A Vanier College Music graduate Yao Wang wins a 2013 Forces Avenir Award for the musical: Whisper

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Congratulations to Vanier 2013 Professional Music and Song Techniques graduate, Yao Wang, for winning a Forces Avenir Award in the category Arts, Lettres et Culture (project) for composing and mounting Whisper, a full length original musical that she and fellow Vanier music students presented publicly in April 2013. 

A musical about students Based on the themes of love, friendship, disappointment, homosexuality, parental conflicts, drugs and depression, “Whisper” follows the lives, loves and problems of students in a performing arts school.

An inspirational mix of styles Inspired by the television program “Glee”, Yao incorporated different styles of music, such as classical, popular and jazz, depending on the scene, to tell the story and convey the emotions of Whisper.  She also wanted Whisper to pay tribute to former Broadway musicals such as Singing in the Rain, and Phantom of the Opera, and get young people interested in musicals.

A role for everyone More than 50 Vanier music students worked on the production, which gave them a unique opportunity to do something original as a member of the cast or of the accompanying orchestra.

 A life-changer “Because of Whisper, a lot has changed in my life,” says Yao.  “Not only have I won the Forces Avenir Award, but I also won a Student Life Award and the Patrick Watson Award at Vanier.  More importantly, my parents finally understand that I might be able to work in music and make a living at it, so they are allowing me to continue my studies in Music!  For now I’m at Concordia University working on a major in Management with a minor in Music, but I plan to apply to the Berkeley College of Music in Boston to study film scoring.”

**"I feel like I'm dreaming." **“Winning the Forces Avenir Award is unreal.  I feel like I’m still dreaming.  The Gala was amazing.  It was awesome!   My parents were there and they wouldn’t stop taking pictures!  I never had a strong connection with my family before but now I do.  Now I feel close to them because they understand me.  It’s better than it’s ever been before.”