January 2012

We hope you had a happy Christmas along with a bit of R&R before going back to your schools.  Christmas concerts are a lot of work for everyone, but I can think of no better way to get into the Christmas spirit! 

All the concert band spots are filled, even with opening up Monday, May 14 to concert bands only.  We have started a waiting list for concert bands.  There are a limited number of vacancies for jazz bands and choirs.  Check the schedule for availability.  We always bring in jazz band and vocal jazz specialists, so please consider bringing your budding musicians to Moose Jaw.  Obviously we are filling a niche for our music educators and their students.  It is exciting for us to play a part in promoting music performance and appreciation!

We hope you are keeping an eye on our website for news and new information.  All our clinicians have been hired and that information is now posted.

Once again we will present five dynamite Night Shows for you.  “Command Brass”, the brass quintet from the Royal Canadian Air Force Band (formerly Air Command Band) will perform Monday (one show) and Tuesday (two shows).  “soulwhite”, a group of talented local musicians consisting of Cameron Church, Sharon Church and Darius Wilson, will show their stuff for two shows Wednesday.

PLEASE NOTE:
Directors are being asked to number every bar of the score handed in to the clinicians.   

Thank you to all of our out-of-town directors who completed our survey after the 2011 Festival.  Half of our 36 out-of-town directors responded, telling us that they left $665,000 in Moose Jaw during those four days in May!  Extrapolate that to include the other 50% and you can see this event is a big boost to Moose Jaw tourism and economy.  As you can imagine, this bodes well when we apply for grants.  Thank you for your time and information.

We are looking forward to seeing you in May!  In the meantime, have a Happy New Year!!

Sharon Penner
Moose Jaw Band and Choral Festival