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Imagine you’re up on stage in front of a crowd of people, about to play a piece of music for an adjudicator who will give you feedback on your performance.
Understandably, you might be both excited and nervous.
This is what it’s like for the hundreds of participants of the Greater Moncton Music Festival.
Alice Campbell, 13, is playing clarinet at the festival for the second time, and although she enjoys the festival, she said being up on the stage can be nerve-wracking.
“I get a little nervous, except it’s nice after working so hard to play for other people to hear you,” Alice says.“(When you) hear them applaud at the end, then you know they enjoyed it.”
It can also be an anxious time for the parents watching.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but it also makes me very proud,” said Alice’s mother, Adriana.“She does work hard, so it’s nice to see the results of that.”
Alice has been playing clarinet for almost four years and said she just loves music.
“I find it’s really fun because there (are) all the different fingerings,” she said. “It’s fun to play fast, but then it’s also fun to play slow because the tone is really nice and sweet, so it’s nice to listen to.”
She started playing the clarinet when she first joined the New Brunswick Sistema program.
Sistema originated in Venezuela and was brought to New Brunswick in 2009. It currently has four centres in the province, with the largest being in Moncton with 260 students.Forty of those students are taking part in the festival this year.
The program allows students to work on their music for three hours a day, five days a week.
Sistema New Brunswick music director Antonio Delgado and president Ken MacLeod were both in attendance at the Highfield United Baptist Church last Wednesday to see Alice play.
Antonio said the festival allows students to get involved in a different way than they do with the Sistema.
“This is a different kind of experience to what we provide. We provide an orchestral experience, that’s why we encourage them to participate in this program.”
Students work one-on-one with a teacher to prepare for the festival. This provides an extra element to the students’ development, Ken said.
“This is an additional challenge. They work with their teacher (on) their special piece and I think for the teacher and for the musician it’s very exciting. It’s a good way to demonstrate their achievements that they’ve been working on all year.”
Music teacher Karin Aurell teaches at Université de Moncton and at Mount Allison University, so she doesn’t teach a lot of private lessons. For those she does teach, however, she encourages them to come to the festival.
“For the competitive students, it’s the most important thing,”she said.“I have students who practise because of (the) festival.”
She also teaches a flute choir and said she taught a festival class to show the students what it is like.
“I’m hoping for next year that many more (students participate). Now they’ve all seen what it’s like and they’ve had the experience of having an adjudicator. It’s a good experience.”
Karin said the quality of the adjudicator makes a big difference in the impact on the students.
“We’ve got a fantastic adjudicator this year. He (Jonathan Dagenais) is amazing.
“(It’s) very rewarding (for the students) when the comments are relevant, which they certainly are this year. I really enjoy it.”
The festival continues until April 17, and the gala concerts take place on April 27.
