2026 Competition is over 60% full as of Oct 24

History

A Seed is Planted

As a young man, when Dale Jackson studied piano in England, he was amazed to see young people performing with orchestras - something he had never encountered in his native Canada. Later, when teaching at Mount Royal and attending international piano competitions, he noticed that when Canadians did well in these competitions, they had often never played with an orchestra. Back at Mount Royal, he wondered about starting a concerto competition in Calgary. He pitched the idea to Peter Turner, who was enthusiastically supportive, and they got to work making it happen.

Humble Beginnings

In 1981, Dale, Peter, and Phyllis Szeliga, all members of the Alberta Registered Music Teachers' Association (ARMTA) hosted the first of what was to become an annual concerto competition in Phyllis's living room. Four or five kids played their pieces followed by milk & cookies.

Though they didn't know it at the time, these dedicated teachers had birthed the longstanding competition that we know today as the Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition

Fun Fact

The first winners were Kai Gleusteen, who went on to become the concertmaster of the Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Spain's oldest orchestra; and Greg Caisley, who earned his doctorate in music and now teaches piano in Vancouver.

Dale Jackson

Peter Turner

(1926 - 2008)

Phyllis Szeliga

Green Shoots

For a few years, the trio ran the competition on a small scale and the competition became well known.

Sometime between 1983 & 1986, Stephen Franse, who was the conductor of the Calgary Civic Symphony at the time, agreed to feature the winners with the orchestra as the prize. This established an important relationship between the Calgary Civic Symphony (CCS) and the C3 Competition that continues today. Each year since 1994, CCS has dedicated one concert per season to provide this unique and coveted opportunity to the young winners.

At some point, Peter moved on and Dale teamed up with Ethel Huber (1936 - 2023), who looked after the competition finances, and Geraldine Cooke, who served as secretary. They also officialized the competition's affiliation with ARMTA.

Dedication & Determination

The competition quickly outgrew Phyllis's living room, which meant that venues needed to be found and paid for. Judges were also needed and the team was dedicated to the principal that they should come from out of town. And of course, the competition needed prize money. To support these expenses, money had to be found. In short, there was a lot of work to be done every year.

From early on, Dale canvased the country making friends and finding judges who willingly came in from out of town to support the venture. He remembers the team sending out about 200 letters every year to raise money and finding significant funding from generous donors. Geraldine would type all the letters and a man would make posters and put them up throughout the city. Ethel maintained tight discipline of the funds, which allowed the competition to continue and to thrive.

After years of finding new venues annually and looking for good deals to keep spending in check, Irene Besse, well known for being invested in helping young people, generously agreed to host the competition in the gorgeous little concert hall beside the showroom of Irene Besse Keyboards, that is said to have looked like a 16th Century concert hall in Europe.

A Brush with the Law

The team fundraising efforts were successful and they caught the attention of the government! They received a letter stating that these fundraising efforts weren't allowed unless the competition was an organization. Brian Aftanas, one of Dale's students at the time who also happened to be a lawyer, took on the difficult task of standing up C3 as an organization.

This important effort took about 2 years and made the C3 official.

~~~~~~~~~~

The three "C's" of the C3 competition originally stood for:

Calgary Registered Music Teachers Association,

Calgary Civic Symphony, &

Calgary Piano Technician's Guild

A Personal Touch

For about 15 years, Dorothea Johanson (1936 - 2019) would cook a gourmet dinner for the judges, complete with flowers & wine. She was known to be a fabulous cook - one of the judges agreed to adjudicate on the condition of this legendary dinner!

Crisis Brings Change

In 2012, Irene Besse Keyboards flooded resulting in the destruction of much of the store's inventory. As a result, Irene decided to close her business.

Shortly thereafter, after 33 years of nurturing and growing the competition into a successful annual event hosted by an official organization in good financial shape, Dale, Geraldine, and Ethel all retired in the same year. Calgary Civic Symphony stepped in to ensure the competition continued and Manon Mitchell became the Competition Coordinator, an arrangement that was to continue for 20 years.

With Irene Besse closed, the old challenge of finding a venue for the competition re-emerged. Over the next 15 or so years, the competition moved from the National Music Centre to the University of Calgary to Scarboro United Church.

With the need for a venue came the need for additional funding to cover this expense. Manon turned to her beloved Downtown Chapter of the Rotary Club of Calgary to find sponsorship; they answered her call and, in 2018, the C3 became the Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition (RC3). They continue to provide title sponsorship to this day.

Fast forward to 2020 and a global crisis brought more change. As the world locked down for Covid, Manon and committed, longstanding volunteers like Barb Robertson, pivoted to deliver the competition under masking mandates, social distancing, and other restrictions. Michael and Nicole Lipnicki generously provided the stage of Michael Lipnicki Fine Pianos to host the competition. The competition was also livestreamed for the first time, which was made possible by John Robertson who leveraged the Calgary Folk Club's professional equipment to provide his videography services. Through these extraordinary efforts, the competition continued uninterrupted through this challenging time.

The competition continued to grow on its strong foundations, attracting upwards of 50 competitors by its unique prize of performing at the Rising Stars Concert accompanied by the Calgary Civic Symphony.

40+ Years and Still Going Strong

Called away by other demanding volunteer duties, Manon Mitchell passed the baton to Katherine Sinex after the 2024 competition. Recognizing that the competition had grown significantly, Katherine has built an operations team to share the tasks associated with delivering the competition. The legacy continues as we approach the competition's 45th anniversary!

While the first living room gathering of teachers and students would likely not have believed what the competition was to have become, there is no doubt they would be proud of what they started! Dale, who is now well into his 90's and continues to advise the competition, has shared how happy he is to see the competition continue to thrive.

An Oral History

In 2021, Manon Mitchell hosted a call where she shared some history, interviewed Sponsor representatives, and interviewed the 2021 winners. The recording of that call can be viewed here.

Volunteers are our Heartbeat

From the very beginning, the RC3 has been a labour of love. The numerous volunteers over the years have given a great deal to ensuring that the competition has continued uninterrupted because they are dedicated to providing this important opportunity to these talented young musicians.

While some volunteers have been named here, there are a great many others who have gone unmentioned. Know that each of you is appreciated.

Did We Get Something Wrong?

Did we miss something or someone, or did we get something wrong? Do you have photos of the competition over the years that you'd be willing to share?

Please let us know so we can correct or enhance this history by e-mailing info@rotaryc3.com

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