The annual UPEI Music Department Performance Competition Finals were held last month with the following preliminary finalists and award winners announced:

Students chosen from the preliminary round: Rebecca Apps, third-year voice major, performing music by Weinzweig, Floyd and Somers; Jillian Clow, third-year voice major, performing music by Samuel Barber; Nadine Haddad, fourth-year voice major, performing cabaret songs by William Bolcom; Evan Hammell, third-year trombone major, performing a Sonatina by Halsey Stevens; Melissa MacKenzie, second-year voice major, performing works by Adam Guettel and Leonard Bernstein; and Lucas MacPhail, third-year saxophone major, performing Wings by Joan Tower.

Judges for this year's competition were well- known PEI educators and musicians - Leo Marchildon, Jennifer Gillis, Kirk White, Alexandra Gallant, and Doug Millington.

After an exciting evening of performances, the winners were announced. First place went to Lucas MacPhail, second place Rebecca Apps, and third place Melissa MacKenzie.

MacPhail, a native of Warren Grove, PEI, is in his third-year of the Bachelor of Music program at UPEI studying saxophone performance with Kevin MacLean. He is currently the principal alto saxophonist for the UPEI Wind Symphony and a member of the UPEI Jazz Ensemble. This past summer, Lucas competed at the FCMF National Competition at Wilfred-Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

Congratulations to all the finalists!

The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of February 10-16 are Ferran Brown, Women's Hockey; and Reggie Traccitto, Men's Hockey. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes in order to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports throughout the season. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Ferran Brown, Women's Hockey; and Reggie Traccitto, Men's Hockey

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of February 10-16

Why: Ferran Brown, a fourth-year arts student from Calgary, Alberta, has been leading the women's hockey program on-and-off the ice all year. The team captain continued her strong play during the Panthers 1-0 win over Mount Allison on Friday night, where her work ethic set the tone for the team during the game. Brown is also dedicated to community outreach; over the past few months, she has completed three separate fundraisers raising more than $2,000 for various community organizations.

Reggie Traccitto, a fourth-year arts student from Oakville, Ontario continues to have a strong season leading the Panthers into the AUS quarterfinals. Over the weekend, Traccitto contributed two goals in the Panthers 4-1 win over Saint Francis Xavier on Saturday, and played a strong game in the Panthers 5-2 loss to Saint Mary's on Friday.

Brown and Traccitto will be recognized at this week's UPEI Athletes of the Week Celebration on Thursday, February 20 at 12:45 pm in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre's McMillan Hall. All are welcome.

PANTHER ACTION THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, February 18
7:00 pm (W) Hockey @ UdeM (AUS quarterfinal game #1)

Wednesday, February 19
7:00 pm (M) Hockey vs. SMU (AUS quarterfinal game #1)
Special Note: The Molson Corral will open at 6:00 pm (located in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, court 3, just off CARI hallway). All Panther Fans invited!

Friday, February 21
6:00 pm (W) Hockey vs. StFX
7:00 pm (W) Hockey vs. UdeM (AUS quarterfinal game #2)
8:00 pm (M) Basketball vs. StFX
Senior Recognition Night: Aaron Robbins and Joe Kendrick will be recognized

Saturday, February 22
7:00 pm (W) Hockey @ UdeM (AUS quarterfinal game #3 if necessary)

Sunday, February 23
7:00 pm (M) Hockey vs. Saint Mary's (AUS quarterfinal game)
Special Note: The Molson Corral will open at 6:00 pm (located in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, court 3, just off CARI hallway). All Panther Fans invited!

Go Panthers Go!

Reggie Traccitto, Men's Hockey

For information:

Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of February 17-23 are Marie Soleil Deschenes, Women's Hockey; and Donathan Moss, Men's Basketball. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes in order to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports throughout the season. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Marie Soleil Deschenes, Women's Hockey; and Donathan Moss, Men's Basketball

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of February 17-23

Why: Marie Soleil Deschenes, a second-year science student of Île-Perrot, Quebec had a great year backstopping the Women's Hockey Panthers. Deschenes, also known as ‘Sunshine,' played two of the best games of her university career during the Panthers AUS quarterfinal series against UdeM last weekend. During the two games, Deschenes faced 83 shots, only allowing four goals. Both games went into overtime, the first into double overtime, and the second game into triple overtime, which was the longest AUS women's hockey game ever! Between the two games, Deschenes played a total of 3:19:02 with a save percentage of 95.1.
Donathan Moss, a fourth-year business student from Nassau, Bahamas had the best game of his AUS basketball season Friday night, a dominating post performance. Moss recorded 15 points, nine rebounds, one block, one steal, and an assist.

