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T h prunesâ€"= _ mMikey>>>uyâ€"0 . S )Ys ue e Couet es DE c gedndiâ€" i â€" And i I A * P mm en e fi 2 www.irwindental.com | u?uflE:'\FngEL Ngg[c&,gg{ggl.cfifg}lffi% e s ; Karen Longwell 4 | § E_A 4 $ ‘ : kongwell@northumberlandnews.com _ Ne e a â€" % T NI*EW YORK â€"â€" Former Vernonville, resident _ ol a & _ $ Julia Dawson first got the performing bug in a e . P Cobourg production. R _ Now a rising star in the opera world, the ; on mezzoâ€"soprano was among six singers to win. A A $10,000 in the 44th annual George London f : ‘ : Foundation Competition for young American | | . s and Canadian opera singers. The winners were | ’ 5. _ apnnunced at the conclusion of the competiâ€" e is = pon's final round on Feb. 27, which took place h oz f & in front of a capacity audience at Gilder Lehâ€" | p 6 * &3 e rman Hall at The Morgan Library and Museum | j * * in New York City. . e 7 Ms. Dawson, 26, and her family moved to Vernonville when she was eight, she said in a f â€" . telephone interview from her home in Philaâ€" £, wa _ mo & y Mokq Hurtseay 4# » ; ; f ; â€" 4 ve 2 S rramn dJVS | < : 2 ‘onera » mus? 7 i | | As . ; E delphia. Ms. Dawson‘s father, Timothy Dawson, f : is a double bassist with the Toronto Symphony ; Orchestra and music was always a big part of the C 3 family life, she said. As soon as the family moved it | f g g f to Vernonville, she signed up for piano and vocal ! 3 | > lessons with Catherine Ford and joined La Jeuâ€" § .__ nesse Youth Choir. (George London Foundation ie igp sls COm etition vinner ; NEW YORK â€" Opera singer Julia Dawson, 26, a $2 t ’hp ts e Ju“a Dawson former Vernonville resident, performed in. the ‘got her start in Cobourg 2015 George London Foundation competition | on Feb. 27. Shawn Ehlers photo dent artist program at the Academy of known in the operaworld and) singers | the Aspen Music Festival and i moaige FO.RMER eress"s Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. As a resident . such as Canadian Measha Brueggergosâ€" Al(:aclerr_nfi_A o}f tz;z ;Vf::;ifzgdafuélf mme g:ifii’l § us 5 foi with Ja Sheworked. with Deirdre. Morrell and â€" artist she is given help with her career manare pastrecipients. a>, Efi;z uie anispices of Marilyn Homne‘s The Marie Anderson in those early years with â€"â€" prepating music for freelance paits Ms. Dawson has been called a singer Continues festival the choir, she said. Ms. Dawson was home . voice lessons and support. She has done: who ‘can. release rou.ladei of coloratura . Song Con! ‘ufiadaws;mmez.z&com l9 schooled much freelance work performing across with a shimmering sound" (Los Angeles _ Visit ‘jti n. on Ms. Dawson. she recalled her first trip overseas to | the country including with the Santa Fe Times). She has received fellowships from _ more informatio & i m L _ Greece with La Jeunesse, which was a â€" Opera‘s Apprentice Showcase, Opera Fhil_ | great learning experience, she said. She adelphia‘s Double Exposure, and multiple also remembers later teaching music lesâ€" â€" principal roles at the Academy of Vocal sons at George‘s Guitars in Cobourg. . Arts. ; U "g havevmi)' fond music experiences in\ The recent George Lon_don Foundaâ€" _ | Cobourg," she said. _ tion Competition win is a big boost to her She got her first taste of music theatre . career, she said. s t with \?03, a Cobourg Theatre company. "It‘s huge. The_ support its _a_bsolutely She still recalls her first role as Cinderella . incredible > it 'gcllves me wvisibility in the henshe was 14. industry, she said. 7 w"Itscatedhletn death," she said. Established in 1971, the award is well j But it didn‘t take long for her to enjoy the A stage. § "Iwas bitten by the bug," she said. ; â€" â€" From that moment on, she dreamed of a : ‘It was such a career in musical theatre until one day she C §[; > came across Greekâ€"American opera singer \|\ mysterious world... Maria Callas‘s record in her family home. sran! : She was immediately taken by the music. and muSlCE}]lI}G fO,I' m?’ | "It was such a mysterious world ... and Tt is so fulfilling. Julia | ically, for me, it is so fulfilling,‘ said a nfigflmfx * & Dawson, speaking, : | She went on:to study at Oberlin Conserâ€" _ about opera vatory earning a bachelor of music and ‘her master‘s from Rice University‘s Shepâ€" (&pent Sciiont of aunte She ts currently a ‘secondâ€"year student in a fourâ€"year resiâ€"