The National Music Festival exceeded the expectations of McKenzie Warriner, not only in terms of what she experienced, but also her performance.
Warriner, a soprano who hails from Alameda, finished second in the voice competition at the National Music Festival, which was held in Sackville, N.B., from Aug. 12-16.
“It was incredible,” Warriner said in an interview with Lifestyles. “It was really cool getting to know other participants from Saskatchewan, and getting to meet musicians of all different instruments and all different backgrounds from all over Canada.”
Warriner performed a 35-minute set at nationals. She had to fulfill certain requirements, including an aria from an opera, and a sacred aria from a larger work. She also had to perform a cycle from a group of songs, and then she had a couple songs she selected herself.
Warriner wound up singing in English, Italian, French and German.
“My program was one of the longer ones,” said Warriner. “Some people’s were shorter than mine. It just depended on which songs we chose.”
Performers can sing for up to an hour, but most weren’t on stage for that long.
Her second place finish was based on how well she did during that 35-minute performance.
“The adjudicator was from the University of Toronto, and she was very good, so it was nice to get to work with her,” said Warriner.
Each performer was provided a lot of good feedback. Warriner was given praise for the areas that she excelled, but she also received advice for improvement, which is what she was looking for.
“She was really impressed by my interpretation of the music, and my communication with the audience, so I think those worked in my favour,” said Warriner.
Warriner also had a lot of fun when she was performing, and enjoyed herself on stage, which doesn’t always happen when she’s nervous.
As for what she can work on, Warriner said there are some spots in her voice that aren’t as free and open as she would like.
“She heard them, and I know they exist, but I’ll keep working on them,” said Warriner.
All of the singers also had the opportunity to work with the adjudicator, and at that time, she was able to hear all of the other singers in the competition.
Warriner admitted she wasn’t sure if her performance was good enough to earn her a spot in the top three. But she was really happy with how she sang, and she was surprised when she found out she had finished so high.
“It’s a really cool experience giving young musicians just the opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned, and to have it on such a bigger scale,” she said. “There aren’t that many national competitions in Canada; this is one of the bigger ones.”
When she wasn’t on stage, Warriner was able to listen to other musicians play, including all of the other members of Team Saskatchewan, and she toured around the Maritimes, which she regards as a great experience, since she hadn’t been there before.
And she became acquainted with other music festival performers. She knew some members of Team Saskatchewan prior to going to nationals, and some from Team Manitoba, since she went to school with some of them at the University of Winnipeg.
The experience at nationals will provide a big boost, she said. She is better known in the national music community, and it helps her know how she stacks up on the national stage with other young musicians.
“When you’re in the bubble of one school, you know how you do there, and you know how you do in your province, but you don’t necessarily know how people from all over Canada are doing,” she said. “It was nice just getting a sense of where I am and some perspective.”
Warriner participated in the Estevan and District Music Festival earlier this year, and has also entered the Carnduff and District Music Festival in the past. Her strong showing at this year’s Estevan festival earned her a spot in the vocal division of the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association’s provincial competition in June.
She was selected to go to nationals after finishing first at provincials.
Warriner is about to begin her masters of music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. It’s a two-year program and she is eager to start.
“I’m really excited,” said Warriner. “I have to do a whole bunch of … entrance exams for placement into classes for the academics, like music history and music theory, so I’m in the midst of studying for all of those.”
She received $1,200 in scholarship money for her second-place finish at nationals, which she will put towards her schooling.
