The north committee of the T&T Music Festival Association is hosting the Youth Festival for Secondary School aged students at Queens Hall from March 10 to 15.
A similar festival is also being held by the Association's south committee. These events follow one hosted by the Tobago committee in 2014, and are meant to bridge the gap created by the absence of the biennial T&T Music Festival from the 2014 cultural calendar.
A release from the committee said, "young people who missed the T&T Music Festival in 2012, and who may graduate before the next one carded for 2016, will now have the opportunity to experience the joy and excitement of preparing, presenting and competing with their peers, and having their performances appraised and rewarded by professionals and enjoyed by other students and members of the public."
The release also said the recently established north committee has worked hard to ensure the number of classes of competition offered was manageable within the time frame available to stage the event. They also want to provide enough choice to secure wide participation by young people.
There will be presentations in the vocal solo, duet and trio classes; secondary school choir classes; piano, violin and recorder classes; and steelpan solo and ensemble classes, which will be well produced and of high calibre, providing a satisfying, interim mini festival experience leading up to the full national festival in 2016.
The five-day programme which runs every day from 10 am - 3 pm will be adjudicated by conductor, composer and educator, Dr Roger Henry, who is currently serving as Programme Leader for the BFA in the Performing Arts (Music) degree at UTT.
The committee hopes this regional festival will rekindle public interest in the larger national festival, which has been part of T&T's cultural heritage for nearly 70 years.
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Certificates and adjudicator awards will be presented to winners in the following categories:
Best vocal solo (female), best vocal solo (male), best steel pan solo, best recorder solo, best vocal ensemble (boys or girls), best secondary school choir (upper voices), best secondary school choir (lower voices), best secondary school folk song choir, and best secondary school band.
Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students in uniform.
For information email ttmfa.north@gmail.com or call
622-8062.