Considering changes had to be made due to the fallout from Covid, the Lethbridge And District Music and Speech arts Festival is going well this year.
The long standing festival began March 28 and culminates with the Stars of the Festival Concert at the Yates Theatre, April 9.
“It’s been good so far,” said Festival general manager Megan Wittig, noting entrants and attendance are down.
There are 460 entrants in this year’s festival.
“ It’s about as half as many as we usually get between 900 and 1,000,(entrants)” she said.
They are also working with fewer venues this year, with performances happening in the Yates Theatre, Sterndale Bennett Theatre and St. Augustine’s Church Hall. Bands and choirs are performing in their own schools next week.
The provincial festival is online again this year as was last year’s festival , so the local recommendations are being filmed at Casa.
“Everything is really centralized. It usually is,” Wittig said, adding she has been impressed with attendance.
“ We had 60 people in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre yesterday for junior voice, which is a lot for that venue. And choirs and bands are in their own venues, so school administration can attend, which is really exciting,” she continued.
There is also only one big concert— the Stars of the Festival concert, April 9, while there is also usually a best of musical theatre concert on the first Saturday of the festival.
“We didn’t get as many musical theatre entrants this year,” Wittig said.
While the best of Musical Theatre usually get their own concert during the festival, they will be part of the Stars of the Festival Concert this year.
One of the new events this year is contemporary voice class, for which entrants get to perform with a live rock band. They perform at the Owl Acoustic Lounge tonight, March 31 at 6 p.m.
“ They don’t usually get to do something like that,” Wittig said.
While most of this years entrants in all classes are from Lethbridge, bands from Taber, Claresholm, Raymond and Magrath and everywhere in between are part of this year’s festival.
Wittig is impressed with all of the talented performers this year.
“ So far we have 20 provincial recommendations already. Last year we sent 45. We’re pretty strong in piano. We always are. We’re pretty strong in all the disciplines,” she said.
“We’re just glad to be back.”
This week featured classes in Musical theatre guitar, junior voice, choir, instrumental and senior piano. Next week features junior piano, strings, senior voice and and one composition entry.
Individual sessions cost three dollars to attend or a program for $15 g allows admission to all sessions.
Sessions run Monday through Friday. They take a breather over the weekend.
The Festival winds up on April 9 with the Stars of the Festival concert in the Yates Theatre at 2:30 p.m.
— By Richard Amery, L.A.Beat Editor
