Whether it was Moose Jaw’s own Alana Karn performing a series of piano performances in the senior division at Mae Wilson Theatre on Saturday afternoon, or Jerry Hu’s award-winning rendition of McIntyre’s Butterflies and Bobcats during the same competition, or Lindsay Holizki’s Pièce en mi bémol mineur on trombone to close out the senior brass portion at St. Andrew’s Church, there was little question the kids seriously came to play.
“We had a representative from SaskTel join us, and in his words, he was blown away by the calibre of music he heard (Friday) night,” sad SMGA executive director Carol Donhauser. “So that’s something to say about how hard these students and teachers and parents work, it takes a village to get the children to where they are today. We’re very proud of them all.”
The event featured competitors in different age groups taking the stage on a wide variety of instruments and disciplines each day – with junior and intermediate on Thursday and Friday, senior on Saturday and the national-level musicians showing their talents to close provincials Sunday. Each day concluded with a grand award competition, featuring the winners from each discipline performing to determine an overall champion that evening.
On the line was the pride of knowing you were the best in the province in your chosen field of music, as well as a whole lot of scholarship money.
“We give out around $30,000 in scholarships this weekend, that gives them a chance to work on their studies, which is always one of our major goals,” Donhauser said. “We work hard to get donors and we’re really grateful for their donations and how much they mean to the kids.”
Provincials conclude a busy music festival season, of which 2019 marked an incredible 110 years of competition. Performances started in March with the 47 district festivals, with the first weekend in June acting as the annual date for provincials.
It’s all part of enabling the blindingly talented musicians have a chance to develop and grow in their skills and confidence.
“It sets the stage for their future,” Donhauser explained. “It builds character, it gives them work ethic in the sense they have to work hard and study hard. And while a lot of people don’t like the word competition when it comes to music, life is competitive. So it gives them some of their values moving forward and learning life skills.”
The event could also act as the first step in a career in music, ranging from becoming a music teacher, professional performer or accompanist, any number of fields that require someone who can perform on stage. In fact, some of the older students already find themselves regularly playing with professional orchestras.
“We’re the building track for things like that,” Donhauser said. “There’s a lot of directions that music could take them, that’s for sure.”
And then there’s the simplest aspect of all festivals that comes into play: the chance to meet others who share the same passion as you do.
“This is a chance for them to see that there are other kids just like them out there,” said Donhauser. “When you come from a small town and are an elite musician, coming here you meet more people like yourself, and it’s like ‘wow, there’s another brass player who plays just like me, we have something in common’ and they could be friends. So this experience could be invaluable.”
The event concludes the competitive season for all division except the national-level classes, the winners of which advance to the national championships in Saskatoon later this year.
