Connie MacDonald Scholarship Winner

UJAM presents Varya Leitch: one of the first recipients of the Connie MacDonald Scholarship for vocalists!

 

​Sixteen-year old Varya Leitch says news that she had won the $1500 scholarship prize left her almost speechless. “I was with my mom going to Vancouver to an open mic show when got the email. I was so shocked. We looked at each other - it was crazy.”

 

Olga, Varya’s mother, expressed her gratitude: “It was a wonderful surprise. It makes a big difference because before we couldn’t afford lessons.”

 

Varya, who attends high school in Nanaimo, says she’s been singing since she was five, but had no formal training. She plays guitar and has taken lessons but the singing was something she just did naturally. “I knew I needed lessons, so that’s why the scholarship was so important.”

 

Varya relates to Connie’s story of not having formal training, or a history of singing lessons, but wanting to pursue singing. “It’s a true gift from Connie and I would like to acknowledge that.”

Creating the vocal scholarship in honour of UJAM’s longtime friend and supporter Connie MacDonald took many months of dedicated board and volunteer time. The first call for applicants went out in the spring of 2025. An adjudicating panel diligently reviewed all the submissions, and in late summer announced the two winners at the annual UJAM Summer Jazz workshop.

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The adjudicating panel members were very impressed with the quality of all of the applications which made the final selection challenging.  

 

Varya's video submissions were musically exceptional.  Her vocal technique and use of stylistic and musical devices created a very compelling and enjoyable performance.   

 

Varya attended the summer camp, and on the advice of some of the faculty she is now using the funds to study music theory. She is also working with UJAM’s Young All Stars faculty Ashley Wey to record a professional demo to help her apply to the University of Victoria’s music program.

Apparently, Varya’s natural gift for singing runs in the family. Her great-great-grandmother was a Siberian folk singer in the last century, a woman with such a beautiful voice that people would travel on horseback to hear her. Varya’s mother says that is part of their family history, “And there haven’t been any singers since then!”

 

Varya and her mother expressed their thanks to UJAM and to Connie for helping her to take the steps needed to turn her dream of singing professionally into reality.