The Moose Jaw Music Festival is welcoming back live audiences to this year’s event, which will be a mix of in-person and pre-recorded performances by many talented young musicians.
Last year the festival was a blend of virtual and pre-recorded performances. This year there is a blend of live and pre-recorded performances. The piano, strings and band performances have been pre-recorded and submitted for adjudication.
The festival kicks off at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Zion United Church with young singers melodiously exercising their voices. It concludes on April 7 with older teens performing musical theatre numbers.
The awards concert is on Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m., where organizers will hand out prizes and scholarships to youths who most impress the adjudicators.
This year, rather than selling passes to attend the festival, the organization will ask for donations at the door, while the schedule is online at https://events.solarislive.com/Moose-Jaw-Music-Festival.
Jeri Ryba, a member of the planning committee, expressed joy about having live audiences again after almost two years of virtual performances.
“It’s been so long, and it’s really going to be a great experience for these young musicians to finally be able to show what they’ve been working on to friends and family,” she said. “So, we’re really excited about that.”
Young musicians need to perform in front of people because the best way to improve their craft is with a live audience, Ryba continued. They can learn about themselves and how to calm their nerves, while they also have an adjudicator providing advice that they can use for the future.
Playing in front of a live audience is different than performing in front of a video camera since the energy of a live crowd enhances the performance, she pointed out. For example, people will usually laugh when listening to a musical theatre song.
“It’s really vital to their performance and really encourages them,” said Ryba. “And just having people applaud for you … we’re just really happy that we’re going to be able to do this this year.”
Festival organizers are looking for more volunteers to help ensure the event is a success. They need people to fill the positions of door greeters and adjudicators. There are six positions a day that need to be filled and 30 total positions for the week. Ryba noted that some volunteers have offered to help several days during the festival.
Prospective volunteers don’t need any experience since festival organizers and experienced volunteers will show people what needs to be done, she said. Anyone interested in volunteering can visit https://signup.com/go/wEPtgFq, the festival Facebook page or email moosejawmusicfestival@hotmail.com.
Ryba added that while parts of this year’s festival are still being held online because of the pandemic, organizers hope to have everything live in 2023.
