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Linguavision Returns to the Stage

Back after a four year pandemic hiatus, Linguavision 2023 hit the stage in KM Theatre Friday, March 10 in front of a super-supportive and exuberant crowd of (approximately) 200.

Group shot shows all performers

“The audience was such an important part of the night,” said event organizer Mike Barker.  “So much positivity, support, and engagement.  You could really feel the crowd being there for the performers.”

Unsurprisingly, this year’s the roster was filled to capacity, 21 acts in all.  A lot to squeeze into the time available.  Everyone seemed to have a different reason for taking part.

“In high school, I was a big fan of K-drama and K-pop. I taught myself Korean by binge-watching K-pop dramas.”
Alice (Communication & Media Studies)

“Alongside my love for music…is my love for my Italian heritage as it is one of the things in life I am most proud of…”
Gabriela (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

“I love manga and anime, and I love to watch older anime which lack English subtitles, which is a big reason why I’d love to learn Japanese.”
Mahmoud (Computer Sciences with a Minor in Linguistics)

“In addition to speaking English, French, Dutch and some German and Norwegian, I’ve spent the last while diving into Russian.”
Ike (Geophysics & Archeology)

* Click here to see all performer bios.

First launched in 2015, Linguavision is an annual singing contest for Carleton language learners that challenges contestants to sing in the language they’re learning. Entries are judged by a panel of language/musical judges and cash prizes are awarded.

This year’s prize winners included performers from all eight languages represented:

The Audience Choice Award went to Korean entry, ALYN, and seven additional Judges’ Choice Awards were also presented:

Emceeing the event were Carleton alumnae Tarah Lemours and Sami Schwab whose well-prepared banter kept the event on-track. The pair are old hands at the emcee gig having taken it on for Linguavsion 2019. Tarah is also a past prize winner from Linguavision 2018, singing in Korean.

Joining the Judging team this year were international students Antonia Gross from Germany and Yuzuki Washio from Japan. Both have musical street cred. Yuzuki has performed in a number of rock bands in her native Kobe while Antonia is an alto and has made the musical most of her time in Canada singing with the Women’s Choir at Ottawa’s Notre Dame Cathedral. Other members of the judging team included Carleton faculty members (retired and current) from French, Music, and Applied Linguistics, contract instructors, students, and alumni. Rounding out the team was long-time Linguavision veteran (and local jazz musician) Carlos Santana, whose latest release, La Azotea, is available on Spotify.

The event was supported financially with contributions from:

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