It's the 50th year for the Estevan and District Music Festival, and the month-long event kicked off on Sunday, opening with the vocals and speech arts.
Music students from across the city and region, from Macoun to Oxbow and Lampman, have been putting in the long hours to hone their musical specialties and preparing to perform before the team of adjudicators, Andrée Dagenais, speech arts; David Dick and Jamie Fries, band; and Janis Smith, piano.
With the vocal disciplines running March 16 to 18, the band and string parts run from March 18 to 20 and, following a break to accommodate the schools' March vacation break, the pianists will complete their time from April 6 to 10. The event will once again be capped off with the Hi Lites show at the Estevan Comprehensive School, with top students selected to perform on April 15. During that final evening, trophies and bursaries will be handed out to the deserving students.
This year's festival has seen more than 600 entries with students across the region seeking the opportunity to perform and receive feedback. Festival president Pam Dechief noted many of the students go on to complete their Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exams later in the spring and the criticism they receive during the festival may help them focus on an area to work on before their exams.
She noted the adjudicator's comments provide the students with something to improve in their performance.
"Some kids go from here and do their RCM exams, so then this helps them in preparing for that exam that they're going to take in a month or two. It's a stepping stone in their musical education," said Dechief.
She noted the students who perform in the festival come from all different musical backgrounds and also study in many different settings, both through the public education systems as well as receiving training through private music lessons.
"The kids love the music festival. They get excited to prepare their pieces, whether it's the vocals, speech or band or piano. They work with teachers. The parents support the kids when practising at home. When the kids have their time to perform, it's so nice to see friends and family in the audience watching the kids," said Dechief.
Marking the golden anniversary of the festival, Dechief said all participants will receive a chocolate treat marking the half-century milestone.
The vocal and speech arts wrapped up on Tuesday and were completed at the St. Paul's United Church, while the band portion began Tuesday at ECS. Performances will also be held Wednesday at Weldon School in Bienfait and at Spruce Ridge and St. Mary's Schools in Estevan. The piano portion in April will be completed at Trinity Lutheran Church.
"So far we've have wonderful support in the audience for the students," added Dechief who has been attending each session during the festival's opening days.
