Meet Our 2024 Concerto Competition Winners
November 15, 2024 | Students, Awards
The School of Music is excited to announce the winners of our 2024 Concerto Competition: flutist Spencer Leong Cowie, pianist Jiran Miao, and soprano Olivia Charette. The competition finals were held in April 2024, and these talented musicians will now have the honor of performing their winning concertos with the UVic Symphony Orchestra and UVic Wind Symphony. Congratulations to Jiran, Spencer, and Olivia on this outstanding achievement!
Spencer Leong Cowie
Spencer Leong Cowie, a second-year music education student at UVic, won the 2024 Concerto Competition with Fantaisie brillante sur Carmen by François Borne. “There have been many great arrangements and fantasies written about Bizet’s Carmen, and this one by François Borne is no exception!” says Spencer.
Originally from Vancouver, he’s performed at venues like the Orpheum and Chan Centre and earned honors from the International Kiwanis Music Festival, VAYA International, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. A multi-instrumentalist, Spencer is currently studying flute and bassoon with Brenda Fedoruk and Katrina Russell respectively. This will be his third public concerto performance.
While at UVic, Spencer has showcased his compositions, arranged music, and contributed to the UVic Student Music Educators Association. For Spencer, the UVic School of Music has been a great place to make musical connections. “I have been able to gain lots of practical experience with teaching music in the community, and competitions like this one give me a chance to push myself to be the best performer I can be and help in building my resume,” says Spencer. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a master’s degree in conducting and a career in teaching and performing.
This spring, Spencer will study in France, fulfilling a requirement for his double major in French and Francophone Studies while expanding his musical training. He will perform his winning concerto with the UVic Wind Symphony in our 2025-26 season.
Follow Spencer online via his YouTube channel Scherzando Music, and his official Instagram page.
Jiran Miao
Jiran Miao, a fourth-year piano student at UVic studying under esteemed pianist Arthur Rowe, will perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with the UVic Symphony Orchestra on November 29, 2024.
Originally from Shaoxing, China, Jiran started playing piano at age five and has since dedicated herself to her craft, winning awards from the CDMF, Vienna International Classical Music Competition, Don Chrysler Concerto Competition, and Rocky Mountain Music Competition. She has also performed in cities around the world, including Vienna, Salzburg, Shanghai, and Vancouver, and has given solo recitals in her hometown.
When Professor Rowe first suggested she take on Brahms’ concerto, Jiran was hesitant due to the short preparation time ahead of the competition date. However, her love for Brahms and his “gentle portrait of Clara Schumann” in the second movement motivated her to complete the work.
Jiran expresses deep gratitude for the support of her UVic professors, especially the mentorship of Professor Rowe, which has greatly shaped her growth as a musician. “From the day I first stepped into UVic for my audition, I knew I wanted to study here,” explains Jiran.
Looking ahead, Jiran plans to pursue advanced studies, aiming to blend her musical insights with composers’ intentions and, as an international student, to eventually share her knowledge and experiences with other musicians in China.
Olivia Hancinsky-Charette
A second year Master of Music student, soprano Olivia Hancinsky-Charette studies voice with Professor Benjamin Butterfield. She will perform W.A. Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate (Exult, rejoice), K. 165 with the UVic Symphony Orchestra on February 13, 2025.
Olivia is a Slovak-Montreal soprano coloratura with a style that combines opera, art song, music theatre, operetta, and film classics. She graduated from McGill University with both Margaret Kalil Vocal and Tomlinson Musicianship awards, as an active multi-instrumentalist and polyglot.
Olivia is a feature singer to the Coloratura series produced by Pacific Opera Victoria. In winter 2024, she sang in POV’s chorus of Goliyov’s Spanish opera Ainadamar. This past summer she played the principal role of Anne in her first staged production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with NUOVA Vocal Arts. She recently sang as MWSO’s featured guest artist for Viva Italia!, a concert featuring famous Italian arias and “popera” duets in Montreal’s annual ItalFest. Olivia was a competition finalist and scholarship recipient at the 2024 Sicily International Voice Festival and is thankful to have worked with internationally acclaimed soprano diva Maestra Casolla.
Olivia is very grateful to her UVic teachers and mentors, especially Professor Benjamin Butterfield, for his exceptional support, inspiration and for originally introducing her to Alleluia from the Mozart motet Exsultate jubilate. “After hearing the Alleluia, I had to sing it,” said Olivia. “When Ben suggested I learn the whole thing…I fell in love with it!”
Check out Olivia on her YouTube channel and Instagram page.