Local vocalist takes first place in provincial music festival

Throughout the month of June, over 2,000 performers from across the province took part in a yearly music competition hosted by the Ontario Music Festivals Association. This is the third year the provincial festival has been held virtually, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

A total of 48 performers from Kingston entered the 2022 Provincial Festival, a marked increase from the 37 who participated last year.

“Registrations have expanded as performers from syllabus level 1 to 5 have been added to the Provincial Festival. Before 2020, only more senior levels from 6 to adult were included. This means younger registrants from our local Kingston Festival have had the opportunity to be recommended for Provincials,” explained Cherrilyn Yalin, a member of the Planning Committee for Kingston Kiwanis Music Festival.

Festival participants ranged in age from six years to adult. Adjudicators from local Festivals, including Kingston, recommended their top performers to enter Provincials in 13 various musical disciplines such as voice, piano, strings, guitar, music theatre, and instrumental.

According to Yalin, participants recorded their performances and uploaded them to YouTube, where a panel of esteemed Provincial adjudicators reviewed their entries and chose top placings for each class. All performers received written adjudications commenting on their technical abilities and their musical interpretations of their pieces.

When Kingstonist enquired about the likelihood of future festivals being held in person, Roly Tinline, Vice-President of the Kiwanis Festival Board, said, “We are hoping to have a live festival in 2023, but the experience gained from the virtual festivals in 2021 and 2022 will prove valuable in many ways as we go forward.”

Local vocalist Emma McNeil placed first in the Province in Open Classical Voice, and received a $1,000 scholarship.

All of the Provincial winners from Kingston are listed below:

Full results from the festival can be found on the Ontario Music Festivals Association website.