Congratulations to our 2024 Bert Kroeker Scholarship Recipients!

MCA is pleased to announce that the 2024 Bert Kroeker Scholarship has been awarded to two worthy recipients, Daelyn Fefchak and Sandra Goetz.

The Bert Kroeker Scholarship was established in 2006 in memory of long-time member and supporter of MCA, Bert Kroeker. Bert was the founder of ChoralFest in Manitoba and was a former president of MCA as well. MCA awards this scholarship annually to students who are actively pursuing a career in choral music education.

This year, two deserving recipients were chosen to receive the award.

Daelyn Fefchak is a second year music student at Brandon University. She studies vocal performance and plans to obtain her Bachelor of Education afterwards.

Her passion for music began with playing rock band with her Dad on their Nintendo Wii and singing Glee covers in the car with her Mom. She has been singing in various choirs since she was twelve, including the Virden Youth Choir, Virden Collegiate Institute Choir, Westman Youth Choir, Brandon University Chorale, and Konektis. She is very passionate about singing with other people and hopes to one day work in an elementary school music classroom to inspire children to take music classes later in their schooling.

She has spent time volunteering with children's music classes, assisting the music teacher at Mary Montgomery School and playing the role of Assistant Director in Virden Youth Choir's musical, Moana. Daelyn also enjoys performing solo with her guitar. She plays acoustic folk and pop covers at Brandon venues such as Chez Angela. She hopes that in the future she can work as a performer on a cruise ship before eventually finding work as a teacher.

Sandra Goetz is currently completing her Bachelor of Music in Music Education at the University of Manitoba, specializing in Senior Years Choral Studies.

Sandra has spent over 25 years singing in choirs across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba. She currently sings with the University of Manitoba Singers and made her professional choral debut with Canzona earlier this year in their performance at the Winnipeg Baroque Festival. Sandra also sings with and leads an upper voices trio, The Matriarchy; finalists in the 2024 St. John’s College Ensemble Competition. Alongside her singing endeavours, Sandra works as the General Manager of Canzona, and volunteers as a member of the University Singers Council.

As someone who has always found a place to belong in the choir room, Sandra is thrilled to pursue a career in music education and create welcoming spaces for another generation of singers. She is passionate about choral music and the lifelong emotional, social, intellectual, and physical benefits that choral singing fosters.

In the year ahead, Sandra looks forward to completing the final year of her Music degree before moving on to the Faculty of Education, as well as continuing to sing in her various ensembles.  She is also particularly looking forward to travelling to Peru with her husband and four children over the winter break.

Congratulations Daelyn and Sandra!