Rotary music festival celebrates 44 years

By Manuela Garay-Giraldo

The Quinte Rotary Music Festival has celebrated musical talent for 44 years.
The deadline to apply for this year’s festival is quickly approaching. Feb. 13 is the final day for interested students to apply.

This year, adjudicators will be doing workshops with students in their different categories.

“The workshops are really good for students,” said John Chisholm, chair of the festival. “They have the opportunity to get really constructive feedback and our adjudicators are really good. They make the students feel inspired and motivated.”

The festival, which was started 44 years ago by the Belleville Rotary Club, is now a collaboration between the three Rotary clubs in the Quinte region.

“To have the Trenton and the Quinte Sunrise Rotaries involved in this project is very special,” said Chisholm. “The whole point of having a Rotary is to help others, and here we are helping each other in order to celebrate the amazing talent we have in this region.”

The festival is open to all music students and this year applications can be done online.

“Technology has helped a lot,” said Chisholm. “It just makes things easier to keep organized. And it’s very user-friendly. Teachers can log on and check if any of their students have applied and students can apply directly online.”

The prizes that are up for grabs include several $500 cash prizes as well as a $2,500 scholarship award.

“It is important for us to nourish talent because, historically speaking, it’s the people who got this kind of experience who go on and become the leaders of our community,” said Chisholm.

“We have amazing talent in this region, and we need to celebrate it and continue to encourage young people to hone their skills, to get the training they need to get to great places.”

The festival will take place from April 16 to 20, with the award ceremony on May 2. The registration fees are $20 for individuals and $35 for groups, except for the “piano master class” category, which is $45.To view the festival’s syllabus, which includes all rules and regulations, categories as well as the application, visit www.quinterotarymusicfestival.com.