CMU Music Major Among Top 25 Young Artists in Manitoba

Honour caps quite a year for Melissa Hart

WINNIPEG, Man. — It’s been quite a year for Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) music major Melissa Hart.

Melissa Hart: CMU “a great place for me to learn and grow as an artist.”

In February she was one of three Manitobans selected to be part of the National Artists Program at the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse. Now she has been named one of the top 25 young artists in the province by the Canada Council for the Arts; on June 12 she participated in the Next Generation of Artistic Leaders Dialogues, a nation-wide consultation with young artists to help determine the future of the arts support in Canada.

The consultation, which is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Canada Council, will also be used by the Manitoba Arts Council to help it understand how current programs meet the needs and artistic directions of Manitoba’s young artists.

Hart, a member of Winnipeg’s Calvary Temple, credits her studies at CMU of helping her to develop as an artist.

“CMU has been a great place for me to learn and grow as an artist,” she says. “My professors are incredible, and I appreciate how they have a sincere desire to see all of us become the best musicians we can. They really want you to succeed, and they get to know you on more than an academic level—they also get to know you personally.”

Her faith has also played a large role in my musical endeavours, she says, noting that “I constantly find myself relying on God, trusting Him with my future.”

Hart will return to CMU in fall to continue he studies in vocal performance and music education.

Posted June 12, 2007

For more information contact the CMU Communications Director, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 2N2, telephone: 204-487-3300 ext. 621, fax: 204-889-1694 (www.cmu.ca)