The 54th annual Estevan and District Music Festival wrapped up on Sunday with the highlights and awards program for the band and instrumental discipline.
A large crowd filled the drama room of the Estevan Comprehensive School for the program. The adjudicator’s selections for the top performers in the division showcased their abilities once again, and scholarships and bursaries were handed out.
About $4,000 in prize money was handed out at the concert.
Margaret Duncan, who handles publicity for the music festival, said it was a great way to wrap up the music festival, and it was nice to see the talents of the performers.
“It went really well,” said Duncan. “Levi Stepp and Abbie Hanna were the ones who organized it. They did a phenomenal job of that. It was very well attended.”
The band performances took place in March, but the highlights program was delayed until this past weekend because of the Easter long weekend and spring break.
Duncan believes the timing worked out well.
Also during the program, Stepp was presented with the Murray GM Award for Outstanding Performance in multiple disciplines. Not only has he thrived in vocal and speech arts, as he has been nominated to participate at the national level, but he also thrived in band and piano.
“He did a phenomenal job all across his areas,” said Duncan.
Stepp is among the local musicians selected to perform at the provincial music festival later this year. Also chosen are Mackenzie Warriner in speech arts, and Leah MacFarlane, Clair Miller and Max Hiske in piano.
Duncan was pleased with this year’s festival as a whole.
“The amount of work that all of the students put in is absolutely phenomenal,” said Duncan.
A lot volunteers dedicated their time to making the festival happen. There are also a lot of supportive parents and other family members.
This year’s music festival started on March 11 with piano. There was also a vocal and speech arts discipline. Highlights and awards programs were held for each discipline.
Duncan noted that if anyone is interested in volunteering in the future, they should approach a member of the music festival committee.
