From left, Brendan Catalano, Hunter Semrau and Soren Lorentzen all cut their teeth performing at Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festivals, and after all leaving to various places in chase of their musical dream, they trio returned to their home town as adjudicators in their various disciplines.--Submitted Photos
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
As the 2026 Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festival comes to a close, three Hatters reflect on their return to the city to adjudicate a festival they had once performed in.
Brendan Catalano, Hunter Semrau and Soren Lorentzen, who were this year’s adjudicators for Woodwinds and Brass, Musical Theatre and Strings, respectively, all got their beginnings as attendees and young performers right here in the city.
“I participated in the festival all throughout high school, as soon as I moved here for Grade 9,” said Lorentzen. “It’s nice being on the other side of the table now, because I was there and I understand what all the performers are feeling. I feel like it makes it easier for us to relate to each other.”
This marks the first time adjudicating for all three musicians, something Catalano says feels like “coming full circle” in his musical career.
He remarked that all workshops and performances he’s seen have been truly remarkable, and the hopes he has been as motivational to these talented young performers as the adjudicators he experienced growing up were for him.
Catalano is a full-time saxophonist with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band in Edmonton, where he performs on a daily basis. He considers performing with the band as a soloist a highlight of career, and finds there is nothing quite like it.
This feeling of inspiration from their own festivals extends to Semrau, who credited one of this year’s adjudicators, Winston Noren for senior vocal, with completely changing the trajectory of his career.
“He asked me what I was going to do for my career; I was in 11th Grade at the time, and told him I was going to go into engineering at UBC. He told me it would be a shame to not even try,” said Semrau. “When I asked what he meant, he said, ‘You’re so talented, you can always go back to school and be an engineer, but it’s a loss to not even give it a go with music,’ and that day in 11th Grade changed my entire career path.”
Since then, Semrau has moved to New York and been part of national Broadway tours, as well as taking roles in New York regional productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease and originating the role of DJ in the premiere of Goblins & Gates in New York. He is set to go on his 11th tour of Million Dollar Quartet soon.
Lorentzen is pursuing his Master’s Degree in Houston, where he still works, and has previously been part of the Winnipeg Symphonic Orchestra and has performed in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands with various orchestras.
They expressed their excitement at seeing all the fresh faces making up the festival, and each offered their own advice for aspiring young professionals in the arts.
“Perform as much as you can, play in front of audiences, at festivals, in front of your grandparents, your family, anyone,” said Lorentzen. “That’s the best way to get comfortable performing and playing outside of the hard practice that you do on your own.”
“Even though musical theatre is my job now, never let it become work. What we get to do is perform in plays and tell stories, it’s literally called play,” said Semrau. “When I start thinking about it as work and as a chore I have to do for money, that’s when you’re robbed of the joy of making art. Awards and placements don’t matter, it’s about getting to share your artistry. We do this because we love to do it.”
“Tenacity will beat talent every time, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t improve in the practice room right away. Trust the process, practice hard and the results will come,” said Catalano.
