Michael Bridge Archives - Womens Musical Club of Toronto

Celebration at Queen’s Park

Leave a Comment / 125th season / February 12, 2023 / Bella Czyrnyj, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Michael Bridge

Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell welcomed us to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario’s suite on February 7, 2022.

As a patron of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, I was delighted to celebrate the @WMCT120 on its 125th anniversary. For over a century, this organization has enhanced artistic and cultural life in Toronto, creating creative spaces for musicians and music lovers alike. pic.twitter.com/VKoPijUkvj
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) February 8, 2023

Bella Czyrnyj, 2022-2023 WMCT University of Toronto Graduate Fellowship recipient, opened the reception with a performance of Hommage a M. de Falla by Béla Kovács for solo clarinet. After welcoming remarks from the Lieutenant Governor, and the current and past WMCT presidents, Michael Bridge, 2021 WMCT Career Development Award recipient played a brief solo accordion recital. He included a “musical game,” challenging us to identify tunes from repertoire created around the time of the WMCT’s founding. We did well.

Celebration at Queen’s Park Read More »

Michael Bridge : 2021 Career Development Award Winner

1 Comment / Career Development Award / March 4, 2021 / Michael Bridge

The WMCT is delighted to announce its 2021 Career Development award winner. The CDA is presented every three years to a young and exceptional Canadian musician embarking on a the WMCT, in partnership with CBC Radio Music and Société Radio-Canada/ICI Musique, and it is funded by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Foundation.

The 2021 CDA winner is accordionist, Michael Bridge. Our audience will remember Michael from his brilliant Music in the Afternoon concert live-streamed on November 12 last year. Actually, this CDA award represents two firsts – the first accordionist, and the first awardee who has performed for us in advance of receiving the CDA! But with such a talented and versatile performer as Michael we eagerly look forward to hearing him again (in person!) in his CDA-winner recital in our 2022-23 Music in the Afternoon season.

Michael hails from Calgary and is now based in Toronto. He is currently in the final stages of his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto and on the cusp of a full-time performing career, though already he has toured every Canadian province, nearly half of the American states, and several regions in Europe and South America.

Hearty congratulations to Michael Bridge!

Michael Bridge : 2021 Career Development Award Winner Read More »