Performances for the 64th annual Weyburn Rotary Music Festival have been underway for the past couple of weeks at various locations

"Weyburn has a reputation of being a well-run festival with high-calibre performances," said Committee President Heather Sidloski. 

She said we are fortunate to have the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association recommend high-calibre adjudicators.

"We've generally in the past always had very high calibre adjudicators who have given very useful information both to teachers and to the students going forward so that they can just work on whatever they need to work on, but also encouraging them that they are doing a lot of good things already."

Sidloski said sponsorship monies also go to some of the top performers.

"We give out a lot of money and sponsorships at the end of the festival, so the adjudicator will make recommendations as to who should receive those, and we have some limitations in that you have to be a local person to win local scholarships," she explained. "We have scholarships in band piano, vocal and group. It's a great opportunity not only for the kids to get feedback, but also to work towards those scholarships."

The Stars of the Festival will be held on March 29th at Cugnet Centre.

"The adjudicator, in addition to making recommendations for the scholarships, will also make suggestions for performances, and then we put together a night of the stars, for 'the best of the best', and they perform that night."

Sidloski shared they couldn't make it all happen without their board.

"We have Brenda Milatz as secretary, Marcy Labbie is Treasurer and makes up the program and then we have Charith Alexander is the piano entry secretary, June Fletcher as band and vocal entry secretary, Holly Butz is doing our halls and property, Shelley Hippe does our hospitality, Charith Alexander and Kendra Gonczy put together the program, and then we have the Scholarship Committee of Mary Caldwell, Bobbie Bratrud, Twyla Molnar, Shawna Stewart, and Kim Wayne. Then we have piano conveners Leanne Van De Weyer, Brenda Milatz, Danica Milatz-Donnelly and Charith Alexander, our band convener is Jenn Cugnet and social media is Morgan Sidloski, so we have a very lovely, lovely group to work with."

The last of the instrumental classes are underway today. Find all the details about sponsorships HERE.

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