BMus student Sophia Daunt, soprano, earns First Place at London Kiwanis Music Festival Rose Bowl
Congratulations to Bachelor of Music student Sophia Daunt, who recently won both the Trophy and Open classes in the London Kiwanis Music festival. She went on to compete in the Rose Bowl Competition and was declared the first-place winner by all three adjudicators.
Current student Terrence Wu, piano (student of Stephan Sylvestre) earned second place. Last year, BMus (Performance - Guitar) student Madeline Hall won the competition.
Sophia will sing in the Kiwanis Stars of the Festival Awards Concert on May 24, 2023 and have an opportunity to sing with an orchestra in the fall. For Sophia, the Kiwanis Music Festival provides a wonderful opportunity for performance, education, and inspiration through participation and listening to other musicians.
Sophia is a soprano from Ajax, Ontario. She has recently completed her undergraduate degree in Voice Performance at the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University studying with Gloria Gassi.
Sophia’s passion for opera has brought her partial and full roles with Western's Opera program, such as Lay Sister in Puccini’s Suor Angelica in 2021, Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen and the full role of Sandman in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, 2022.
Sophia has performed successfully as a soloist in the London and Greater Toronto Area. Recently she won first place in the 4th year University singers’ category in the November 2022 NATS Showcase Competition.
Her lifelong love for music began in the Kiwanis Music Festival where she has won multiple awards: Senior Voice Award (2018), First Place Grade 8 Voice (2019) and First Place at the Diploma Level (2022) both with Ontario Music Festival Association Provincials.
In September, Sophia will be at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Artist's Diploma program, studying with Adrianne Pieczonka.
Write up and photos provided by her Voice teacher Gloria Gassi, pictured below with Sophia Daunt.
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