'I've been practising for a long time': Mother-son duo perform at Yukon Music Festival

Brayden Marston and his mother Chelsea Hamilton began taking violin lessons together eight months ago.

Hamilton said they were inspired to learn the instrument after watching a local band play live at the bakery in Haines Junction, Yukon, where they used to live before moving to Whitehorse.

"Brayden grew up around live music and he saw the Treble Makers play live at the bakery a few times in the summer and he said he wanted to learn how to play so we decided to do that," said Hamilton.

"It sounded fun," added Marston.

This weekend, for the first time since they started taking lessons, the mother-son duo performed the Twinkle Theme at the Yukon Music Festival.

"I've been practising for a long time and it's so easy to play this now," said the six-year-old. "I'm proud of myself."

An opportunity to perform

The three-day festival featured 130 music students in eight different concerts spread between the Whitehorse United Church and the Riverdale Baptist Church.

Andrea McColeman is part of the organizing team and a member of the Yukon Registered Music Teacher Association. 

She said the association wanted to give students an opportunity to perform since they haven't been able to since the pandemic started two years ago.

"It's a chance for the students to showcase what they've been working on all year," said McColeman.

Usually at this time of the year, there was a similar festival called the Rotary Music Festival, a week-long concert for music students.

"It was more of a adjudicated event," said McColeman. "This one is just fun, just play your favourite piece and everyone claps and you get to hear all the other people playing."

McColeman said participants were from all kinds of music expertise and there was no fee to watch or participate.

Original performance

Student performances covered four centuries of music genres. From the classic pieces of Mozart to We Don't Talk About Bruno by Lin-Manuel Miranda and an original piece by 10-year-old Rose Judy Preto.

Preto performed her own song named Spiral on piano.

"It's about a river," she said. "I made it at home. At first it was kind of chunky and then I put it together."

Preto said the song is inspired by one of the paintings at her house.

"At first there was this waterfall and then there was a rocky part, then mini waterfalls, then another rocky part, and then the waterfall."