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From the practice room to the Stars of the Festival stage, BMus student Daniel Montaseri shines bright
via Don Wright Faculty of Music
After winning first place in the open brass solo class at the London Kiwanis Music Festival, Daniel Montaseri was honoured with an invite to perform at the signature Stars of the Festival Concert on May 27, 2026.
Current BMus performance student Daniel Montaseri turned a repertoire suggestion from Brent Adams into a noteworthy performance!
During his first year at Western, Daniel, now heading into his fourth year, received some advice from his tuba professor, Brent Adams. Adams suggested that he take a look at Stuff, Theme and Seven Variations for Unaccompanied Tuba by James Grant, noting that he felt it "suited his personality." Daniel admitted to "foolishly" being averse to playing an unaccompanied piece at the time. However, once he started learning the piece two years later in preparation for his third-year recital, he changed his tune.
"Learning and playing Stuff opened my eyes to how fun, expressive, and inherently free unaccompanied works can be," noted Daniel. "I can now safely say that my mind has been changed regarding the style."
While Daniel expressed that learning an unaccompanied piece of music came with "newfound focus on phrasing, style, and personal interpretation as opposed to alignment with a collaborative pianist." The musical growth that came with this challenge ultimately led to a special performance of the piece during the London Kiwanis Music Festival's Stars of the Festival concert.
Growing up in the GTA, Daniel never participated in London's Kiwanis Music Festival, but this year he entered the brass classical solo open category. He was later invited to perform Stuff, Theme and Seven Variations for Unaccompanied Tuba for the signature celebratory Stars of the Festival concert on May 27 at Metropolitan United Church.
"I had an amazing time!" noted Montaseri in reflection of his festival experience. "Seeing familiar faces from Western University like Dr. Kim Eyre (Board Member, Halls and Volunteers for the London Kiwanis Music Festival) and Dr. Betty Anne Younker (Chair of the Board of Directors for the London Kiwanis Music Festival) was a pleasant surprise. Their kindness and encouragement helped make the festival very special for me. I also am very grateful for my accompanist Kelsey Lenti who learned my music and agreed to play with me at the Rose Bowl (a trophy class as part of the festival) with very short notice. I am very grateful to have had Dr. Bobbi Thompson as one of my adjudicators at the Rose Bowl, and Dr. Jonathan Rowsell, my adjudicator for the preliminary round—their support and comments meant a lot to me."
As part of the festival, Daniel was awarded both the Calvin Jackson Memorial Award and the Rose Bowl Participant Award.
Photos provided by Daniel Montaseri