Song Competition up to $3,000 in scholarship funding is available to be awarded to participants in the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior A divisions.

Learn more about our annual Song Competitions here.

About the Margaret Abbott Memorial Scholarship

The Victoria Conservatory of Music Scholarship for the performance of English Language Art Song was established after Margaret Abbott’s death in 2003 to honour her memory and to perpetuate her high artistic standards. Soprano Margaret Abbott’s performances of concert oratorio and operatic repertoire from all the musical eras were acclaimed throughout Canada. She sang with the Victoria Symphony and the Victoria Choral Society. Her performances on CBC included solo roles in the CBC premieres of Britten’s operas Albert Herring and Peter Grimes. Her family was closely connected to the Victoria Conservatory of Music for many years. Her children, Norman, Vivienne and Jocelyn, were among the Conservatory’s first students.

16th annual Margaret Abbott Memorial English Art Song Competition

Please note: Entrance to this event in Alix Goolden Performance Hall is at 900 Johnson Street. Admission by Donation.

English Song Competition Programme

Junior & Intermediate 5:00pm

Senior A & B 6:30pm

Adjudicators

Adjudicator #1: TBA

Adjudicator #2: TBA

Piano

Alex Chen

Alex Chen is a collaborative pianist and vocal coach whose personal approach and intellectual curiosity bring fresh perspectives on a diverse body of musical works. In the words of mentor John Hess, he is “an immensely musical and sensitive player” with “a deeply inquisitive mind”.

Alex has an MMus from the University of Western Ontario in Collaborative Piano, an ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance, and a BSc from the University of Guelph. He is currently on faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in addition to working as a freelance pianist for students at the University of Victoria.

His experiences include work in art song recital, playing as an opera répétiteur, collaborating with choirs, and exploring the instrumental duo & chamber music canons. Distinguishing himself as a performer and researcher, Alex held a Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). His scholarship supported his work in art song recital programming. As the first phase of his research, he created and performed song cycles formulated from disparate works by Rachmaninov and Brahms. For his second phase, he delivered a stirring recital titled “Demons & Dichterliebe” that juxtaposed supernatural bewitchment and obsessive love.

Among his many projects, Alex has been involved as a pianist and coach with the Accademia Europea dell’Opera (an experience funded by a Create and Explore Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts), the Victoria Conservatory’s Collegium program, and the Western University Opera Workshop. These collaborations have culminated in performances of Le nozze di Figaro, Serse, and Die Zauberflöte. Moreover, Alex has worked with singers and ensembles on numerous other arias, opera scenes, and choral performances.

In his spare time, Alex enjoys singing the odd song, performing in the chorus for Pacific Opera Victoria, and going on hikes in search of birds.

Mark your calendar for upcoming voice competitions!

41st Annual German Lieder Competition

November 22, 2023

17th Annual Italian and World Language Song Competition

March 6, 2024

30th Annual French Art Song Competition “La mélodie française”

April 2024. Date to be confirmed.

World Languages Art Song Competition

2024 Date to be confirmed.