THE BATTLEFORDS - When technology works it’s marvellous but, since some technical difficulties presented themselves in the online entry system for the 2023 Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival, the entry deadline has been extended to Jan. 23 with no late entries beyond that date. The online entry system, MusicFestivalSuite.com, or MFS, software requires users to create a profile and gives teachers, parents, accompanists and students the ability to interact with their registrations long after they’ve been submitted. The teacher and student profiles set from last year are saved in the MFS system. If you need to refresh your memory about how to use the website, you can go to www.musicfestivalsuite.com, where you can peruse the Festival Participants section for “how to” use the software. Note that there are now a variety of non-competitive classes and world music classes on an instrument of choice that may include popular forms of non-European classical (Chinese guzheng, Indian raga, Tibetan chant), Eastern European folk (Balkan, Bulgarian), Nordic folk, Latin and Indonesian.
Funds granted to the local music festival from the Jim Pattison group, are being used for a variety of booster workshops being scheduled in various genres. Students who have entered the festival as participants will have free access to these educational workshops. The intention of the workshops is to inspire artistry, advance skills, create community and enhance enthusiasm. For example, a March workshop for strings is being organized by local strings expert Kanndece Quijada-Sawitzy involving her strings-accomplished brother Karrnnel Sawitsky. This two-day workshop will explore areas such as traditional and modern fiddle technique, tune composition, percussive techniques, improvisation and artistic expression.
For local youth who enjoy visual art expression, the festival committee again welcomes youth to create artwork to be featured in the festival program and in the festival venues. Watch for upcoming details such as a theme and deadline. Artwork creations are welcome from any youth 18 and under in the Battlefords area.
The 2023 Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival is scheduled to run from March 13 to 25.
Jeff Beck, considered by some to be one of the best guitarists of all time was inducted twice into the Rock ’N Roll Hall of Fame as a soloist and as part of the prominent British band Yardbirds. “I like an element of chaos in music. That feeling is the best thing ever, as long as you don’t have too much of it. I play purely from the heart, y’know, and so if it doesn’t work the first couple of hours, forget it. If the song makes it and people like it, then I guess that’s all that matters, really.” – Jeff Beck (1944 – 2023),
