Nova Scotia competitors at the National Music Festival gather for a photo following Saturday night’s National Music Festival grand award competition concert and award ceremony. Pictured are Nelly Chen (left), Adrienne Richey, Laura MacLean, Rebecca Hulme, Matthew Martin, Megan Thibeault and Heemin Choi. (Richard MacKenzie photos)

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The National Music Festival certainly knows how to make an exit.
After two days of competition last week (Thursday and Friday), the festival wrapped up Saturday night with the 2011 grand award competition concert and award ceremony at St. F.X.’s Schwartz School of Business auditorium.
During Saturday’s event, the winners in each of the eight disciplines performed followed by the awarding of the first, second and third place certificates in those disciplines.
First place also earned the musician(s) a $1,500 cash prize.
At the conclusion of the night, a grand award winner was announced from the eight winners and that person received a $5,000 cash award.
Ontario violinist Blake Pouliot took home the grand prize.
“It’s overwhelming… I didn’t really expect this,” Pouliot said, the surprised look still on his face almost a half hour after the announcement.
“Everyone was so great this year, I really had no idea who it was going to be.”
Pouliot was returning to the national competition after being part of a national winning string quartet last year. He said he came with the goal of winning the string section of the competition but not the grand award.
“After you get first prize, it’s really anyone’s game,” Pouliot said.
“These are the best in the country so you never know. There is such great talent here, I didn’t really come to win the grand prize. You play to please the audience at this point and that was a lot of fun.”
The same adjudicators who judged the competition over the two days, pick a winner during the Saturday concert for the grand award.
Along with Pouliot in strings, other first place winners from the nationals were the Trio Benterria of New Brunswick in chamber. The trio includes Terri Croft (violin), Ria Kim (piano) and Ben Marmen (cello).
Manitoba’s Matthew Packer won for woodwinds, New Brunswick’s Alain Gaudet for guitar and Patrick Gaudet for percussion, Danika Lorèn of Saskatchewan for voice, Leanne Paisley of Alberta for brass and Ontario’s Anna Vertypolokh for piano.
Nova Scotians picking up placement certificates were Adrienne Richey third place in woodwind, Laura MacLean second place in voice, Heemin Choi second place in strings and Matthew Martin third place in guitar.
Choral and special award winners can be viewed on the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals’ website.
St. F.X. professor Edward Langille was master of ceremonies for the event and well known piper Scott Williams led the competition flag procession to start Saturday night’s activities.
A jubilant Federation of Canadian Music Festival president Pam Allen spoke at the conclusion of the event.
“I don’t know how the adjudicators did it,” she said, referring to the grand award selection.
“As each competitor came on, I thought ‘wow, they were really good, I think they’ll win it.’ Then someone else would come and it was like, ‘no, wait, they were really good too.’ It’s just really hard to pick.”
Allen said the same could be said for the entire competition as the level of talent who earns their way to the nationals, from regional and provincial competitions, is “amazing.”
“The thing that is exciting about this, the people we saw tonight were the winners in their various individual competitions but every other musicians who was here this week is just as good as them,” Allen said.
“It’s really that close.”
The federation president also had good things to say about this year’s venue – St. F.X and the Town of Antigonish.
“It was superb… absolutely superb,’ Allen said.
“Everyone at the university was so helpful. And (around town) everyone says ‘hello.’ It’s just such a friendly atmosphere, a great place to be.”