Violinist James Clarke has performed a couple of times already in the Kootenay Festival of the Arts this year, and he was about do so again when the Star spoke to him on Wednesday.
“I felt like the judges are really understanding and they don’t point out all the failures you did. They point out the best things, so it is a good contrast,” he said.
At the festival, which has run in Nelson and Trail since 1930, young pianists, string players, woodwind players, choral singers and dancers have spent months preparing pieces to be performed for festival adjudicators who give them feedback and guidance. Students who are especially proficient continue to a provincial competition.
Local violinist Wendy Herbison played in her first Kootenay Music Festival in 1953, and has long been one of the festival organizers.
“I find it is a great incentive for the students, that is what I enjoy about it,” she said. “They work really hard to prepare, they learn a lot in preparation and they learn a lot from the adjudicators. They get inspired by listening to each other. I believe it’s a great thing for the teachers, the students and the community.”