All participants registered with Full Festival Tuition (Adult or Youth) will be enrolled in the festival guitar ensemble under the direction of Natasha Pashchenko (unless opt-out requested).
The ensemble will prepare two works: ‘Adagio’ by Marcello (arr. N. Pashchenko) and a new commission, “Petite Soliloquy & Waltz’ by Liova Bueno.
The performance will be on Sunday, March 22nd at 1.30 PM, in the Philip T. Young Recital Hall at the UVic School of Music, directly before the adult competition final. Parts will be distributed by email shortly after registration. Rehearsals will be Friday and Saturday afternoon, 4:30-5:30 PM, and Sunday afternoon from 12pm-1pm.
Conductor: Natasha Pashchenko
Natasha Pashchenko began her music studies in Russia and graduated with a diploma in piano at the age of sixteen. In 2003 she moved to Vancouver and pursued Linguistics as her field of study at the University of British Columbia. After a post-university career in a corporate environment, Natasha returned to music as a life path and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of Victoria. Natasha has taught music privately since 2008. She welcomes all ages and levels and believes in each student’s learning ability, creativity, and potential for expression. Natasha is continuing her teacher training through the Suzuki Institute and is a certified Suzuki Guitar instructor.
An eager music enthusiast, Natasha has been involved in various performance and education projects. In the past two years, she has been a classical guitar ambassador through the Victoria Guitar Society, a local non-profit organization. She runs her own music studio called Good Music Studio.
Composer in Residence: Liova Bueno
Liova Bueno is a Dominican-Canadian composer whose music bridges Caribbean rhythmic language and contemporary concert practice. Drawing on the cultural textures of his upbringing and his work in North America, his compositions move fluidly between chamber, vocal, and symphonic forms, often engaging Dominican rhythmic structures within modern harmonic landscapes. His music has been performed and recorded internationally, with appearances at festivals and symphonic programs across the Americas and Europe. In 2026, he will serve as Composer-in-Residence at the Northwest Guitar Festival. His upcoming Navona Records album Filamentos, featuring solo and duo works for guitar performed by Simon Farintosh, Robert Wang, and Robert Ward, will be released in April 2026. Bueno’s work has been the subject of scholarly study and international publication, and his recordings – including projects with the London Symphony Orchestra and Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava – have received Global Music Awards recognition. A founding member of Musicabierta, he remains committed to new music and music education across cultural contexts. He holds degrees from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and the University of Victoria, and is based in Victoria, British Columbia.
March 20-22, 2026 