More than 1,000 amateur musicians and vocalists living in the Shuswap and North Okanagan are busy preparing for the 11th annual Shuswap Music Festival that runs April 26 to May 6.
Since its inception in 2001, the festival has more than doubled in size.
It culminates in the May 6 Night of the Stars, a gala evening, with winners of this year’s event performing for the public at First United Church.
This regional music festival is one of many held throughout the province and across Canada that follows the Canada Conservatory and Royal Conservatory of Toronto Music syllabi.
Amateur and young performing artists studying piano, strings or voice, as well as orchestras, bands and choirs, enter the festival to perform competitively within their categories and levels.
Each performance is constructively assessed by professional adjudicators renowned nationally and internationally in their field of music. Contestants receiving top marks in piano, strings or voice advance to the provincial festival; provincial winners then compete at the national festival.
The festival hosts a wide range of genres – from classical voice to musical theatre ballads and comedy, as well as wide-open selections from the five choirs that have entered the competition.
This year, 17 bands representing elementary, middle and high schools and ranging from 20 to as many as 60 students have registered. Over the course of the festival, bands will perform concert or jazz selections at the Prestige Inn.
“The festival is an opportunity for students to perform and share their music in a supportive and friendly atmosphere,” says Jane Hein, a BC Registered Music Teacher-Shuswap Branch and one of the directors with the Shuswap Music Festival Society.
More than $35,000 in scholarships will be awarded to support and encourage the advancement of promising artists at the festival.
Many young local musicians who performed in previous festivals are pursuing careers in music. Among them is Stephanie Nakagawa of Salmon Arm.
She first won awards at the festival in 2005 and has since competed at provincial and national festivals in piano and voice.
In 2009, Nakagawa won the Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto for the highest mark in Canada achieved in the ARCT exams for voice. This accomplished young woman is currently finishing her masters of music in voice and opera at the Jacobs School of Music, University of Indiana.
“Festivals are extremely important to young musicians,” she says. “They provide a goal to work toward; help you prepare for exams and give you a chance to perform and get critiques from professionals and other teachers.”
Nakagawa believes adjudicated sessions also allow participants to hear and learn from others. They also help students make connections. Nakagawa first met her undergraduate opera professor from UBC at the Kamloops Music Festival.
Preparations for the festival began in November. Since February, young and aspiring musicians and vocalists have been spending long hours practising their selections.
The task of scheduling 700 performances over eight days at five venues falls on the shoulders of a team of local music teachers. Marjorie Duncan, Jane Hein and Carmen Stoney of Salmon Arm, Terry Logan of Armstrong and Ruth Anne MacKnee of Enderby develop the schedule that orchestrates the festival. The schedule is contained in a programme that will be available for sale after April 20 at Lakeside Insurance, Marlin Travel and Acorn Music in Salmon Arm.
A large slate of volunteers makes the festival happen. The Shuswap Music Festival Society hosts the event. The not-for-profit society is comprised of the BC Registered Music Teachers Association/ Shuswap Branch and members of all three Rotary Clubs of Salmon Arm.
Private and corporate donors are essential to the continued success of the festival and tax receipts are provided for financial donations. People interested in supporting the festival or volunteering may email: shuswapmusicfestival@gmail.com.
Admission to the Night of Stars is $5 per person and $10 per family. Attendance at other performances is also encouraged as are donations.
For more information, visit http://musicfestivalweb.com/shuswap.
