2019 Cantando Registrations is now open!
Check out all the 2019 dates below:
Edmonton – April 7-9, 2019
Sun Peaks – April 12-14, 2019
Whistler – Apr 25-28, 2019
Registration is available for all Music Teachers – choose your performance and workshop times early (especially large groups) so that other activities can be based around your musical adventures. Just click on the Festival that interests you and then the “Register” page. This site is constantly updated with information and schedule changes so be sure to refer to all aspects of each festival regularly.
Wow – we had a great season in 2018 with over 30 adjudicators, over 20 different venues, 3 western Canadian locations, over 7500 students and some of the best performing groups in Canada. Below are typical responses from past festival participants:
"Cantando sets a new standard for music festivals. My musicians loved every minute of it!"
- Colin Clarke, Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra
"We had a great tour! So much fun! Great adjudicators and opportunities for students at the festival with the mass choir, girls and boys voices clinics and great concerts to watch. Our students loved the opportunity to perform in the adjudicators choice concert!"
- Heidi Wood, Lord Beaverbrook Choir
"What a GREAT time we had at Cantando. I don’t know how it could have been better and thanks for giving us hot weather pool days. We had a great travel and festival schedule, we had a great hotel, we had great meals, we had great weather! I have never seen so many happy girls over a period of 4 days with no issues at all. The girls are glowing as we debrief and I will recommend that the Whistler Cantando be a continuing event and I will now retire with great memories from my time at CGS."
- Dr. Donald Christianson, Calgary Girls School
"This was our first time attending this festival. Having heard so many great things about the festival, we finally had a chance to try it out. I can’t say enough on how refreshing the experience was. The adjudicators were fantastic. The non-competitive nature of the festival was supported by every instructor and was embraced by all the students and teachers involved. Thank you for an amazing musical experience and learning opportunity for my music students... I highly recommend this festival - high marks for sure!"
- Kathy Fester, Heritage Woods Secondary School Port Moody, BC
"Thanks so much for such a fantastic trip. Of all the trips that I have taken my choir on, this was definitely the best. The hotel was a lot of fun, Whistler Village feels so safe, the scenery is memorable, the clinicians were excellent, the concerts were great, and the massed choir was such a positive experience. My students, and my parent chaperones, can't say enough good things. Thanks for all of your excellent communication in helping us organize this."
- Jean-Marie Michaud, Seattle Youth Choir and Eckstein Middle School Choir
"Just wanted to tell you how much we loved every moment of our trip. Your attention to detail is outstanding and we truly appreciate your work making this trip a lifelong memory for our students😊"
- Anita Anton, Cardinal Carter Catholic Toronto
"The Cantando Music Festival is a truly transformative experience in the educational and artistic development of young musicians. The combination of high caliber clinicians, adjudicators, and guest artists, along with the breath-taking backdrop of the festival locations themselves, are among the most impressive of any festival we've been a part of. We can't wait to work with them again!"
- Jeff Smith, Artistic Director, M-pact
WHAT'S NEW?
We are excited to announce that we have commissioned Allan Gilliland, Dean of Fine Arts at MacEwan University and a well-known composer, to write a piece for flutist Jim Walker. Jim has appeared at 2 previous Cantando festivals and was formerly principal flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is actively involved in the studio music scene in LA as well as with a variety of jazz groups there. Allan has written three very successful pieces for musicians that are well-versed in both classical and jazz styles including works for Jim Campbell, Jens Lindemann and PJ Perry. Jim will be accompanied in Edmonton and Whistler by the MacEwan University Faculty Big Band - a collection of some of western Canada's finest musicians (they previously appeared with clarinetist Eddie Daniels at our festivals). This should be a great experience - having Allan on site at these festivals discussing the creative process will be an inspiration to students and teachers alike and the opportunity to hear one of the world's great flutists will be awesome.
Past Adjudicators:
Elise Bradley ~ Jodi Proznick ~ Chee Meng Low ~ Erin Bodnar ~ Joel Gray ~ Essi Wourela ~ Robert Ambrose ~ Katy Luyk ~ Réjean Marois ~ Jerrold Dubyk ~ Dorothy Dyck ~ Christin Reardon-MacLellan ~ Andrew Withington ~ James Smart ~ Wendy Grasdahl ~ Shelley Jagow ~ Gillian Mackay ~ Fraser Linklater ~ Angela Schroeder ~ Larry Gookin ~ Don Owens ~ Mark Lane ~ Jacquie Dawson ~ Dean McNeill ~ Ray Baril ~ Fred Stride ~ Carrie Tennant ~ Scott Leithead ~ John Chalmers ~ Jennifer Lang ~ Gordon Brock ~ Robert Spittal ~ Elroy Friesen ~ Dinah Helgeson ~ Rob Taylor ~ Brad McDavid ~ Graeme Langager ~ Jennifer Moir ~ Dominic Gregorio ~ Frank Lee ~ Allison Girvan ...and more.
Past Guest Artists:
...and more!
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