THE BATTLEFORDS — Returning to the Kiwanis Battlefords Music Festival for 2022 instrumental and band adjudicating is Mark Ward. Currently living in Medicine Hat Alta., Ward has degrees from Western University in Ontario, University of Lethbridge, Alta., and a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Victoria, B.C., where he studied trumpet, conducting and music education. He has participated in workshops and brass master classes with world-renowned teachers including Arnold Jacobs and Vincent Chicowitz and more recently with Malcolm McNabb and Dr. Gillian McKay. Ward recently retired from teaching secondary school music in British Columbia and Alberta after 32 years. He has served on the board of directors of the British Columbia Band Association and the Alberta Band Association including a term as president. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, an international fraternity of bandmasters.
Ward continues an active performance career as a singer and trumpet player in styles ranging from classical symphonic to jazz and rhythm and blues. This year he was appointed brass instructor at the Medicine Hat College conservatory and the full-time conductor of the Lethbridge Gold community band. He sees community and school music in every form as a critical part of Canadian heritage and culture and is proud to be part of the strong musical community in Southern Alberta.
Other 2022 adjudicators include Lynn Ewing and Chris McRae. Ewing, the piano adjudicator, is a native of Saskatchewan, has taught piano, music theory and singing for many years in Saskatoon. She also enjoys performing as singer and pianist in a wide variety of settings either as a collaborative artist or as a soloist. She works as a music adjudicator in western Canada and has examined for Conservatory Canada
MacRae is this year’s adjudicator for voice, musical theatre, and speech arts. He has appeared across North America in a wide range of stage and concert repertoire. He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers' Association (SRMTA). While on the faculty at the University of Arkansas, MacRae received the Outstanding Mentor Award three times fpr helping young singers discover and develop strong technical skills. This past fall he joined the faculty at the University of Regina.
The 2022 festival schedule is March 21 - 22 vocal/musical theatre/speech arts, March 24-26 piano and March 28 - 29 strings and instrumental entries. Local festivals are accessible to all ages, all ethnic groups, and people of all religions across the province. Participants may enter any classes for “adjudication only” and forego marks and scholarships. The culminating gala is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5 at the Dekker Centre. The gala includes performance highlights from the festival, chosen by suggestions from the adjudicators. This celebratory night is when awards and scholarships are presented.
Anyone interested in volunteering as a door monitor or welcome table greeter, please email Loralee Cawood at l.sander@hotmail.com. Watch for the festival program schedule so that you might come out to support local youth and enjoy their musical efforts.
“In Montreal, when I grew up, I'd go to the Notre-Dame Basilica, a gorgeous cathedral in town. I'd listen to huge symphony orchestras, Pavarotti singing operas; that was absolutely marvelous. I like that aspect of the cathedral, the spectacle.” — Christopher Plummer (1929 – 2021)