Deschenes and Moss will be recognized at this week's UPEI Athletes of the Week Celebration on Thursday, February 27 at 12:45 pm in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre's McMillan Hall. All are welcome.

Panther Action this week:
Friday, February 28
8:00 pm (M) Basketball vs. Cape Breton (AUS quarterfinal match at the Halifax Metro Centre)

Webcast live on AUStv.ca. Go Panthers Go!

Donathan Moss, Men's Basketball

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

UPEI vocal majors Olivia Barnes and Jillian Clow will take to the stage for a joint junior recital on Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 pm at UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall. Barnes and Clow will be accompanied by pianist Frances McBurnie.

Both in their third year of study, and both from the Island, Barnes and Clow study under UPEI professor Sung Ha Shin-Bouey. Previously, they have performed at Kiwanis Music Festivals, and as members and soloists in the UPEI concert choir, chamber singers, the vocal ensemble, and women's ensemble. Clow, originally hailing from Kensington, has been studying voice for several years and has appeared in many UPEI recitals, as well as the 2012 Confederation Centre of the Arts Young Company. Barnes, a Charlottetown resident, is involved in the PEI theatre community having been featured in several A.C.T. productions, Confederation Center of the Arts musical shows, and the Feast Dinner Theatre.

Admission is free and an eclectic mix of pieces await, including Mozart, Barber, Copland, Handel, Offenbach, Schumann, Schubert and Monteverdi. All are welcome to attend!

Jillian Clow, UPEI vocal major

At the next Research on Tap, join us for a discussion about science versus fear. Many companies bank on the popularity of 'all things natural' by advertising their products as being chemical free. Dr. Brian Wagner, professor of chemistry at UPEI, will lead a discussion entitled 'The myth of the chemical-free beer.'

The event begins at 7 pm, Tuesday, March 4 at The Pourhouse, above The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in Charlottetown.

Research on Tap is a series of public discussions with UPEI researchers. For more information, contact Dave Atkinson at 620-5117, or datkinson@upei.ca.

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

UPEI is once again inviting first- and fourth-year students to participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). NSSE helps universities understand what students experience in and out of the classroom through a confidential, voluntary survey. UPEI uses the survey information to guide future decisions that will benefit students.

Approximately 1700 students have been invited by personal email to participate in the survey that takes about 15 minutes to complete. As a ‘thank you' for completing it, UPEI is offering students chances to win one of nine early bird prizes (valued at $100 each) and a grand prize (valued at $500) of either Amazon.ca gift cards or UPEI Campus Card credits. The first draw date of three early bird prizes is March 10, the second draw date is March 17, and the third is March 24. The $500 grand prize draw will be in mid-April. The earlier students complete the survey, the greater their chances of winning one of the prizes.

For more information on the project or how UPEI plans to use the results, contact Dr. Yuqin Gong, Institutional Research Officer at (902) 566-0361 or ygong@upei.ca.

Last December, Douglas Gibson, Alice Munro's editor and publisher, was in Norway observing the presentation of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Alice Munro, the first Canadian to receive the award.

On Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 pm in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Gibson will tell stories about the experience of editing Alice Munro and numerous other famous Canadian authors, including Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, Mavis Gallant, Hugh MacLennan, Barry Broadfoot, W.O. Mitchell, and Robertson Davies. He will also showcase and sign copies of his book about these experiences, Stories About Storytellers.

Gibson calls his talk a 'road show,' complete with slides and music. One reviewer wrote, 'it's an event worthy of Stephen Leacock. Charles Dickens, even.' Another wrote, 'Gibson is a living link to the foundation of our country's literature, and also an impish and charming performer. His lifelong passion for these great writers is contagious.'

