The Coast's longest running festival, now in its 37th year, opens on Monday, April 19, for three weeks.
This year, the Festival of the Performing Arts (FOPA) has a packed program that lists approximately 160 participants, and since many of those are choirs, the total number of performers will amount to many more. The figure is impressive considering the entire festival is run by volunteers and receives its financial support from the community, not from government grants.
Coast Reporter met with past president Sue Milne, who has contributed greatly to the festival over the years, and current president Norma Mercer, who is now taking on the responsibility, to ask what they think will be the highlights of this year's show.
"I'm excited that there are nine groups this year performing in the community choir category," said Milne, who is a member of the Pender Harbour Choir. (That category will perform on April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Chatelech Secondary School Theatre).
She is somewhat disappointed that no elementary school bands are entered. "Four years ago we had more," she noted.
The many children who turned out for festival band days made the experience "chaotic, but exhilarating," she said. She would like to see a school board commitment to encourage band programs at an intermediate level.
For Mercer (who also sings with the Suncoast Singers), one of the most satisfying things about the festival is the way older members might find themselves performing with younger.
"One grandmother told me she was thrilled that her 13-year-old wanted to sit by her in public and play piano," Mercer said.
A real camaraderie develops among the participants over the years, with many of the younger students making lasting friendships and developing a lifelong positive attitude towards the arts. The folk instrumental and the electric acoustic categories were added as a way to involve kids who may already be playing the fiddle or who have formed their own bands to play modern music.
"Maybe they have had no formal lessons, but they have talent," Mercer said.
There are signs that with the gradual growth of performers entering these categories, some cross-pollination has taken place between classical and modern music students. Each style has stimulated the other.
"It's a wonderful synergy," Milne said.
The three-week format is a blend of competition, stage experience and critique. Participants sign up in the various categories: piano, vocals, bowed or plucked strings, etc., and perform at an appointed place and time. This year the venues include the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons for the dance component, the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt for piano and St. Hilda's Church for vocals. As each participant performs a song or piece of their own selection, they are adjudicated by music professionals from off-Coast. The public is welcome to sit in on these sessions with admission by donation. In fact, they are encouraged, since it gives the performers, many of whom are students, experience in front of an audience.
If you'd like to drop in for performances, check the schedule at www.coastfestival.com. Briefly, piano performances are April 19 to 23, with the piano encore concert on April 25 at 2 p.m. at the Arts Centre. Vocals, choirs, bands, plus percussion, woodwinds and brass run April 26 to 30. Strings, folk instrumental and dance take place May 3 through 7. This year's Festival Highlights Concert is on Sunday, May 16, at 2 p.m. at the Raven's Cry Theatre. It's usually a full house, so arrive early. Admission is by donation.
