Congratulations to our 2020 Winners
The 2020 competition award of $20,000 was divided equally to three winners.
Due to Covid 19 the final round of the WMC McLellan Competition had to be cancelled.
Sydney Clarke, Soprano
Soprano Sydney Clarke, based in Winnipeg, holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Manitoba’s Desautel Faculty of Music under the tutelage of Tracy Dahl and a Bachelor Degree of Music from Thompson Rivers University in association with the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. This past summer, Sydney performed the role of Helena in Opera NUOVA’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and of Mercury in Manitoba Underground Opera’s (MUO) production of James Rolfe’s Aeneas and Dido. Previous roles for MUO include Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Elletra in Idomeneo, First Lady in Opera NUOVA’s The Magic Flute and Soprano 1 in their production of Terrence McNally’s play Master Class. Sydney has recently performed as soprano soloist in two versions of Orff’s Carmina Burana, Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s staged production and the MTS Rising Stars’ performance with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She most recently placed first in the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg’s 2019 Scholarship Competition.
Juliana Moroz, Cello
A student of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, Juliana Moroz began playing the cello at the age of three. A student of Richard Aaron, she has participated in masterclasses with Colin Carr, Desmond Hoebig, Hans Jensen, John Kadz, Brian Manker, and Johanne Perron. A consistent prizewinner in local and provincial music festivals, she has attended the Aspen Summer Festival, Morningside Music Bridge Program, Orford Arts Festival, and Rosamunde Summer Festival. She has performed as soloist with both the Winnipeg Symphony orchestra and Winnipeg Youth Orchestra. She also enjoys performing chamber music, especially with her family as the JAGD quartet.
Paul Williamson, Piano
Paul Williamson is an established young pianist included in CBC Music’s 2017 edition of “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30”. Major awards are at the 2014 Canadian National Music Festival and 2017 Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association piano competition. He is also a winner of the University of Manitoba annual concerto competition, the Lawrence Genser Scholarship Competition (for most outstanding undergraduate performer), and the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Scholarship Competition. Recital appearances include the Valley Concert Society, Virtuosi Recital Series, GroundSwell, and Hornby Festival. As soloist, he has appeared with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the University of Manitoba Symphony, and the Fraser Valley Symphony. In masterclasses he has worked with such artists as Eliso Versaladze, Robert McDonald, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio and Yefim Bronfman, and with members of the Guarneri, Tokyo, and St. Lawrence string quartets. He has participated in the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival, the Orford Academy program, the Scotia Festival of Music, and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival. With a Bachelor of Music from University of Manitoba, current graduate studies are at the Colburn Conservatory of Music (Los Angeles) studying with Fabio Bidini. Paul is grateful for support of the BC Arts Council.