Petro Lopata

At 17, Toronto violinist Marta Krechkovsky probably hasn’t yet thought about getting an award from a president. Not from Mr Bush or Mr Kuchma, mind you, but from Bill Hines, president of the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto.

The Festival actually takes place over the course of the year, (2002 happens to be the Festival’s 59th year), and Marta advanced through competition that included 34,000 participants.

On February 23, Marta dazzled the audience with Tchaikovsky’s single violin concerto, winning the String Trophy, President’s Trophy, and a cash prize of $1,500.

The awards were presented to Marta by the Festival’s artistic director Dr Giles Bryant on March 6 at a ceremony held at the George Weston Recital Hall in North York. Marta was also informed that she had been invited to perform a concert with the Scarborough Philarmonic Orchestra, directed by Jerome David Summers.

Marta started playing when she was 6, back in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, and continued after moving with her parents and sister to Toronto in 1996. 19-year-old sister Iryna also plays the violin. Both were trained by their father, Orest Krechkovsky, and supported by Nadiya, their mother, who teaches piano.

Practicing 3-4 hours daily, Marta began taking part in the Kiwanis Festival 6 years ago. This most recent achievement tops a lengthy list of similar successes: at age 10, laureate in the Kocian International Violin Competition held in the Czech Republic with participants from 16 countries; first prize in last year’s Niagara International Music Competition.

Marta, currently studying with reknowned Royal Conservatory of Music professor Atis Bankas through a scholarship program, plans on continuing her education in the US, where Iryna has already been accepted to a number of prestigious schools.