Music festival showcases talent North Durham and beyond

Justyne Edgell, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Young musicians get to show off their musical talents beginning this week at the 64th Sunderland Lions Music Festival.

LJI reporter Justyne Edgell receives a trophy at the “Stars of the Festival” concert in the early 2000’s. Left, voice teacher Jennifer Neveu-Campsall and then festival chair Jim Ferguson. Submitted by Dale St. John

The festival provides an opportunity for “countless numbers of aspiring young musicians to perform publicly before highly qualified adjudicators,” according to the festival’s website.

Welcoming classically trained musicians and teachers from the Townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge in the Region of Durham, the former Townships of Eldon and Mariposa in the City of Kawartha Lakes, and the Pefferlaw and Sutton areas in the Town of Georgina in the Region of York, the Sunderland Lions Music Festival has entries in piano, solo instrumental and strings, band, voice solo and choral.

Former chair of the Sunderland Music Festival and longtime organizer, Dale St. John, says that while this is their second post-pandemic festival, they are still getting over its effects.

“We’ve had a big drop in the piano categories,” says St. John. “During the pandemic, many of our piano teachers retired so the students didn’t have that chance to start up again.”

St. John says that while some areas have suffered, he is pleased to see many strong entries in the elementary school categories this year.

“It great to have some returning adjudicators, as well as adding one of our own, Lyle Corrigan, a former teacher at Goodwood Public School,” says St. John.

Corrigan is a York University graduate, trained in classical trombone performance and music education. He also holds a Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University, an Honours Specialist in Music from the University of Toronto, and will be the primary instrumental adjudicator.

This year’s piano adjudicator is Helen Torney, who holds ARCT Diplomas in Piano Performance and in Piano Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Fellowship and Licentiate Diplomas from Trinity College of Music, London, England; an Honours Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia and an Associate Diploma in Clarinet Performance from the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music.

The voice categories will be adjudicated by Melody Thomas, who has an Honours Bachelor of Music from University of Toronto and an Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Along with the regular festival classes, the winners from each class are invited back to perform during the "Stars of the Festival." This best-of series of concerts run during the evenings of the third week of the festival, and it’s when participants receive their class awards, as well as additional special awards and trophies.

The festival says it’s proud to see second and third generations of participants returning each year, with many past contestants returning years later as parents and/or teachers.

“It is our hope that this tradition will continue and that we will endeavour to make the efforts of all of our participants a rewarding and educational experience,” says St. John.

This year’s festival is dedicated to the memory of Anne Link, a Beaverton area piano teacher who served as the festival’s piano selection committee chair for several years.

St. John adds that the organizing committee is always grateful for the community and volunteer support for the festival, from teachers bringing their students to the festival to the volunteers who prepare the daily lunches in the United Church Hall.

The Sunderland Lions Music Festival runs from April 3 to 19, 2024, with the Stars Of The Festival concerts April 23 to 25. For more, visit sunderlandlionsmusicfestival.com