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Orangeville & District festival demonstrates the power of music

May 12, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Now in its 20th year, the Orangeville & District Music Festival is well known for the excellence of its teaching, workshops and the adjudicating for its honesty and instructiveness. Each year, adjudicators have been invited to come for the three days of the Festival to adjudicate the many types of music and an interesting variety of  instruments, including: voice, piano, adult community choir, concert school band, accordion, guitar, violin, cello, and hand bells.

Workshops are a part of the festival and, this year, adjudicator Paul Coates gave the Workshop. His theme was Calming the Practice Monster for which he brought  a “Monster” with a bad eye – or something – and with which he taught them all – “You are awesome!”

The point is always that, regardless of our successes or failures, a person can still say to each of us: “You are awesome” for trying, for caring, for being who we are. Faced with such confidence building, the back straightens and the effort is renewed.

The committee of six musicians/teachers have made the festival a “well oiled machine that runs smoothly, after 20 years,” as Joy Bell told us. “The committee works. We all know what to do.”

We were seated in the newly renovated sanctuary of Westminster United Church with Lynne Smith, the original – and still there – administrator, Joy Bell, one of the committee that runs the Festival, Tom Smith, accompanist on guitar, and John Lemke, representing the Dufferin Concert Singers, who was there to present a cheque to Ms. Smith on behalf of the DCS. The subject of our conversation was music – and the Festival.

The Festival began in 1998, under the original leadership of Rob Hennig, who asked Lynne Smith if she could handle the administration.

“My background has always been administration. I was the church’s administrator for 12 years,” she commented. “All my positions of employment were admin based.”

After five years of the Festival’s life, Westminster become an official sponsor.

“But it’s always been a community festival and people come from all around,” Ms. Smith explained. “Musicians come from Brampton, Barrie, Grand Valley, Mississauga. It is really well-known. The musicians go away with an adjudication with written comments of praise and encouragement.”

Ms. Bell  elaborated, “Students come for the sake of their exams for the adjudication during the course of the three days of the festival.”

Paul Coates was a marvel, they all agreed. He was thorough, kind, instructive and very funny. The magic of music and a life completely involved in it, perhaps.

By way of celebrities, three alumni are attending the up coming Gala which celebrates the accomplishments of those participating in the Festival on Monday, May 15. Alexandra Brennan, recipient  of a DAC Scholarship and the Most Promising Musician Award, is now singing at University of Toronto, in her second year for Opera. Ms. Brennan will sing for us at the Gala.

Graham Maycock, well-known, well-loved local singer/song writer, is coming back to the Festival’s Gala to  add his voice to the festivities. Mr. Maycock has been working hard to advance his own career in music, with writing, recording, performing and teaching in Orangeville.

Barbara Peaker, alumni, is a soloist hand bell player. She will perform at the Gala this coming Monday. Where one thinks of there needing necessarily to engage several bells to reach the notes, Ms. Peaker will disprove the notion and show us how it is done.

The Gala is an evening of performance and a celebration of the Festival just finished, yes, but also to acknowledge excellence in musical achievement, the decisions handed down by Mr. Coates.

There are scholarships and Most Promising Musician Awards. This year, the committee has included a special 20th Anniversary Award.

Debra Wanless is donating a 50% discount certificate to attend the Summer Sizzle Keyboard Camp, for which the ODMF pays the balance.

This Gala, which will include many fine performances on the part of the festival’s award and scholarship winners, as well as a few others, is the platform for giving the awards and is open to the public – so, you can go.

It will take place at Westminster United Church at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for under 12. All the money raised goes to the festival for the costs of the adjudicators, awards and so on. The committee are all volunteers.

Private persons and businesses also support the important work and promotion of musical excellence in the community that the Orangeville & District Music Festival supports.

For information or to buy tickets, call the church at 519-941- 0381.

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