ASSINIBOIA - What was the key that made this year’s music festival so successful? Was it the two-year wait that primed everyone to perform at their best?
“After a two-year hiatus due to COVID we held our 88th annual music festival at the Assiniboia Alliance Church from March 24 to 26,” said Heather Delorme, president of the Assiniboia and District Music Festival Association.
Downtime during COVID was not wasted. New skills were acquired and applied, and this was shown by the well-trained students. “We had 41 participants in the festival. Twenty-two of them were playing for their first time. There were 99 entries in a variety of vocal, string, musical theatre, speech arts and piano classes.”
Or was the key the teachers with all their patient coaching and motivating? Local teachers Gail Mergen, Joan Lanoie, Heather Delorme, Sylvia Coghlin, Anna Finlay, and teachers from out of the area, have been working hard behind the scenes teaching over Zoom, or modified in-person, encouraging their students to persevere.
It finally paid off. “All the students were so well prepared,” said Heather. “Even the ones who did not win scholarships did such a great job at the festival.”
Some might say the key to any music festival is the dedicated committee and volunteers. At the Stars of the Festival, held at the Alliance Church on March 31, Heather thanked several volunteers, some who help every year by writing certificates, assisting the adjudicator, or in many other ways, and others who have just stepped in.
The festival was so beneficial due to the faithful work of each volunteer. “There were only four of us on the committee,” said Delorme. As the president, Heather also took on the role of entry secretary.
“Regan Rasmussen is vice-president, Julie Petersen secretary and Karen Reisner treasurer. The more people on the committee, the better for ideas and feedback. Anyone who says ‘I would like to see it keep going’, I would like to see them get involved. The scholarship and program committees could use a hand. We only have about five or six meetings a year so it’s not a huge commitment.” There’s a rich payoff in seeing the kids progress in their musical confidence. “We find it so very worthwhile for the students we serve.”
One can’t forget the adjudicator’s role as key in the atmosphere of a festival. Corinne Groff of Regina had lots of positive comments for the competitors and also gave everyone ways to improve.
“We especially liked her mini coaching sessions where she got the competitor back at their instrument to demonstrate and explore ideas,” said Delorme.
Corinne is a Regina-based choir director, piano and theory teacher and very active as an adjudicator. She is a Registered Music Teacher in Saskatchewan, and a member of the Canadian Choral Federation. She recently received the Saskatchewan Choral Federation 2020 Community Service Award.
Generous scholarship donors are also key in enticing the students to reach new heights. Over 20 local businesses and organizations gave $1,875 to worthy participants, to promote quality musicianship. “We are very thankful. One of our long time donors for duets wasn’t able to continue with the scholarship. We could use a scholarship for that category.” Duets are so much fun for the students and the audience. The music festival association would like to see more of them.
It’s no coincidence that the 88th Music Festival in Assiniboia was one to be remembered – a piano has 88 keys. However, everyone agreed that it really was all about the kids. They have been practicing diligently, whether they played “Mario Music”, “Gentle Breeze” or sang, “Mother Knows Best” or regaled the audience with Munsch’s story, “Up, Up, Down” or any of the 99 musical numbers. Although the atmosphere was electric at the Stars of the Festival, with much laughter, applause and even quiet moments of wonder, and though the teachers, festival committee, and adjudicator all helped them progress, there wouldn’t be a festival without the students.
But the music students would say the key that unlocked the fun of the festival was really the ice-cream social after the Stars of the Festival. “Take as many toppings as you want!” Which they did.
There were a lot of positive comments from the many people at the Stars and everyone was amazed at the talent of our young performers. “Hopefully we can continue; 88 years is a long time and everyone is excited to keep going,” added Delorme.
