Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School grad Malena Lorenson has earned a prestigious scholarship to pursue music.
Lorenson, a bass trombonist, was accepted into Montreal’s McGill University in the Schulich School of Music. She has earned a $6,000 scholarship for her undergraduate music degree and a $4,000 entrance scholarship.
“The school has a great international reputation and I’ll be able to build a lot of connections there,” she said. “The bass trombone teacher there is really great.”
The teen is a member of the Red Deer Royals and has also been active in Lindsay Thurber’s band program where she participated in every ensemble available.
“Malena was a dream band student,” said Jennifer Mann, band teacher at Lindsay Thurber. “She is a hard worker, a helper and an inspiration to her classmates and to me.”
Lorenson’s interest in music started in Grade 6 at Central Middle School. Before then, she didn’t even know what a trombone was. It was the following year, where she first jumped into the bass trombone.
“Nobody else plays the bass trombone so I had to become independent,” she said. “And I started taking every opportunity I could.”
She is quick to credit an event in Calgary called Slide Into Spring put on by the International Trombone Association which inspired more interest in pursuing the bass trombone as a solo instrument.
“I just saw the community of everybody there and everyone was so nice, welcoming and successful,” she said.
From there, she started studying privately with Dr. James Bicigo and began entering local festivals.
Lorenson has also been a long-time member of the Royals where she worked in a leadership role as concertmaster.
She hopes to pursue graduate studies and eventually have a chair in an orchestra.
“I want to keep jazz music in my life,” she said. “Even though I’m not majoring in jazz I just love it so much.”
She will head off to Montreal this summer and begin school in September.