“Mom would be washing clothes and I used to hear music coming out of that machine.”
That’s how Vic Lewis described the beginnings of a passion for music that lasted a lifetime and inspired the music festival named in his honour that will celebrate its 18th year this weekend.
In all, 32 concert bands, wind ensembles and jazz bands from across Alberta, featuring more than 900 young musicians, will converge on Canmore Nov. 1-3 to participate in a non-competitive weekend of music instruction, collaboration and lively performance.
“The Vic, as it has become known, has become extremely popular on the calendar of music students across the province,” said Tracey Wilkins, producer of the event. “The non-competitive nature of the festival allows these young musicians the chance to relax and focus on the learning experience and the pure joy of music.”
That learning experience comes with hands-on instruction and the impressive musical experience of top music instructors from around North America.
This year, The Vic Lewis Band Festival welcomes Dr. Mark Hopkins, Dale Lonis, John Daversa and Al Kay as guest directors.
The public is welcome and encouraged to sit in on performances, which all take place at Canmore Collegiate High School and the Canmore Recreation Centre from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be faculty recitals on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. in the theatre at the high school. Concert band clinicians perform on Saturday and jazz clinicians perform on Sunday. The festival schedule can be found at www.mountainartsfoundation.com.
The Canadian Mountain Arts Foundation named the festival for Vic Lewis, a Canmore pioneer who introduced band music to Bow Valley students in the 1940s and who taught them for more than 20 years.
Lewis passed away just a few days after the close of the 1999 festival. The festival opens with a special concert on Nov. 1 for all students involved.
This year, organizers welcome Montuno West, a latin-jazz ensemble that will leave spectators dancing in their seats. As the Friday night concert is popular with kids, organizers asked the band to perform a concert for members of the community on the Saturday night at Cornerstone Theatre (8 p.m.) so they can experience what the kids do at the festival. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door..
