If you know a child or youth artist who is 18 years old or under, encourage them to create a musical-themed image to be considered for听 use in the 2016 Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival Program.
The festival program cover contest deadline is March 1. Artwork should reflect musical themes and be presented on letter-sized paper in a vertical or portrait orientation. Pictures may be drawn in black ink, pencil, coloured pencil, marker, crayon or media of choice, but should have a white background. Artists must print their full name, phone number, school and grade on the back of their entry.
Entries may be mailed to P.O. Box 1301, North Battleford, S9A 3L8, or submitted to Kelly Waters at North Battleford Comprehensive High School, Jan Michael Bourgeois at John Paul II Collegiate or Margaret Sigouin at EMBM. Selected pieces of artwork that are not chosen for the cover may also be featured within the pages of the program. Also look for festival venues to feature and display other entries. Although all musical-themed ideas are welcome, typically those reflecting the festival鈥檚 disciplines are chosen for use in the program (solo or group singing or speaking, piano, acoustic strings, band and orchestra).
The festival entry registration date is Saturday, Feb. 6 with the festival scheduled to run April 16 to 23. Fees for solos, duets, trios and small ensembles remain at $13 per entry. We encourage multiple entries by offering the family rate of a 50 per cent discount after 10 solo entries by individual participants. Band, choir and large ensemble entries are $25 per entry. Late entries will be accepted up until Feb. 16 with a $25 penalty fee. Our local area entry secretary, Melissa Hutchison, can be contacted by email at听 [email protected]. Watch for details regarding our move this year to online registration.
The music festival, as any event organized by volunteers, runs more easily when people work together with their time and talent. If you have volunteered in the past and would like to volunteer again, please let a committee member know, so your interest is not overlooked.
If you have not volunteered before, consider if you or someone you know might be willing to sacrifice a little time in order to ensure the continuation of this local tradition and musical celebration. Festival-specific jobs include duties such as being a secretary for the adjudicator, being a door greeter or simply helping with items such as decorating the venue or setting up chairs. Committee-specific jobs can be something as simple as assisting with distribution and follow up for letters seeking donations for scholarships and awards. Of course if you are interested in a larger-sized commitment such as secretary or president, do not be shy about your interest.
If your time is not available but you or your business would like to support the festival monetarily, consider sponsoring an award to be presented at the final gala event, or sponsoring a session for a music discipline of your choice or being recognized as a patron or friend of the festival.
Participants are welcome for adjudication by experts in the field of each musical discipline and recommendation to the provincial and national competitions. To be eligible for scholarships and awards, participants must be 19 years or under and have lived in the Battlefords and district for a minimum of six months prior to the festival or be furthering their education elsewhere, but still supported by parents living in the Battlefords district. The discipline areas include voice, piano, strings and band or instrumental. Further information about regional and provincial music festivals can be found on the Saskatchewan Music Festival鈥檚 website .
听The committee encourages classrooms in the Battlefords area to consider choral speech entries in addition to choral singing and band ensemble entries. Choral speaking does not require any expensive instruments or years of specialized training. Anyone can do it. Speech arts are a fun way to creatively explore written text while offering safety in numbers for those students less comfortable with public speaking. Schools have the option to travel to a festival venue for adjudication or, with a minimum of five group entries, request that the adjudicator come to their school to view performances.
鈥淢usic and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.鈥� 鈥� Plato
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