Medicine Hat trio wins gold medal voice awards

By Mo Cranker on November 30, 2018.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

Three local singers were recognized late last month as being among the best in the province.

Hatters Joshua Holmes and Daniele Hollingworth both came home with a gold medal in the preparatory voice category, and Riley Streifel took gold in the level-four voice category — medals were awarded Oct. 28 in Calgary by the Royal Conservatory.

“It’s very rare that three kids from our city win these medals,” said the kids’ teacher Ralph Browne. “Last year there was only one person outside of Calgary and Edmonton that won any awards.

“To have three in the voice discipline was just amazing — I was thrilled to see their success.”

Browne says each local winner is talented and gifted in their own way.

“Daniele was in her first year of voice and she is a really busy kid,” he said. “She’s a top-ranked gymnast in Canada and she’s just the real deal.

“She’s so infectious when she sings and she’s got a beautiful, clean tone and a very precise pitch — she has a great ear.”

Browne says Holmes is a determined student.

“When he takes something on he really works hard at it,” he said. “It was also his first year in voice and he really came far with it.

“As we worked together you could really see the lights turning on and Josh really started to realize that he has a very real talent. He has great potential.”

As for Streifel, Browne says she had an impressive year leading up to her award.

“She’s a powerhouse,” he said. “Her winning the award was really tremendous.

“She is musical theatre all over — when it comes to expression she really shines. She has a great tone and you can really understand what she is saying when she sings — she also did great on her technical aspects.”

With Medicine Hat taking a number of gold medals this year, Browne says it could become a theme.

“We’ve always been known here in Medicine Hat for music and for voice talent,” he said. “With the types of some of our young singers and musicians are winning, I can see this really continuing to grow.

“We have so much talent in our city and some really amazing teachers to help them reach their full potentials.”

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