The 11th annual Howe Sound Music Festival (HSMF) is back and bigger than ever.
The six-day event features piano, voice and choral students performing in both Squamish and Whistler. The 2012 edition of the event has seen substantial growth with a nearly 20 per cent increase in participants compared to last year.
"It's hard to say why we've had such an increase, but I think one reason is we have more teachers teaching music lessons in Squamish this year," said HSMF executive director Veronica McPhee. "The Squamish Academy of Music opened up in the last year and I think every year more and more people are getting exposed to the HSMF and they want to take part."
The HSMF also saw a significant increase in adults' involvement and McPhee said it's nice to see people of all ages participate.
"I'm not sure why we've had the increase with adults, but it's something that we've always tried to communicate to people that we're open to adults," she said. "It's great to see more adults getting involved and I know that the age limit for provincials is 29 so many of the performers have a chance to move on."
The event starts on April 10 with the Squamish piano portion lasting for three days from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. at St. John the Divine Anglican Church. Whistlerites can take part in the Whistler piano competition on April 13 and 14 at Our Lady of the Mountains Church.
Vocals take place in Squamish on April 13 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with choral taking place April 13 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Students in each group perform and then are judged by adjudicators Arne Salhen (piano) and Megan Skidmore (voice/choral). From there, the adjudicators offer tips or even take an individual aside to work on specific things.
The Highlights Concert wraps everything up on April 15 with the best performers from all the previous days hitting the stage. The concert features gold performances from the week, as well as scholarship announcements and recommendations to the Provincial Music Festival.
"I think the Highlights Concert is really what will interest more of the general public," McPhee said. "It features all of the students who have really excelled in the festival."
McPhee added that the HSMF will no longer award medals to the top competitors but will honour the success of the festival with a reception before the Highlights Concert.
"We don't want kids comparing themselves to each other," she said. "It's all about where they're at in that moment and how to improve."
Early sessions are open to the public at a cost of $3, with tickets for the Highlights Concert set at $10. Also available is the $15 festival pass, which provides unlimited entry to all sessions and the Highlights Concert.
For more information on the HSMF, visit www.musicfestivalweb.com/hsmf.
