The Festival of the Arts will begin on April 23 and go until May 5, ending in the showcase at Martin Exeter Hall at 7 p.m.
“People should expect to hear a lot of young talent and a good variety of performers,” said Ginny-Lou Alexander, the communications person for the festival.
One of those young and talented performers may find themselves on the stage for a provincial competition if they get a written recommendation from the festival’s adjudicators.
A performer from each discipline can be recommended. The four divisions are vocal, speech arts, instrumental and piano.
The showcase will feature the top performers as selected by the adjudicators.
“It’s a very important event,” said Alexander. “It’s a night [with] the highlights of the two weeks. It’s a very fun and exciting night.”
Admission is by donation and is open to everyone. Awards are also given out.
The three adjudicators are Alan Crane from Vancouver, John Girard and Gaye-Lynn Kern from Saskatoon.
Crane will judge the piano classes from April 23 to 25, ending with a workshop. Girard will be working with the instrumental performers on April 27 and 28, while Kern will be with the vocal and speech arts people on April 30 to May 3.
Holding a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario and a master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia, Crane has been teaching piano for over 35 years and is a faculty member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.
He is also an active performer, being the founding director and pianist of the West Coast Chamber Music Vancouver concert series.
Kern has a Master of Music and a Post Graduate Diploma from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England.
She has been the lead in 27 operas, operetta, musical theatre productions and plays. She has also 34 director credits to her name. She also has performed professionally in Europe, the United States and Canada.
Girard is the Director of Orchestras at the University of British Columbia School of Music and is launching a Chamber Orchestra Festival at the university. He has also been involved with programs at the University of Northern Iowa School of Music, the New Eastman Outreach Orchestra, Waltham Philharmonic, Brockton Symphony Orchestra and the Portland Opera Repertory Theatre.
More information can be found at their website, 100milefestivalofthearts.ca.
