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Eighty years later, a festival that has inspired generations of locals to display their musical talent keeps going strong.
Since last month, vocalists singing in both of Canada’s official languages have been competing against one another with pianists, school bands and other instrumentalists also participating under the watchful eye of professional adjudicators, who are all well respected in their specialized fields of music.
Over the years, Tim Dunlop has had a long association and extensive involvement with the Midland Y's Men's Music Festival, which fosters a love for music and provides a platform for artists to showcase their extraordinary talents.
“We bring in professional adjudicators,” says Dunlop, who is past president of the Midland Y Service Club.
Dunlop says the adjudicators also conduct workshops with those competing in specific divisions.
“We’ve tried different things,” Dunlop says of the various categories in which singers and instrumentalists can partake.
One of those experiments involved having artistic dance for one year, but that idea didn’t work out, according to Dunlop.
With a rich history and a commitment to promoting musical excellence, the festival has become a cornerstone event in the North Simcoe cultural calendar.
On Friday, the guitar portion of this year's festival takes centre stage at St. Paul’s United Church, beginning at 9 a.m.
The festival draws school bands and choirs along with soloists and instrumentalists from throughout the region, including Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny, Tay, Coldwater and Elmvale.
“I think it’s driven by our local music teachers along with parents,” Dunlop says when asked about the festival’s longevity.
“We have a number of kids who have gone on to study music at university.”
Pianist John Arpin continued his musical journey that included studying at The Royal Conservatory of Music after first appearing at the festival along with Ian Cusson, who is composer in residence with the Canadian Opera Company.
Festival director Victoria Warwick is also a former participant who went on to study music at university.
“It’s rather incredible because many of the other festivals have had to close,” Warwick says, adding they were worried about whether the festival would bounce back following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were met with great enthusiasm,” she says. “This is our third year after the pandemic.”
And this year, the response has been amazing, according to Warwick, who notes that they’ll likely have to increase a couple of disciplines next year because of high participation.
“It’s a good problem to have.”
Luke Jones performs at this year's festival. Photo courtesy Victoria Warwick
The festival is aided by eight corporate sponsors and a dedicated team of volunteers who ensure things run smoothly.
“We have a lot of private donors as well,” Warwick says, noting this year’s event attracted hundreds of participants aged five to 85.
“It’s a lot of organizing, but it’s very gratifying. We’re giving away $5,200 in scholarship money.”
This year’s festival culminates May 28 at St. Theresa’s Catholic High School with the Festival of Stars, which features some of the event’s best performances along with the distribution of scholarships to participants.
For more information on the festival, click here.
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