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Minot State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts will host more than 600 regional high school music students during the 46th annual Northwest Festival of Music Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2.
The Northwest Festival of Music utilizes multiple rooms and stages on the MSU campus, including performances at Ann Nicole Nelson Hall.
This year, Dr. Elliott Smith from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities leads an all-star cast of conductors that includes Minot State’s Dr. David Rolandson and Dr. Emerson Eads, along with guest conductors James McMahon and Darcy Brandenburg.
“The Northwest Festival of Music is one of our signature events in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts each year,” said Rolandson, chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and professor of music at Minot State. “It is such an incredible honor to welcome so many dedicated, hard-working, and talented high school musicians to our campus for two days of music making. It is truly amazing to witness the students’ musical growth over the two-day event.”
The audition-only event features high school students performing in both band and choir rehearsals throughout the day on Friday and Saturday morning. The featured events are Saturday afternoon with the NW Festival Bands Concert scheduled for 1:30 p.m., and the Northwest Festival Choirs Concert at 3:30 p.m. in Ann Nicole Nelson Hall. Admission is $5 per person for each concert and $8 per person if attending both. Music teachers receive free admission with their school’s name badge.
There will be an MSU Showcase Concert at Ann Nicole Nelson Hall on Friday at 3:30 p.m., featuring current MSU students. This event is free and open to the public, although space will be limited.
Smith is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he earned degrees in piano and conducting. He earned a doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. He will serve as the concert choir’s conductor.
“Elliott Smith is not only an outstanding musician but also a dear friend,” said Eads, MSU assistant professor of music and director of choral activities. “He has worked with some of the finest choral directors in the world. As both a pianist and choral conductor, he inspires everyone he leads, whether they are professionals or students. His deep passion for music is contagious, and I can’t wait for the Northwest singers to experience the joy of making music with him.”
Rolandson will serve as the concert band conductor, while Brandenburg, band director at Davies High School in Fargo, will conduct the symphonic band.
“The two Northwest Festival bands represent many of the finest high school woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians in North Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Both bands are comprised of approximately 90 student musicians and represent only 55% of the total number of students who auditioned to participate in the bands,” Rolandson said.
Eads is leading the cantabile choir with McMahon, a 20-year educator who teaches sixth-eighth grade choir and the extra-curricular Simle Singers and Swing Choir at Simle Middle School in Bismarck, conducting the nova choir.
“This marks my seventh Northwest Festival of Music at Minot State University, and what I love most about it is how schools from across the tri-state area come together to lift their voices in song,” Eads said. “It’s particularly rewarding to follow students from their first auditions to their senior year, witnessing the incredible foundation their music teachers lay for a lifetime of singing.
“I’m thrilled that James McMahon will be conducting the Nova group. He was honored as the ‘Outstanding Young Choral Director’ by the North Dakota American Choral Directors Association in 2008, and he continues to make a significant impact in Bismarck,” Eads said.
All participants in the festival auditioned earlier in the semester and were handpicked to participate in the prestigious event. Along with rehearsals and live performances, participants have the opportunity to audition for Minot State University scholarships for students majoring and minoring in music.
“We have an incredible music program at MSU and provide generous scholarships to students who want to continue making music in college,” Rolandson added. “Our largest scholarships are reserved for students who audition as music majors and minors, but we also award scholarships to students who simply want to participate in one or more of our large ensembles while majoring in any of the exceptional degree programs offered at MSU.”
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