THE BATTLEFORDS — The 91st annual Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival is already nearing its close but there is still time to catch final piano sessions. Piano classes continue Thursday morning, March 23 in Logie Hall with afternoon classes held in the sanctuary. Piano solos continue in Logie Hall Friday morning March 24 followed by sessions in the afternoon. The evening classes will be held in the sanctuary. The final morning and afternoon piano classes are Saturday, March 25 in Logie Hall. Maria Mellow of Calgary is the adjudicator for piano classes. Printed programs are available at Sobeys for $10 at the customer service counter.
The celebratory gala awards event is Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Dekker Centre. Students invited to perform at the final gala awards night have the opportunity to bring their talent to this world-class stage. Performances at the gala are highlights from the festival chosen by the adjudicators. Awards and scholarships will be presented at the gala award concert and recipients must be present. Tickets are $10 a seat with children, students, donors, sponsors, and performers free of charge. To be eligible for an award or scholarship, a participant must be 19 years of age or younger, performed two or more solo selections in the same discipline, or, for a band, at least one solo and one small ensemble, and have lived or studied in the Battlefords and district for a minimum of six months prior to the festival, or be studying elsewhere, but still supported by family living in the Battlefords and district. Other students are welcome to participate in adjudication or recommendations to the provincials or Canada West competitions.
Saskatchewan Music Festival Association (SMFA) was established in 1908. It is committed to promoting excellence in music and speech arts by providing performance and educational opportunities through music festivals in Saskatchewan. In addition to the production of 47 district music festivals, SMFA provides a provincial syllabus, entrance to the annual provincial competitions, concerto competition, opera competition and musical theatre competition, as well as the Canada West Performing Arts Festival. Member festivals are organized by local volunteers and judged by qualified professional musicians. SMFA festivals are accessible to all ages, all ethnic groups and people of all religions. Participants may enter any classes for “adjudication only” and forego marks and scholarships. SMFA hires more than 170 qualified professional musicians to serve as adjudicators each year.
Local participants have the opportunity to be recommended for the provincial competition being held this year in Regina. The provincial finals are held the first weekend of June each year. District festivals such as the Battlefords are allowed two district winners to the provincial finals for each provincial scholarship class and each Canada West excellence class provided the qualifying mark (88 minimum) has been attained. To qualify, participants must enter and compete in at least two solo classes in the same discipline at their district festival. Performers must not exceed 28 years of age for provincial scholarship classes or 24 years of age for Canada West excellence classes. Memory work is mandatory at the Provincial level. The Canada West Performing Arts Festival is held this year in Edmonton in July.
“The house was always full of music. Of course, radio was king when I was a boy; there was no television. My father was into the big bands: Harry James, Louis Prima and Louis Jordan. Great stuff — swing and rhythm and blues, and my mother was into country music, so I got the best of both worlds. I started playing guitar at 10, and when I got into 12, 13, 14, I was listening to a lot of the black music, the black stations, the rhythm and blues, Joe Turner, people like that. And Louis Armstrong: he played the type of jazz that you could understand and appreciate, good jazz from New Orleans.” — Charlie Gracie 1936 - 2022; an American rock and roll international star who musically influenced 1960s bands such as the Beatles
