With the New Year just ringing in, we can all again look forward to the ringing of incredible music from Battlefords area youth in the 2016 Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival. Those of you who sometimes feel rushed by a January entry deadline will be happy to know we are able to offer a February deadline this year. The deadline for entries this year is Saturday, Feb. 6. Fees for solos, duets, trios and small ensembles remain at $13 per entry. We continue to encourage multiple entries by again 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. Battlefords festival entry fees are still lower than those suggested in the provincial syllabus. It is our goal to encourage participation by keeping fees affordable. Late entries will again be accepted with a $25 registration fee. Deadline is Feb. 16.
The Festival committee encourages schools to consider ensemble choral speaking entries. 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. Choral speaking lends itself easily to language arts and arts education curriculum learning objectives. Speech arts are a fun way to creatively explore written text using dynamics, tempo, rhythm and dramatic expression. Choral speaking activities are highly engaging for students and offer safety in numbers for those students less comfortable with public speaking. It is not difficult to find material that is both educationally valid and of interest to students.聽
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 http://smfa.ca. Our local area entry secretary, Melissa Hutchison, can also be contacted by email at [email protected]. Watch for upcoming details regarding our move this year to online registration.
We are to be able to offer this local forum for musical talent thanks to Dianne Gryba continuing as president for the music festival committee as well as several other dedicated volunteers. However, the committee is always looking for more parents, grandparents and community-minded people to step forward and say, 鈥淗ow can I help?鈥� If you have any interest in offering support, please do not hesitate to contact a committee member or indicate your interest on your child鈥檚 registration form. 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 at the Dekker Centre April 27, or sponsoring a session for a music discipline of your choice, or being recognized as a patron or friend of the festival. Don鈥檛 be shy; we have numerous options from small-sized to large-sized if you are supporter of local music education.聽
聽鈥淢usic touches us emotionally, where words alone can't.鈥�鈥� Johnny Depp
