Meet Francesca Hauser, winner of the 2025 William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award

It is a huge accomplishment to receive this award, congratulations! Reflecting on your time at the Faculty of Music, what memories stand out for you?

Thank you so much! It has been a really transformative season, I’m very grateful for my time at UofT. I’m so lucky to have met so many of my best friends and community at the Faculty of Music, and some of my most favourite memories revolve around making music together. In my third year, I wrote a piece called ‘Altitude’ for my best friend, Sarah Mole. Working with her and collaborating together was a really special moment in my undergrad. In the first year of my undergrad, I was a founding member of a small, 16-voice choir that performed friends’ new compositions. This choir, Concreamus, has now grown into an incredible choral organization in the city that has premiered over 45 works to date. I’m grateful for my friendship and collaboration with Kai Leung, the artistic director of Modern Sound Collective. One of my favourite classes I took was Piano-Vocal Masterclass with Steven Philcox. Steven is an amazing mentor and friend, and I learned a lot during those two years of PV. There are so many memories that stand out, but it all comes back to making music with my friends. Thank you to my voice teacher Monica Whicher for being caring, kind, and an incredible mentor and friend. Thank you to Jeff Wolpert, Denis Martin, Gregory Lee Newsome and Catherine Moore for being wonderful masters advisors to me over the last two years. I am so lucky to exist at the same time as this community, it has been a really special time.

As someone who has now completed both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music, how has donor support impacted your student journey? How would you encourage others to leverage these resources as they embark on their own musical education?

Donor support made it possible for me to finish my undergraduate degree and pursue my graduate studies. I’d encourage anyone who wants to embark on or further pursue their musical education, to find the unique thing that you are passionate about and pursue it. I found that my time at UofT became the most fruitful and exciting when I started finding my voice and confidence in my own creative projects and bringing them into the learning space. It can be daunting to share works in progress with friends and professors, but those moments provided the most valuable opportunities for growth.

Funding for the arts is extremely important in sustaining the livelihood of artists. This award provides the opportunity for me to continue my learning in other ways, invest in my freelance work, and further develop my masters work. I am grateful for my music to be supported in this way.

The Music Technology and Digital Media program culminates in a Major Project Showcase. Can you please tell us about your project, Oversong?

Oversong is the name of my art song project which aims to create a current, accessible listening and performing experience of art song. It takes the form of an EP with a side A and side B - side A is the traditional acoustic recording of these art songs, and side B is the produced versions which take influence from modern genres. They are mixed and mastered in the way a singer-songwriter project would be. The idea is that these songs are universal in that they translate well between styles. I came up with this concept because I feel that there can be a gap between singers and the music that they study in school. Sometimes listening to the music that you are learning for a performance can feel like an intentional but disconnected task. Music is constantly evolving, and I wanted to create a project that brings art song firmly to the present. This award makes it possible for me to expand Oversong, so I am looking forward to further developing and releasing it in 2026.

What first drew you to Music at the University of Toronto?

I grew up in Toronto, and I knew that I wanted to pursue music when I was young. Both my parents are also graduates of the Faculty of Music and were my first music teachers growing up.  Studying music at UofT was special to my parents, and I’m grateful that they shared their passions and experiences with me. Toronto is a vibrant place filled with communities of artists, and I wanted to be able to study while immersing myself in the larger community. The opportunity to learn both inside the classroom and outside in the community, working in a freelance capacity while learning, is what drew me to continue my studies here as well. This greatly enriched my experience. I’m excited to keep planting more roots here.

How will the William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award further your artistic and professional career? Are there any exciting projects you wish to share?

The William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award makes it possible for me to invest in my professional freelance work as a composer and vocalist. Some upcoming projects include a commission for the Modern Sound Collective - a 20-minute choral suite - to be premiered in April 2026. This award has made it possible for me to expand my masters project, ‘Oversong’. I am excited to continue to develop, record, and release it in 2026, also expanding its reach in collaborating with Toronto vocalists and pianists in the recording and performance of this music. I am also in the beginning stages of making my solo album. I’m co-producing it with Matthew Chalmers, my most trusted collaborator, great friend and mentor. I’ve written a lot of songs and it feels like the right time to solidify my favourite ones into a project.

2025 Graduating Award Winners 

Since 2006, the Faculty of Music has been able to provide two annual graduating awards valued at $25,000 each, the William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award and the Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award, created by Dr. William Waters and John Lawson, respectively. These awards are open to Ontario residents and require students to submit an outline of their future plans and how the award will assist in their career development. These materials, along with letters of recommendation and transcripts, are reviewed by the Faculty of Music’s Scholarships & Awards Committee. Congratulations to:

Francesca Hauser, Master of Music in Music Technology and Digital Media 
William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award

Aljosa Jurinic, Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance
Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award

Starting this year and going forward, the Faculty of Music will be able to make a third large graduating award, the Carolyn and Robert Lake Graduating Award, currently valued at $18,000. This award is open to students graduating from undergraduate or graduate degrees in Classical Performance and Composition. Congratulations to the inaugural recipient:

Danial Khan-Sheibani, Bachelor of Music in Composition
Carolyn and Robert Lake Graduating Award

This year, the Scholarships & Awards Committee has also provided smaller graduating awards to a few additional students in recognition of their academic achievements and future career endeavours. Congratulations to:

• Helen Becqué, Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano;
• Joseph Park, Bachelor of Music in Composition;
• Sophia Stellato, Bachelor of Music in Interdisciplinary Music Studies; and
• Jialiang Zhu, Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano.

During the post-convocation reception Interim Dean Ryan McClelland remarked:

“Graduates—you can justifiably look back with satisfaction and pride on your years of study. Music degrees are not easy… Music degrees involve solo and collaborative work, learning when to lead and when to follow, getting comfortable with performing or presenting to various audiences and in various venues, learning how to take care of your mind and body for optimal and sustainable results. And despite these challenges and the uncertain outcomes in our complex and fractious world, you committed to the challenges and to the personal growth of a music degree, and you supported one another through the stressful moments during your studies. I thank you for helping to create the sense of community that makes the Faculty of Music such a special place to teach, to learn, and to work.”

Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients, and congratulations to the Faculty of Music Class of 2025!