MEDICINE HAT, AB – The voices will ring out for this year’s Rotary Music Festival but the performances will only be seen online.
The annual Medicine Hat festival will run March 7-21.
Even with the changes, festival organizers are eager for it to start.
“It’s super exciting to see the response,” says festival director Delynne Lorentzen. “I think kids, they really want to be doing something and the teachers are to be commended they’ve really gone overboard, they’re scanning all the scores, they’re recording for their kids, they’re doing so much more work this year too just to help the kids keep making music.”
Lorentzen says there are about 550 entries so far. In a normal year, there are between 750 and 800 entries and more than 1,000 participants. Provincial health restrictions are keeping many choirs, orchestras, bands and musical theatre performances on the sidelines.
Those that are performing are recording their pieces this year, submitting them and festival organizers are then compiling them into playlists for each category.
The playlists will be posted for the public during the two weeks of the festival on Facebook and YouTube.
“The adjudicator will be able to see them, adjudicate them in a written form. And then during the actual festival we’re having live Zoom meetings with each of the sessions and the adjudicator,” explains Lorentzen.
She adds this is the only festival that is doing the Zoom adjudications.
The top performers will be recommended for the provincial festival, which is also online.
Lorentzen says with how challenging the year has been overall it was important the festival go on in some fashion.
“A lot of the kids have had online lessons all year. Some of them have been able to do in-person but all of the performance opportunities were cancelled,” she says. “It’s been a really hard year so I think that’s why this was really important to move forward with to give them a chance, they’re going to be in classes with their peers, these videos will be shared with the class that they’re in. So they’ll each get to support each other that way.”
Lorentzen credits volunteers and sponsors for helping with the festival.
Volunteers have been helping by agreeing to host Zoom sessions and filling out certificates. Additional sponsors have been recruited for extra “flex” awards to be handed out. The festival will once again give out almost $20,000 in awards.
The traditional Rose Bowl and Stars of the Festival concerts will be online on March 19 and March 21.
For more on the festival visit rotarymusicfestival.com.
