Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship Recipients Announced!

Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship Recipients Announced

The Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship Fund was established by London Pro Musica Choir and named in honour of Ken Fleet, the choir’s beloved conductor for 23 years. The scholarship embodies Ken’s passion for music and education and gives young conductors a chance to forge their own path towards a career in choral conducting. Ken taught at Medway High School in Arva, Ontario, where his choral program won the CBC Choral Competition. He also taught at Western, conducting the UWO singers, and co-conducted the Amabile Mens’ and Boys’ Choirs in London with fellow Western graduate Carol Beynon, winning three CBC National Radio Competition awards.

“What defined Ken most was his humility, how he stepped back to let the music come alive and allow the choirs to communicate with their audiences,” says Janet Fleet, Ken’s widow. “As a teacher, he used music to help students learn and accept who they were and to encourage them to be the best people they could be.”

The Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship is awarded annually to an Ontario choral conducting student, helping them pursue educational opportunities above and beyond their established academic curriculum. The award is usually for $1,000 and funded by the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship Fund, but thanks to the amazing generosity of Janet Fleet as well as the Wilson Family Foundation at LCF, this year’s award was increased to two scholarships of $2,000 each. We’re excited to introduce this year’s recipients: Valeska Cabrera and Thomas Burton.

Valeska Cabrera

Valeska Cabrera is a choral conductor from Chile with a doctorate in musicology from the University of Salamanca, Spain. Ms. Cabrera is currently developing a postdoctoral research project at the University of Toronto and conducts the “Ágora Ibero-American Choir”, which she founded in January 2019. Thanks to the Ken Fleet Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship, Ms. Cabrera will be able to continue researching and promoting the best practices of Ontario choral children’s organizations.

Thomas Burton

Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and a graduate of McGill University’s Orchestral Training Program, Thomas Burton is active as a conductor and singer throughout Canada and the United States. Thanks to help from the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship, Mr. Burton will be able to study innovative choral techniques at the ChoralSpace Academy, based in Berlin, Germany.

“I’m thrilled that the selection committee felt that there were two deserving candidates and that both were able to receive the full scholarship,” says Janet. “In spite of COVID-19, choral conducting is still important, and once the pandemic is over and concerts begin again, we’ll see what these young conductors have learned and listen to what they are creating. I think Ken would have been so happy to see this younger generation carry on his passion."

Congratulations to this year’s recipients! LCF is extremely proud to help keep Ken Fleet’s legacy alive in the community. Ken’s passion for music and education lives on through this scholarship – and the choral conductors it supports.