The Festival gives local amateur performers a chance to perform before appreciative audiences, compete against their peers and be professionally evaluated. There are many opportunities for performers to win medals and awards.
Held over two weeks in November, the festival consists of competitive and non-competitive classes for amateur students of piano, voice, strings, woodwinds, brass, guitar, organ, accordion, ensembles, choirs – and, new for this year, speech arts.
We are very excited about this addition. Speech arts cover poetry, dramatic monologues, group drama scenes, story telling, public speaking, choral speaking and Bible reading. Theatre is a very important part of performance in Burlington, and the festival organizers are optimistic that this new area will provide many young people with an opportunity to perform in front of the community.
Top adjudicators from across Canada come to listen and offer constructive advice to all participants. The opportunity of exposure to expert critiques and advice from such professionals is the main reason many students enter the festival.
Medals and certificates are awarded to top performers in competitive classes. Adjudicators may select certain students as recipients of scholarships, which are very generously donated by members of our community. During the two weeks of competitions, the adjudicators make note of special performances which are then highlighted at our Grand Festival Concert, which will be held on Friday, November 30, at Wellington Square United Church in Burlington. At the Grand Concert, two new adjudicators are present, and select the recipients of our grand awards: The Most Promising Student ($1,250) and Runner-up ($750), both donated by the Mark Irish Memorial Scholarship Fund, and The Most Promising Young Performer ($500), donated by Tom Oliver and Linda Fletcher.
Adjudicators may also recommend certain performers to proceed to the Provincial Music Festival, which is held annually in June. Winners of each category at the most senior level may then advance to the National Music Festival held in August each year.
This year, the festival sent 32 individuals or groups to compete at the provincial level. Amir Safavi, diploma level violin, Paul Barna, Grade 8 viola, and the Hamilton East Chamber Ensemble were provincial winners. Christopher James, flute, was the provincial winner at the Open level, and will be the first ever Burlington representative at the National finals this August! We had many runners-up and honourable mentions at the provincial level.
If you want to watch the performers, all sessions are open to the public and admission is free. Classes are held in various venues in Burlington: St Christopher’s Anglican Church, Port Nelson United Church and Burlington Baptist Church. Classes run Monday through Saturday from November 12 to 24. A schedule will be posted on our website www.rotarymusicfest.org in early November. A complete Rotary Burlington Music Festival syllabus is also available online at our website and copies are in local music stores.
As the festival is run by volunteers, we are always looking for help. If you would like to serve as a desk secretary or participant registrar, please email us at info@rotarymusicfest.org or call 905-320-6906.
