By Katie Ryan
The Border City will soon be filled with the sound of music. The Kiwanis Lloydminster & District Music Festival kicks off on April 19 featuring almost 700 musicians from the city and surrounding area.
Participants range from ages three to 18, performing in different disciplines including piano, strings, band and vocal. Five adjudicators are tasked with evaluating the talented youth, however, president of the Kiwanis festival Peter Yeung stresses that the festival is not a contest.
“It’s not so much a competition, it’s a learning experience for the participants. They are looking for how the pieces are played, in the right way, in the spirit of how it is written,” said Yeung of the five adjudicators consisting of professors and teachers travelling from Edmonton, Regina and other centres. “At the same time, they (participants) will get a different explanation to their skills and to their interpretation of the pieces and get some encouragement from outside experts rather than their own teachers.”
The public is encouraged to attend the performance sessions held from April 19 to 30 at the First Baptist Church (piano and strings), Vic Juba Theatre (bands and instrumentals) and Southridge Community Church (vocals).
“They can see how the children perform and on top of that give them a lot of support,” said Yeung, who has been president of the festival committee since June. “A lot of times, even during the adjudicating, we adults who are listening can learn a lot too.”
The annual festival has been held in Lloydminster for decades, offering musical children and youth a chance to hone their talent and earn scholarships. This festival will be no different, with $7,200 worth of scholarships up for grabs.
“The people around Lloydminster and in the surrounding district have been very generous in donating to the scholarships, we have over 200 scholarships to give out,” said Yeung.
Aside from scholarships, Yeung said performing publicly in the music festival is important for young, developing musicians and an opportunity to combat stage fright.
“I hope that they will be able to first of all gain some self-confidence in performing so that when later on they will be more skilled and be able to perform in public, they will not be shy about it,” he said. “Also, they will learn some more skill and (gain) experience in their discipline.”
Volunteers are vital for a festival of this size and scope; from manning the door, acting as an adjudicator, secretary or as host/hostess, it’s a team effort to keep the festival running smoothly. Luckily though, Yeung said the festival is not in dire straights when it comes to manpower.
“(For) each session we need at least four to five volunteers and we are very lucky that so far we can fill most of those spots. We still can have more volunteers,” said Yeung, adding the organizing committee is comprised mostly by new volunteers as well.
The festival will be capped off with its final concert on May 1 at the Vic Juba Community Theatre. Open to the public, the concert will feature participants selected during the two weeks by the adjudicators.
“They don’t necessarily have to be the best in the category,” said Yeung of those selected to perform. “We will make up a balanced program and will present all of the scholarships.”
To volunteer or for more information contact Yeung at 306-285-3228. Admission for the final concert is $5, adjudicated sessions cost $2 or $10 for a two week pass.