Day three of the Festival of the Arts is coming to a close and so far, so good said Ginny-Lou Alexander, the communications person for the festival and the piano division rep.
“It’s going really well and our adjudicator Alan Crane is just fabulous. The kids like him and he’s doing a good job and spending lots of time with the kids after they play their pieces and takes them back to the piano.”
So far, the action at Martin Exeter Hall has been focused on the piano keys with Crane adjudicating all the young piano players 100 Mile House has to offer.
The budding pianists are also learning more about bringing out the melody and balance in their hands while playing the piano.
He has been teaching the students how to project their sound in a big room on a bigger piano. Most of the students, Alexander said, practice on a smaller piano at home.
“It’s very gratifying working with the kids. Music festivals are always a special thing for a community and the kids are all pumped for it and it’s always a pleasure working with them,” said the adjudicator of 15 years.
His first time adjudicating was in Paris and he found that he really enjoyed the experience and has been doing it as much as possible.
Crane, based in Vancouver, holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia, will end the piano section with a workshop.
He has been teaching piano for 35 years and is a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.
April 25 is the last day for the piano and at the end of the night, the Festival of the Arts committee and Crane will sit down to decide which students receive awards and the three piano students (one from each age group) who will go to provincials.
However, the winners will not be announced until May 5 during the Showcase Concert.
Crane said he liked all the music performed so far but the Canadian music class was very interesting.
“Keep attending the festival and attend it if you haven’t done so. Practice a lot, listen to lots of recordings and go to concerts” advised Crane to hopeful piano students.
The next section starts with instrumentals on April 27 at 9:30 a.m. starting with the 100 Mile Elementary School Grade 7 Band playing Nature’s Fury and Variants on a Celtic Folk Tune.
The Adjudicator for the section will be John Girard, who is the Director of Orchestras at the University of British Columbia School of Music and has been involved with several other orchestras across North America.
More information can be found at their website, 100milefestivalofthearts.ca.