WEYBURN - The Weyburn Rotary Music Festival has announced the three adjudicators who will judge this year’s entries in vocal, piano and band/instrumental classes at the festival.
The Weyburn Rotary Music Festival 2025 Festival will run on the following dates: Piano classes will play on March 10-13; the vocal classes are on March 16-18, and band is on March 19-20.
For the vocal adjudications, tenor Spencer McKnight will be judging this year’s entries. His voice has been described as “one of the finest tenor voices” in Canada.
McKnight began singing at the age of 17. He was encouraged to pursue music by an adjudicator who heard him sing at his local music festival. His passion for music finds him frequently immersed in the music of Handel, Rossini, and Britten.
Spencer has garnered much attention both in concert and in competition over the course of the last six years, including multiple awards at a national level, and the 2018 winner of the Gordon C. Wallis Opera Competition.
Though early in his career, Spencer has had the opportunity to sing a wealth of oratorio repertoire, and had recent engagements with the Regina and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestras.
Spencer’s recently toured with a recital program entitled Songs of the Great War. An artistic project many years in the making, the recital featured songs, both popular and art, from the World War One era, including the Canadian premieres of two songs by composer William Dennis Browne.
McKnight studied with teacher and mentor Lisa Hornung for many years, and now studies with Toronto based vocal pedagogue Mark Daboll.
His voice is described as fresh and brassy with stratospheric high notes, Spencer is proud to be a recipient of funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Lori Potter, the piano adjudicator, has her Bachelor of Education in Music and French, her RCM Grade 10 Piano and in 2018 she earned her Associateship in Piano Performance with Distinction from Trinity College of London, England.
Lori has taught Royal Conservatory of Music Piano, Theory, Harmony, History and Voice classes for over 35 years and taught classroom choir in schools. She has recorded two CD’s as songwriter, vocalist and pianist with her church.
Lori currently teaches 45 private students with Conservatory of Performing Arts, is the director of Conservatory Adult Choir and instructor of Summer Choral, Piano and Jr. Glee camps as well as substitute Arts Ed, Band and French teacher with Regina Public Schools. Potter loves teaching music to all ages and enjoys performing, sharing the gift of music.
Mark Zawerucha is the band-instrumental adjudicator, and he received his degree in instrumental music education from the University of Mary, Bismarck, N.D. While in university, Mark performed with many groups including the Concert Band, Choir, Jazz Band, Vocal Jazz and Steel Drum Band. In 1997, Mark accepted a teaching position with the Yorkton Public School Division where he taught elementary and high school instrumental music for 19 years.
During that time, Zawerucha's groups performed at many high-calibre events including the 1998 Rose Bowl Parade, Live with Country superstar Shania Twain in
2003, Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003, two Walt Disney World Performances, numerous CFL halftime shows, Grey Cup Parades and festivals.
In June 2016, Mark retired from teaching to pursue a career in real estate, a long time passion of his. He still maintains an active private lesson studio, performance schedule and adjudication calendar.
