The 100 Mile Festival of Arts will be hosting a recital for local youth this March.
Longtime festival organizer and president Ginnny-Lou Alexander said this concert, scheduled for March 2 at the Evangelical Free Church, will be a chance for students planning to participate in the festival this year. Alexander said they had originally planned to run the recital on Jan. 19 but had to reschedule due to not having enough students ready to perform.
"It's a good time to try out your piece and see how it goes. I had a piano teacher a long time ago who said 'nothing will ever be ready completely.' When you do recitals, it is a progression of mistakes. It didn't go bad last time here but now it did here," Alexander remarked.
The rectical will take place at 2 p.m. at the Evangelical Free Church with admission being by donation with all proceeds going to the 100 Mile Festival of the Arts Society to pay for the adjudicators' honourariums and lodging. Alexander said she welcomes students, be they children or adults, to register to show off their skills. She noted it is a great way to practice a piece you're preparing for the main festival in the spring. To register she said teachers or students can reach out to her at 250-395-3555.
Alexander said that this year the 100 Mile Festival of the Arts is running from April 28 to May 9 at Martin Exeter Hall with a showcase performance on May 10. As in previous years, she said they will have categories for piano, bands, singing, violin and speech arts, along with dance. This year Alexander said they have three adjudicators set to attend this year's festival with Terry Logan judging piano, vocal and speech, Dennis Colpitts for band and instrumental and Joanne Gibson-Menzies for dance.
New this year she said they plan to add a category for fiddlers to show off their talents.
"There are a few fiddlers around here and it's a valid thing," Alexander said. "We're adding this fiddle class and we're quite excited about that. A few years ago we had a couple of girls from Williams Lake but really they were fiddlers and it was too bad they were entered in classical violin."
While fiddlers and violinists use the same instrument to perform, Alexander said the technique and style of music varies greatly. Classical violinists tend to play more classical composer pieces, while fiddlers play more lively and contemporary Western-style music.
"Real toe-tapping, hand clamping stuff. You wouldn't dare to sit there and tap your toes or clap your hands for classical violin but you sure can for fiddle."
In addition to signing up for the recital, Alexander encourages the community's student musicians and performers to sign up for this year's 100 Mile Festival of the Arts. Registration will take place on Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Parkside Art Gallery with forms available at 100milefestivalofthearts.ca.
