When saxophonist Gerard Weber left Humboldt to compete in the 41st National Music Festival in Alberta, he was the first-place provincial winner in the woodwind category.
When he came back from the national competition, it was with a new title as first-place winner in woodwinds for all of Canada.
"I've never felt more on top of my playing," Weber said enthusiastically. "It was just an amazing experience, one that I'll never forget."
The adjudicators' comments about the young saxophonist's performance were both instructive and flattering. Dr. Peter Stoll, a professor in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto wrote "Such beautiful expressive control and atmosphere. I'd pay to hear you play anytime."
The second adjudicator, Edward Bach, commented that he liked how Weber plays so close to the edge. "All the great players play that way, great job!" he added.
Four days in Fort McMurray at the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals (FCMF) and an unforgettable experience to go with it was how the saxophonist described it.
"It's one of the largest competitions on the national level in Canada," Weber said. "The publicity that comes out of it - it's really important for young amateur musicians to kickstart their careers."
Fifty musicians from across Canada ranging in age from 14 to 28 years old competed in eight different categories. During the four-day festival, Weber began by competing on the morning of August 17. But he didn't find out until the next day, after the morning Master Classes with the adjudicators, that he had won first place.
"The adjudicator worked with all the competitors in the woodwind categories for 25 minutes each," explained Weber. "He'd tell you about the piece you're playing and get you to play things back."
It wasn't until after lunch that day that the winners in each category were announced. That was when Weber learned he would be playing again at the gala concert that evening. That final concert would determine the overall winner of the national competition, something the young music student didn't experience when he attended the same competition in 2011 in Nova Scotia.
"It was a massive theatre that we played in for the final concert," he recalled. "I was a little nervous at first, but when I got up there (to play) I was so on top of it."
At the final gala, the first-place winners from each of the eight categories competed, and the overall winner was chosen by the adjudicators that evening and awarded a $5,000 prize.
"It's incredibly difficult to choose one winner out of eight, because everybody is just amazing. This year they picked a guitarist - Steven Cowan, from Newfoundland."
Now as Weber learned, there are good things and bad things about winning first place in your category at the FCMF competition. The good thing is that you are recognized for being top in the country in your discipline. As the winner of the 2012 FCMF competition, however, Weber cannot go back and compete for three years.
"I could go back for the Chamber class if I had a saxophone quartet, but not for solo," he explained. "And if you win the grand award you can't go back at all."
In the meantime, Weber has the year ahead carved out for him as he enters into his third year in the faculty of music at the University of Saskatchewan, starting with preparing music for when classes start.
"Over the summer I couldn't really look at music for next year because I wanted to really focus on the music for the competition," he said. "But in the end, it really paid off."
Other awards from Saskatchewan competitors at the festival included the Campbell Collegiate Chamber Choir (who won second place for best performance by a choral group from a single school, ages 19 and under) and the chamber ensemble 3 Directions (who got an honourable mention in Chamber).
