The longest-running festival on the Sunshine Coast is poised to launch a month of live performances featuring homegrown talent and insights from expert artists.
The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts will include more than 200 distinct performances, including the return of a category introduced last year that highlights music written by Indigenous composers.
The festival was founded in 1973. Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled, meaning that its half-century anniversary will be celebrated next year.
“We worked hard to take that cancellation and following years of restrictions in stride,” said Sarah Lowis, president of the festival’s board of directors. “And this year’s festival represents a true resurgence of energy and enthusiasm by both participants and volunteers.
“We’re proud to be sustaining such a rich legacy and providing opportunities for artists at every stage of their journey.”
The volunteer-led organization raises funds through grants, local sponsorships and registration fees to run the annual event. It is one of 34 regional arts festivals throughout B.C. whose combined registration exceeds 26,000 performers. Adjudicators will select high-achieving artists aged five to 25 to attend the B.C. Provincial Festival, which will be held in Penticton later this spring.
At the festival’s primary performance venue — St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt — local performers will present works in a variety of instrumental disciplines plus solo and choral singing, speech and dramatic arts. Meanwhile, the associated Coastal Dance Festival plans two days of adjudicated performances at the Raven’s Cry Theatre. A highlights concert featuring top numbers is scheduled for May 13 at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons.
“It’s a very special opportunity for audiences to witness some of the finest music, drama and dance on the Coast, without admission fees,” said Lowis. “As the parent of former performers myself, I know how meaningful it is for young artists to see their community supporting them, while they’re also benefitting from valuable adjudicator commentary.”
This year’s panel of adjudicators includes a dozen working musicians, actors and dancers. The piano discipline, which attracted the highest number of participants, will be reviewed by Nova Scotia-born pianist and composer Stephen Smith. The bowed strings category will be adjudicated by Cellist Alexander Cheung. Cheung is a member of the string trio Infinitus — and a certified personal trainer. The roster includes two local names: virtuoso guitarist and percussionist Celso Machado (taking charge of plucked strings) and bandleader Tak Maeda, who will oversee woodwind and brass performances.
In 2022, the festival introduced an award to promote the work of composers who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour. This year’s festival will include works by Métis fiddlers Andy de Jarlis and Reg Bouvette as well as traditional Gwichʼin Nation melodies.
Three local choirs will supplement the ranks of solo performers: the Choralations Children’s Choir, A Cappella Strait, and the Inspirito Vocal Ensemble. In the harp category, Sophie Trinh will perform on the Chinese zither. Provincial festival alumnus Doris Garner returns to an expanded speech and dramatic arts segment, which will also include a multigenerational poetry by George, Edith and Sheila Weaver. The reading will be by Sheila Weaver.
Members of the public can attend any of the scheduled performances. All festival performances will also be available via live video streaming through the festival’s website.
The festival begins with piano performances on Tuesday, April 11 at 9 a.m. The full program is available by browsing to coastfestival.com.
