Peter and Audrey Switzer Trophy Room

Piano - Isabella Day Challenge Trophy (Beethoven Picture)

Donated By: Cora B. Ahrens, Stratford
First Presented: 1940
Criteria: Beethoven piano solo - 21 years & under)

Cora B. Ahrens donated this trophy in memory of her mother, Mrs. A.E. Ahrens, the former Isabella Day. Isabella married the Stratford Dentist, Dr. A.E. Ahrens in 1885. She was keenly interested in the development of music in Stratford. She was a talented pianist and was, for many years, the organist of several city churches.

She was a charter member of the Perth County Music Teachers Federation and a supporter of the Stratford Musical Festival from its inauguration until she fell ill. Right up to the time of her illness, she displayed a keen interest in music teaching, often assisting her daughter in her duties as a piano teacher.