Canada Music Week Reports
Yorkton
The Yorkton Registered Music Teachers celebrated Canada Music Week with a Canadian Showcase. A non competitive festival held over two days was well received by all.
Adjudicator Wes Froese delighted the young musicians with his songs and stories. After performing for him he called them back to the stage to collaborate with him while he played the guitar. The students were in awe to meet a composer that was so fun that also made them feel comfortable on stage. Prior to each class Wes entertained the audience with his own works or those of other Canadian composers such as Oscar Peterson.
With 62 entries the showcase was a success! Being the first one since the pandemic the committee was pleased with the interest.A huge thank you to Diane Jones and all committee members that helped make this event a huge success.
West Central
Team West Central has been busy Canadian-music beavers! On Tuesday, Biggar Majestic Theatre was the venue for a town-wide concert of Canadian-made music, including every genre possible, from great fiddle music, to a one-man guitar/harmonica/vocal version of Neil Young’s Heart of Gold, to an army of Piano People doing a Lynette Sawatsky piece, with piano, keyboard, hand chimes.
Then our Canadian Showcase festival in Rosetown. Friday/Saturday was a well-planned leisurely day and half of music, adjudication, and side workshops of ukulele playing. Then, with the impending doom of a major winter storm, our troops, headed by the infamous Peggy, launched plan “git er done”, and in a few hours revamped the whole program to be 99% completed on Friday, with only 10 home towners left for the Saturday. Adjudicator Everett Hopfner “zoomed” in from Winnipeg on a TV screen. Gotta love techno these days!
CB studio is having small gatherings in Elrose and Leader, to perform their selections of Canadian repertoire, along with some Christmas tunes. Helen Barclay studio in Kindersley, and Sage Barclay-Rosher in Eatonia are also hosting studio recitals of Canadian and Christmas music. Claire Seibold hosted her 9th annual Art and Music Gala In her home, with guest Glen Scrimshaw. Lots to see and do in our territory! Happy Canada Music Week, eh!
Saskatoon
The Saskatoon Branch of the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers organized another successful non competitive piano festival celebrating the diverse music of our Canadian composers.
There were 91 participants (some playing two pieces), performing over 2 days. The wonderfully positive and encouraging Dianne Gryba was our adjudicator and she was sometimes able to make time for students to try out different approaches at the piano.
A final recital of Canadian music was planned but due to heavy snowfall in the preceding week as well as the night before the scheduled event, it had to be cancelled. So unfortunate. This recital has always been well attended in the past and the audience always seems to enjoy seeing all levels of playing being represented and of course, Canadian music for students is so varied and appealing.
A huge thank you to our main organizers, Hannah Marple and Jhena Dela Cruz, as well as the several willing and generous volunteers that make this festival possible!
