WEYBURN – The 2023 Weyburn Rotary Music Festival is set to roll in person, and will be held from March 13 to 23 at various venues around the city.
“We have 237 entries, up from 155 in 2022, with 133 piano entries, 34 band-instrumental entries, and 70 vocal entries,” said Heather Sidloski, president of the Music Festival organizing committee.
The piano competition starts off on March 13 and goes until March 15 at the T.C. Douglas Centre, followed by the vocal competition on March 19-21, and the band-instrumental competition is on March 22-23. The top performers will be recognized with awards and scholarships at the Stars of the Festival on March 29, at 7 p.m. in the Cugnet Centre.
The piano adjudicator this year is Sarah Konecsni, with Chris MacRae as the vocal adjudicator, and Gilles Turcotte is the instrumental adjudicator.
The music festival program is posted on the website and has the adjudicator write ups in it.
“We are really looking forward to the feedback that they will give, as they are professional musicians with a lot of experience, and their comments for the competitors is always insightful and helpful,” said Sidloski.
The annual feature on past music teachers, sponsored by Barber Motors, is recognizing Cleo Coderre this year, and his write up is also in the program.
“We are excited for our young Weyburn musicians to have a chance to perform live again,” said Sidloski, who noted one change since COVID is that the “No recording of performances rule” is back from Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, so performances will have to be enjoyed in person, and cannot be videoed.
There is no admission charge but a silver collection will be taken at the door.
The venues include the T.C. Douglas Centre, Weyburn Comprehensive High School, Legacy Park Elementary School and Assiniboia Park Elementary School. These are noted in the program at the top of each session.
