It was easy to tell who was who on the first day of the 42nd annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts (SCFPA).
The morning of April 13 opened with the junior and intermediate young pianists performing baroque and classical at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt before adjudicator Michelle Mares and a small audience of parents and teachers. The students were all dressed up — new shoes and dresses for many of the girls and clean shirts for the boys. Some were confident, some nervous. The parents appeared to be quietly encouraging. The teachers were the ones sitting on the edge of their seats as they watched their pupils show their music to the adjudicator, and stride toward the grand piano to play their well-prepared selection.
Audiences are welcomed at the Festival sessions and they are asked to give a small donation at the door to the non-profit society. There are usually 15 to 20 music-lovers listening, and, on the first day, three of the Festival’s busy organizers were also in the audience: past presidents Norma Mercer and Sue Milne and current president Sue Carson.
This is what the SCFPA is all about — to provide opportunities for musicians and dancers to perform for appreciative audiences and receive expert critique. Professional adjudicators in each category review performances throughout the day and offer comments, tips and demonstrations of technique.
Mares, the piano adjudicator, was warm and helpful, especially with the little juniors, but was determined that they would learn. A child prodigy herself, Mares gave her first full-length performance at the age of 10 and is now on the piano faculty at the University of Victoria.
“You rocked this one,” she told one young student, and “Good articulation,” she said to another, explaining how articulation makes the music come alive. She spent time with several of the students to show why the right hand must be stronger to balance the left, a common problem.
The difference between the junior and intermediate students was obvious — not only in more sophisticated performance, but in presentation. The Festival stresses good presentation: suitable dress and stage decorum. It could be as simple an action as taking the time before and after playing to bow and acknowledge the audience, but these manners are often forgotten when students are nervous.
The public is invited to the piano encore wrap-up concert at 2 p.m. this Sunday, April 19 at the Arts Centre. The Festival aims to foster education in the performing arts through workshops, awards and scholarships, which are handed out at the end of the sessions. Many of the students go on to compete in provincial and national festivals.
The SCFPA continues for two more weeks. On Monday, April 20 the bowed strings sessions begin, continuing April 27 with vocal performances from folk to musical theatre and presenting the adult community choirs in the evening. The Festival closes with the dance category on Wednesday, April 29 at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. The very popular Highlights Concert, that features the best of all the musicians, is at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt.
See: www.coastfestival.com for a full schedule of events, venues and performers.
