Justine Pariag has been studying vocal arts and musical theatre since the age of 5 under Jacqueline Serpas. Over the years, she has actively participated in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, formerly known as the Kiwanis Music Festival, where she has received many scholarships and medals. At the age of 17, Justine won the provincial title in the Senior Vocal Solo Category in Edmonton. This past May, she competed at the Provincial National level as a representative for Calgary. On November 19, Justine will be performing as a special guest singer with the Calgary Bach Society, an opportunity won through the festival. On numerous occasions, she has sung at church, local summer festivals (i.e. Globalfest) and with the Guyanese Cultural Association as a way of giving back to the community. Currently, she is in her fourth year in Biochemistry at the University of Calgary. She has a passion for both music and medical research, and was recently awarded government funding to pursue research under one of the professors at U of C. She hopes to delve deeper and work in the field of pathology, while continually singing and competing at the festival.
Pianist Joshua Wong, 14 years old, started piano lessons at the age of 6 in Calgary. The following year he began participating in piano competitions at the Calgary Music (now Performing Arts) Festival, winning annual scholarships and first prizes in many different classes. Since beginning his studies with University of Calgary Professor Marilyn Engle at the age of 8, he has been selected to represent Calgary four times at the Provincial Music Festival and has won numerous medals by achieving the highest mark at the festival in different categories. He was a first place and scholarship winner in 2015, 2016 and 2017 Provincial Music Festivals.
An active participant in the Canadian Music Competition, Joshua has been selected as a National Finalist every year since entering the competition and has placed near the top nationally. Joshua has performed for Italian pianist Alessandra Ammara at 2015 Honens’ Masterclass, as well as for Professors Aquiles Delle Vigne, Gabriel Kwok, Andrey Pisarev at both the 2016 and 2017 Coimbra World Piano Meetings in Coimbra, Portugal. He also received awards for outstanding achievement in Coimbra for both 2016 and 2017.
Aside from his piano awards, he is a member of the University of Calgary Swim Club and is one of the top-ranking competitive swimmers in Canada in his age group.
Joshua was honoured to be selected as a winner for 2017 C3 Concerto Competition and performed with the Calgary Civic Symphony in April 2017.
This concert is the fifth in a series of five concerts during 2017 generously sponsored by:
