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Cowichan Valley arts briefs

Two Cowichan Valley musicians take Royal College gold medals
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Left: Jeweller Michele Heath is one of the talented Visions group. [lexi bainas/citizen] and right: Holly Collis Handford wins a gold medal in voice as best in B.C. for voice. [submitted]

Get a Vision of Christmas this week at Portals Gallery

The Visions artists group is holding a Christmas show and sale until Dec. 17 at Portals Gallery in the Island Savings Centre.

The show is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Sundays.

This will be their last show of the year and includes painters Bev Robertson, Carolyn McDonald, Catherine Fraser and Charlotte Haggart, photographer Nathalie Mansey, potter Penny Jones, potter/ jeweller Rosemary Danaher and jewellers Michele Heath, Joanne Kimm, and Susan Whyte.

Two Cowichan Valley musicians take Royal College gold medals

The Royal College of Music awards winners have been announced and Cowichan Valley students have carried off several.

Holly Collis-Handford, who is taught by Iris Cooke Chislett, has been awarded a gold medal for Grade 9 voice.

Lesley Hartford, a Grade 2 level harpist, also won a gold. Her teacher, Marilyn Rummel, is a busy gal, teaching in other centres as well. Another of her students elsewhere in B.C. won gold as did a further (and farther) student in Yellowknife.

According to music teacher Trisha Daniell, gold medals are awarded for the highest mark in each grade per instrument in the RCM examinations in all of B.C. last year. Theory awards are for the local highest mark in the Cowichan Valley examination centre. In all cases the winning mark must be 80 per cent or higher. Medals were awarded in Vancouver.

In the Cowichan Valley exams, the theory winners are: Maia Copley (Carol Jarvie) in basic rudiments; Joshua Chua (Ruth Williams) in intermediate rudiments; and Madeleine Thomson (Catharina De Beer) for advanced rudiments. Collis Handford also studies music history 2 with Daniell and is taking home a medal for that as well.

Air cadets lookin for new band director for Cowichan squadron

Are you an enthusiastic band instrument player or music teacher? Love helping young people learn?

Then Capt. Maritza Matheson, commanding officer of the 744 Cowichan Royal Canadian Air Cadets squadron, would be interested in talking to you.

She’s looking for a new band director for the squadron.

If you think you might enjoy it, contact her at maritza.matheson@cadets.gc.ca/