We would like to introduce our final two Emerging Artists for the 2022 – 2023 year: Finn Steinke and Silas Chinsen.
They join Katie Hatanaka and Emily Steers to complete our program, and we look forward to working with all four artists over the next few months.
Finn Steinke
Finn Steinke is our Emergin Youth Artist. He writes: “I have been singing since I was about 6 years old, where I started my vocal journey with the Guelph Youth Singers. Music has been in my life since I was very young, and it continues to shape who I am today. To be given the opportunity to share my musicality with others has been a gift and drives me to share my love of music, especially with the wonderful community in Guelph. My love for music has also pushed me to audition and take part in spreading the emotional language of music beyond my local community and I look forward to the future of musical outreach both here in Guelph and beyond.
I had the wonderful opportunity to join the Guelph Chamber Choir earlier in the 2019-2020 concert season and am thrilled to be joining them once more in song as an Emerging Youth Artist. I am very grateful for the positon I have been given and I hope I can support the Guelph Chamber Choir in the coming choral season and build new skills in the program! I look forward to making wonderful music together!”
Silas Chinsen
Silas Chinsen is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and arranger based in Guelph, Ontario. He holds a M.Mus and B.Mus in classical guitar and voice performance, and has work featured on Naxos Records. Silas creates music for choirs, solo guitar, indie/neo-soul projects, scores for audio-visual collaborations, and is the 2022 Guelph Artist in Residence.
Silas graduated with the highest distinction from the University of Ottawa on full scholarship, and was twice the recipient of the Ed Honeywell Scholarship for Classical Guitar. He studied guitar with Patrick Roux and voice with Dillon Parmer, in addition to conducting with David Curry and Laurence Ewashko. Silas won the 2019 Ottawa Guitar Society’s “Call for Scores” composition competition, and has received various grants for his work, including the Guelph Arts Council Research and Renewal Award, the City of Guelph Artist In Residence Grant, and a TACTICS grant for the composition of a full length musical theatre production.
Silas creates music to illicit a unique and visceral emotional experience, with interests in extended harmonic and uncommon sonic textures. From modern classical compositions and arrangements to producing ambient soundscapes using recordings of the sounds of nature, Silas treats each project as a new opportunity to push his own musical and creative boundaries to continue to develop his unique sound and skillset.
