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Delong nominated for Canadian Folk Music award by Scott Stewart Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene 23 | Wednesday, October 23, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Iroquois Ridge High School student Sydney Delong said music has changed her life dramatically. "I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Music gave me drive," she said. "I've never been fuelled by anything more than music." That drive has earned Delong, 17, one of five nominations for Young Performer of the Year at next month's Canadian Folk Music Association Awards in Calgary. Delong was nominated on the strength of a three-song EP she submitted in the summer. Having her music recognized by people outside of her music teachers or family means a lot to Delong. "I know for my own work, I write for pleasure," she said. "Being recognized and knowing that it means something to someone else is an added bonus." Despite being nominated for a folk award, Delong's sound is ever-evolving. When first starting out, Delong was listening to Mumford and Sons repeatedly, and she credits them for her entry into the world of folk music. Iroquois Ridge High School student Sydney Delong, right, has been nominated for the Young Performer of the Year Award by the Canadian Folk Music Association. The award will be handed out Nov. 10 in Calgary, Alta. | submitted photo Now, like many artists before her, Delong has discovered her sound has evolved into something different. "I recently got more, for lack of a bet- ter term, angry and passionate, which has fuelled my music into a more hard-hitting sound," Delong said, adding as her voice matures, she finds she has greater range and power. One thing that has not changed is Delong's passion for helping others. She loaned her talent to Voices of the Broken, a special concert designed to raise funds and awareness about sex trafficking in Cambodia. Delong said she cringed after seeing what girls her age are dealing with and wants to work with the organization again. In August, Delong travelled to Owen Sound to perform at the 2013 Summerfolk festival. The fans that endured the oppressive August heat were treated to three performances from Delong, who was part of the festival's Discovery Series. At one point during the festival, the Discovery Series performers played with one of the featured performers, Montreal-based guitar player Cécile Doo Kingué. Performing live afforded Delong the opportunity to try out new material in front of an audience, material that can be found on her forthcoming EP . The new EP , tentatively titled Cruel, Adore will be her second release, and comes on the heels of last year's Rose Red, Black Stone. "I like to think of EPs not as a shorter album, but as a snippet of my life at that time," she said. Make Me A World Oct. 26 Make Me a World, a concert by Toronto's Nathaniel Dett Chorale (NDC), will open the 23rd season of St. Jude's Celebration of the Arts on Saturday (Oct. 26) at 8 p.m. The NDC is Canada's first fully professional choir that focuses on Afrocentric music, including jazz, folk, blues, classical, spiritual and gospel, and performs under founding conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor. The famed Nathaniel Dett Chorale will perform in Oakville Saturday evening at St. Jude Church, 160 William St. | submitted photo The 21 vocalists are all classically trained and have shared the stage with such notable performers as Joe Sealy, Molly Johnson, Jackie Richardson, Kathleen Battle and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The Chorale has performed at events honouring Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Muhammad Ali and Oscar Peterson, and was the lone Canadian ensemble invited to perform at U.S. President Barack see Chorale on p.24 Mauve Friday is Coming.