This year’s Sudbury Music Festival kicks off Thursday, April 4, and runs through until April 13.
Competition classes are open to the public ($5 at the door) and will be held at Knox Hall. Audience members can enjoy classical music performed by competitors aged six through 60 in piano, guitar, school bands, school choirs, voice, music theatre, strings, brass and woodwind along with classes for original composition.
Classes generally run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., but check the detailed schedule and program at www.sudburymusicfestival.ca for exact times on each day. Specialized adjudicators begin arriving in Sudbury on Wednesday, April 3 to judge this year's competitors.
Sudbury Music Festival board of directors dedicate hours of fundraising throughout the year to provide this annual event to classical musicians and their teachers.
The competitors may be studying with private music teachers or they may be participating as part of a school group.
Elementary/secondary school to college and university students take part each year. The festival also offers classes for adults who are entering as soloists and/or part of an ensemble. Participants are eligible to be recommended to the Ontario Music Festival Association competitions held yearly in June and from there the opportunity to compete at the national level in August.
The Sudbury Music Festival motto is: "At festivals, the goal is not to gain a prize, nor defeat a rival, but to pace one another on the road to excellence.”
Although the majority of classes at the festival are indeed competitive, Sudbury Music Festival offers non-competitive options also.
A "Stars of Excellence" concert and award ceremony will be held on Monday, April 29 at St. Andrew's Place. This concert presents a program of festival highlight performances in all categories.
"There is an abundance of talent in the city of Sudbury, and this is an evening you won't want to miss,” says Sudbury Music Festival president Ralph McIntosh, in a press release. "Tickets at the door are $20 for adults and $10 for students."
