The Abbotsford Music Festival recently held its first-ever online festival and awarded $2,700 in prize money.
In March, faced with the restrictions in place because of COVID-19, the Abbotsford branch of the Registered Music Teachers of BC decided to transform the annual local music festival into an online festival and invite students to submit videos of their pieces for adjudication.
The committee recognized that while there would be a lack of uniformity in the instruments or recording devices used, there was great value in providing a goal for students to work towards, and professional feedback on their craft.
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The festival received a total of 160 video entries and these videos were adjudicated by piano adjudicators Rosemary O’Connor and Murray Nichol, and by string adjudicator Joel Stobbe.
These adjudicators chose 35 students to receive a variety of cash awards and gift certificates.
A selection of the winning videos has been posted online and is available for viewing on YouTube. (Search “2020 AMF Virtual Honours Concert.)
Of note is the winning video for “own composition” in which Rafael Brisebois recorded both the violin part and the viola part in a “split video.”
