Festival adjudicators work with students to bring out their best

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on March 25, 2023.

Herald photo by Ian Martens Adjudicator Karen Charlton demonstrates a vocal breathing technique while going over a singer's performance in one of the many Musical Theatre classes this week at the Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival.

The Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival is currently underway in the city. The festival will host more than 3,000 participants this year, with students in the arts performing on stage with live adjudication up until March 31.

Events encourage artistic growth with performance and adjudication, helping hone and cultivate a lifelong appreciation for the arts with that extra push to helping artists go further.

“It is bridging that gap between the professional world, what is going on in the actual world of art, and bringing it into the student atmosphere,” said Karen Charlton, adjudicator.

“We’re not only bringing our knowledge and expertise, but we are letting them know what is going on in the real world in real time. Even if it’s little things like bowing in classical music, for example, these things have changed immensely. Things like that, you are helping bridge the gap between the professional world and the student world.”

Though it may seem minor, when it’s competition time, everything is on the line.

To help prepare students for their future, adjudicators want to make sure they are competition ready.

“Some kids don’t always get an opportunity to perform, and that really makes or break you the more opportunities you have to perform. The more comfortable you get on the stage, it is only going to get better from there,” said Tina Hartt, adjudicator. “The opportunity at the Owl Lounge, these kids went up, they had an opportunity to sing with a band and get a real taste of what it was like.”

The festival helps showcase the hard work students have made in their craft, while also teaching them important lessons on how to grow.

“The festival used to be a very exam-like atmosphere, and now we are more into the festival type of atmosphere. There is always a competitive aspect because it’s human native. But we don’t focus on marks and placements. We focus on the learning and the inspiration and the growth. I think the most important things as an adjudicator is that we are encouraging that the only person you are competing with is yourself. You are only outdoing yourself each year in your own personal achievement,” said Charlton.

Working with students, the adjudicators are able to see them open themselves up more and gain confidence while performing.

“In my adjudication that I did, I noticed a lot of students were standing there, and it was more of a classical approach. I’m a performer, you need to perform,” said Hartt.

“If the goal is to get on stage and do stuff in front of people, then we need to address this. So the kids followed me and I saw them loosen up, I was encouraging a lot more of a performer approach to that environment.”

With the first week wrapping up, the festival will resume Monday with classical voice and junior piano. A full list of events is available online at lethmsf.org/, with plenty of opportunities to check out up-and-coming artists from southern Alberta.