He was born in the village of Dunlop in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, and worked on farms during the summer. After university at St. Andrews, where, he writes, he 'did everything but study,' he earned a Rhodes-like graduate scholarship to Yale. Immigrating to Canada in 1967, he became Managing Editor at Doubleday Canada in 1969, and MacMillan's publisher in 1979, where he also introduced authors like Ken Dryden and Christina MacCall.

In 1986, Gibson was lured to the great Canadian publishing company McClelland and Stewart (M&S) to start the first editorial imprint in Canada, Douglas Gibson Books. He became president and publisher of M&S in 2000, from which he retired in 2008. He still shepherds authors through the publishing system with his imprint.

'No one has done more for Canadian Literature than this man,' writes Alistair MacLeod. Alice Munro says of Stories about Storytellers, 'Here is my prize read for those interested in writers, books, Canada, life, and all that kind of thing.'

Gibson's show is co-hosted by the UPEI English Department and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, with funding from The Canada Council for the Arts. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
Professor, Department of English
University of Prince Edward Island
(902) 566-0389, rlemm@upei.ca

A short conference entitled 'My Island, My Heart' will take place March 14, 1:00-3:00 pm, at UPEI's Chaplaincy Centre. The conference, led by UPEI arts student Faith Robinson, focuses on three themes-island fragility, island sustainability, and island community.

Special guest speakers include: Deirdre Kessler, writer and UPEI professor; Laurie Brinklow, accomplished poet and UPEI professor; and Millefiore Clarkes, filmmaker to name a few. A short docu-film Island Green, about organic farming on PEI, will also be featured as part of the conference.

Today, it is more important than ever to realize the limitations and magnificence of our environment, so keenly felt by Islanders worldwide. It is crucial that we not forget the roots from which we ourselves grow, to envision a better future.

For more information on the conference, contact Faith Robinson at frobinson@upei.ca. Admission is free, and snacks and beverages will be provided. All are welcome to attend.

UPEI business student Alex Davidson has been named PEI's 2014 Student Entrepreneur Provincial Champion and will represent the Island at Enactus Canada's Regional Exposition, March 6-7 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The exposition brings together student, academic, and industry leaders to celebrate the achievements of Canada's future leaders and entrepreneurs.

Davidson's determination and passion for his business Odd Jobbers PEI, a student-based business that encourages entrepreneurship among university students, paired with his academic excellence, warranted him the provincial title for the second year in a row.

'Being named provincial champion is an honour, and I am excited to represent Prince Edward Island once again in Halifax,' said Davidson who will compete against three other entrepreneurs from Atlantic Canada.

The entrepreneurs will compete based on feasibility, growth, entrepreneurial spirit, and market base knowledge. The regional champion will go on to compete at the Enactus Canada's National Exposition in Calgary on April 28.

Good luck, Alex!

The 2013-14 AUS men's and women's major awards and all-stars were announced yesterday following regular season play. On the men's side, fourth-year defence Reggie Traccitto was honoured as a first team all-star, while UPEI goaltender Wayne Savage and forward Chris Desousa were named as second team all-stars. Traccitto, Savage, and Desousa are studying arts at UPEI.

On the women's side, UPEI arts student and fourth-year forward Ferran Brown earned the Marion Hillard award for student-athlete community service, a first for UPEI since the award's inception in 2002-03. Brown's community involvement has been tremendous, leading and taking part in many volunteer initiatives including food drives, and the 'Pink the Rink' event to raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Brown will represent the AUS as its nominee for the CIS Marion Hillard award at the 2014 Scotiabank CIS women's hockey championship, hosted by St. Thomas University, March 13-16.

UPEI defensive fourth-year player Keirstin Visser was named to the second team all-star list, while first-year player and kinesiology student Emma Martin was selected for the AUS All-rookie team. Visser and Martin are both science students at UPEI.

To read the full AUS men's major awards and all-stars list, click here

To read the full AUS women's major awards and all-stars list, click here

Congratulations to our UPEI hockey athletes and award winners!

Go Panthers Go!