Last week I introduced this year鈥檚 piano adjudicator for the Kiwanis Battlefords Music Festival, Amy Watson. This week meet band instruments adjudicator, Terry Heckman.
Heckman has been the principal trumpet of the Saskatoon Symphony since the fall of 1991. He is also a member of the Saskatchewan Brass Quintet, and is the bandmaster of the Saskatoon Brass Band. He is an established teacher, clinician and adjudicator of brass instruments and bands throughout the prairies. He runs a private trumpet studio and has been an instructor for the University of Saskatchewan Music Department and the Saskatchewan Band Association, and an adjudicator at various music festivals.
Heckman holds a Bachelor of Music (Education) from the University of Victoria and a Licentiate in Music (Performance) from McGill University. He has been a member of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and earlier played in the Youth Orchestras of Calgary and Victoria. He has been on the executive board of the Saskatoon Musicians鈥� Association, AFM Local 553, and has served on the Saskatoon Symphony Players鈥� committee and negotiating committee and as the production manager for the Saskatoon Symphony, where he is currently the orchestra personnel manager.
According to the online site Effective Music Teaching, there are 18 benefits of playing a musical instrument. Among the list of benefits are increasing brain capacity, developing organizational skills, appreciating perseverance, improving reading and comprehension skills, fostering self expression, and sharpening concentration. These benefits make learning to play a musical instrument a life enhancing activity at any age.
If you know a child or youth who is 18 years old or under who likes to draw, encourage them to create a musical themed image for considered use in this year鈥檚 music festival program. The festival program cover contest deadline is Feb. 7. Entries may be mailed to P.O. Box 1301, North Battleford, S9A 3L8, or submitted to Kelly Waters at St. Vital School or Agi McQuaid at EMBM.
The festival committee thanks all parents who have thus far offered their time to assist at this year鈥檚 Festival but there are still many areas in need so don鈥檛 be shy to ask, 鈥淗ow can I help?鈥� Simply contact a committee member if you have any 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.
The current聽tentative schedule, pending actual entries, for the 2015 Battlefords Music Festival is:
The current聽tentative schedule, pending actual entries, for the 2015 Battlefords Music Festival is: piano March 16 鈥� 18; band March 19 鈥� 20, strings March 20, musical theatre March 21 鈥� 22, voice March聽23 鈥� 25, speech arts March 26 鈥�27 and gala March 29 at the Dekker Centre.
聽鈥淢usic is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don鈥檛 live it, it won鈥檛 come out your horn.鈥濃�ㄢ�� Charlie Parker
