Babcock, Alexander earn Doris Bradshaw Bursary honours
By Nelson Daily Staff
The recipients of the 2017 Doris Bradshaw Bursary, managed by the Amy Ferguson Institute (AFI), have been announced. They are Lucas Alexander and Soleil Babcock.
Doris Bradshaw was a lifelong resident of Nelson — and a lifelong lover of music, thanks to her studies with Dr. Amy Ferguson.
Bradshaw was a soprano and a consistent winner in the West Kootenay Music Festival. She also enjoyed a long career as a popular journalist with the Nelson Daily News and was instrumental in setting up the Daily News Archives. When she passed away in 2015, her family created the Doris Bradshaw Bursary, an annual bursary of $500 to be shared by two young West Kootenay musicians to further their musical studies.
Alexander is a Grade 10 student at L.V. Rogers, who studies piano with Anne Macdonald, and is also learning clarinet and harp.
Soleil is a Grade 12 student at L.V. Rogers who studies voice with Allison Girvan and guitar with Rita Deane. AFI wishes you all the best in your musical pursuits Lucas and Soleil!
The goal of the AFI is to further the vocal arts (both choral and solo) in the West Kootenays.
From 2001 to 2004, AFI produced the Nelson Summer Songfest, a classical music festival, and a series of summer voice masterclasses featuring internationally renowned sopranos Nancy Argenta and Ingrid Attrot.Since its inception,AFI – in conjunction withNelson Community Opera (NCO) – has mounted annual productions of classic and contemporary operas and musical theatre, including a new opera, Jorinda, and locally commissioned KHAOS The Opera.
To accomplish its goal of furthering the vocal arts, AFI believes that increasing educational opportunities for area youth is essential. The Doris Bradshaw Bursary helps meet this goal.
