The city’s best and brightest young artists in musical theatre, drama, vocal and instrumental performance compete at the 79th annual Calgary Kiwanis Festival from March 1 - 20.
As one of North America's largest amateur competitive classical music festivals, the Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival showcases almost 12,000 amateur performers from 5 to 25 years of age. The festival gives up-and-coming artists the opportunity to perform and compete for scholarships in 1,005 classes in 16 categories including piano, speech, choirs, musical theatre and, for the first time, harp.
 
Daily sessions are open to the public at no charge. Four additional concerts highlight some of the most outstanding performances in Musical Theatre, European Masters classes and Speech Performance.
 
The Stars of the Festival concert on March 20 highlights some of the festival’s most outstanding performers in a final showcase and concludes with the presentation of the prestigious Rose Bowl. The Registered Speech Teachers Association of Alberta joins the Calgary Kiwanis Festival to present their most promising young speech and drama performers on March 19 in the Outstanding Speech Performers Showcase. On March 13 in the Musical Theatre Showcase, select students perform selections from popular Broadway classics in addition to new works.
 
Throughout the year, festival participants also have the opportunity to share their love of music with the community, performing at a number of events around the city. In addition, the Peer Performance Project brings music students into schools to share their passion for music with their peers.
 
“The Festival offers something for everyone. Our participants are of all ages and skill levels. It’s a wonderful opportunity for those who love the arts to perform in front of an internationally recognized panel of adjudicators and a very enthusiastic audience," says Mary Ross, Executive Director of the festival.
 
For more information and a full events calendar, visit CalgaryKiwanisFestival.ca.
 
Read the full press release.