Amateur student musicians are gearing up to send in their submissions for the 63rd annual Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival.
Registration for the event is now closed and entries must be submitted virtually by April 18. Closer to the end of April, the adjudicators will review video submissions and a certificate will be sent back to the participant to congratulate them on their entry.
Amanda Stanton, artistic director for the Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival, says adjusting to a virtual platform for the festival the past two years has been a challenge for both musicians and event organizers.
“Last year we made the decision pretty early on to go virtual, and we were one of the first festivals to do so in 2020,” Stanton said.
“It was an OK experience last year having to pivot given the situation we were in, but we were still very hopeful at that time that we would be back in person for 2021," she said.
Musicians and organizers are disappointed to be back in the same situation as last year; they would much rather be on stage performing for adjudicators, rather than performing virtually.
“It’s been disappointing that we can’t offer our in-person experience because we offer our festival in a very special way, it’s a positive and uplifting event for musicians in the Orillia area,” Stanton said
“To have that piece missing is disappointing, but we are doing everything we can to offer a similar experience virtually as best as we can.”
One of the biggest challenges for local musicians has been being away from the music classroom during the pandemic.
“A lot of students who would typically be taking music lessons are not doing so right now given the lockdowns and the requirements for music teachers. It’s near impossible to do music lessons such as vocal because a choir can’t gather together and sing together right now,” Stanton explained.
Last year, more than 300 local amateur musicians participated in the festival, but this year Stanton expects a slight decline due to pandemic-related reasons.
While the festival is much different from what it was before the pandemic, Stanton says it’s important the event continues on for various reasons.
“Our hope is to go back to an in-person experience as soon as possible, so we want to make sure our committee stays active in the community and we continue to remind the community why music is so important and all the benefits it offers to people of all ages,” she said.
“We can provide world-class feedback with the adjudicators we bring in; we are still offering that even though it’s a virtual festival," Stanton explained. "We offer ways to improve and we give recognition with an award for each participant. We also offer scholarships after the festival wraps up.”
The festival's committee has worked tirelessly again this year to make sure the event is a success for the community and the musicians who participate.
“The festival committee is a small but mighty group, and we all volunteer our time to make sure this event is a success,” Stanton said.
“We work really hard to provide a positive, uplifting musical experience and we look forward to seeing everybody back in person once it’s safe to do so.”
The public can watch select performances on the Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival Facebook page. For more information on the event, click here.
The Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival has been one of the Orillia Kiwanis Club's major community projects for over 60 years. While supported annually by the Kiwanis Club, the festival is only possible thanks to donations from the community and provincial grants that help promising young musicians with funding for their music studies.
If interested in donating, or volunteering, people are encouraged to email the Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival at info@
