Nanaimo’s downtown arts district is currently inundated with highly talented artists competing for the chance to represent the North Island at the provincial performing arts festival (which we happen to be hosting) in May.
It’s not unusual for downtown Nanaimo to be thronging with artists, what with a world-class theatre like the Port Theatre; the difference this time is that most of the artists are still in elementary and high school.
The Upper Island Musical Festival draws more than 3,600 music, voice, dance and theatre students to Nanaimo annually.
Just a few of the talented students have been profiled in the News Bulletin’s arts section – like the Wei family, whose eldest children completed almost nine grade levels in three years of piano lessons, or Taylor Manns, who performed at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall while still a teenager.
As teachers and politicians wrestle for public opinion on the picket lines, students continue to receive education outside the norms of reading, writing and arithmetic.
Those students continue to study, practise and perform to perhaps one day lead to a career in the arts – or to simply gain personal pleasure from activities they enjoy.
The Upper Island Musical Festival is open to the public for a nominal fee to watch the next Diana Krall or Jillian Vanstone.
Despite drastic cuts to funding for adult arts organizations in recent years, the enthusiasm for youngsters to get involved in music and dance hasn’t diminished.
That’s a great thing, as art and culture education is just as crucial to producing well-rounded citizens as education in civic politics and sports.
