2020 Program Final Colour28

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BRANDON FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS by R.W. Brockway (revised 2020)
The Western Manitoba Schools Music Competition Festival of June 8 and 9, 1928,
initiated by the Brandon School Board, marked the beginning of Brandon Festival
of the Arts. Thirty-two choirs, fifty-eight soloists and fifteen duets were featured.
In 1929, the Western Manitoba Musical Festival for adults and church choirs was
started by the Rotary Club and in 1930, these two Festivals were amalgamated,
and classes for piano and orchestra were added. The festival idea caught on, and
during the hard times of the 1930s, more than 2,000 contestants performed to a
total audience of 4,500. In 1931, thirty-six communities as well as Brandon sent
participants to the Festival, which now included orchestra and string classes. In
1933, Brandon’s Festival was affiliated with the British Federation Musical Competition
Festivals, so that one British adjudicator judged all of the classes every year.
Throughout most of the 1930s, the Festival thrived but, by 1940, with World War II
preoccupations looming ever larger, entries and classes both declined. Though the
School Board and Rotary Club decided to continue the festival after the 1941
event, no Festival was held again until 1948. The renewed Festival, organized as a
result of a public meeting called by the Rotary Club, included piano, vocal, instrumental,
choral, and band classes, and later, speech arts and folk dancing. By 1966,
there were so many entries that the Festival was divided into two sections, one for
music and one for speech arts and dance. In Canada’s Centennial Year, 1967, there
was also an evening of one-act plays and in 1968, a final Concert was reintroduced.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, the Festival suffered from not only financial reverses,
but controversy. The old question as to whether the Festival should
encourage competition or participation just for pleasure surfaced once again. As
an experiment, all classes were made non-competitive in 1971. In addition, in order
to counter charges that the Festival had become too “stuffy,” classes were
added for folk and rock groups, and folk song solos with guitar accompaniment.
Popular response indicated that a majority favored competitive classes, so a mixed
format of competitive and non-competitive options was adopted in 1972. That
year also saw the introduction of the National Festival of Music by the Federation
of Canadian Music Festivals, and the first Manitoba Highlights Concert. New categories
of classes continued to be added throughout the 1970s, some to endure,
like ballet, and others to be dropped as interest faded. In 1978, the growing diversity
of classes was recognized in the new name, Brandon Festival of the Arts, Inc.,
adopted that year.
The 1980s were good years. In 1982, the first Provincial Syllabus was published in
which all classes were made potentially competitive or non-competitive according to
the wishes of the entrants. Among other new classes, some for senior citizens were
included. Contestants in the Brandon Festival of the Arts continued to be drawn from
all ages, from all over Manitoba and even Saskatchewan. As in the past, some young
artists achieved international fame, having gone from Provincial triumphs to national.
In 1987 the Diamond Jubilee of the Brandon Festival was celebrated with a special
Concert, “Six Decades of Festival Highlights,” featuring many prominent guests, and
also a commemorative booklet from which this short history was taken. In that year,
there were 1,825 entries in seventeen disciplines. The Festival lasted twenty-four days
that year.
Unfortunately, 1987 also saw the introduction of the ban on the use of photocopies
by performers in compliance with copyright law, which severely decreased entries in
classes such as band, choir, and orchestra in subsequent years. This disaster was
followed by the cutbacks of the 1990s, which have resulted in the loss of much public
funding at all festival levels, and increasing difficulty getting volunteers. Nevertheless,
despite setbacks, highly dedicated workers and enthusiastic entrants continued to
make Brandon Festival of the Arts a lively event each year and a significant contribution
to the cultural life of Western Manitoba, despite a growing need for more
volunteer help, both on the committee and during the Festival.
Space does not allow naming the many dedicated volunteers who have contributed to
the ongoing success of Brandon Festival of the Arts. Nor can the many performers
who have gone on from Festival participation to make a significant contribution to the
arts be mentioned. Those interested in a detailed history of the early years of the
Festival are referred to “On the Road to Excellence,” the 1987 Centennial publication
of Brandon Festival of the Arts.
~ ~ ~
In 2020, Brandon Festival of the Arts continues to thrive, with over 1,300 entries and
over 3,600 performers. Thanks to its many volunteers, patrons and sponsors, Brandon
Festival of the Arts, Inc. is able to host a month-long event in February and March
each year, drawing performers from many communities in southwestern Manitoba. It
continues to provide a valuable opportunity for entrants of all ages to develop their
skills and receive feedback from nationally recognized adjudicators.
10