Ordinarily held in spring, this year the Festival will happen in October to encourage students to take part. The Festival is held at the Freemason’s Hall in Boscombe between 1st -10th October and the Dance Festival will take place at Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne later in the month. Open to all ages, the Festival has various competitions for different ages as well as for adults. Entries must be in by 1st September.
Fascinatingly, it was actually the BSO’s founder, Sir Dan Godfrey who helped to set up and launch the first ever Bournemouth Music Competitions Festival. Ever passionate about all things musical, Sir Dan together with Mr Hamilton Law — and supported by a local town meeting — launched the first festival in the Winter Gardens in July 1927. It was a real success: 700 people from all parts of the country took part that year. Since then the Festival has grown and developed until present day (only being interrupted for a few years during the Second World War and last year during the pandemic).
The Festival aims to: encourage the development of music, dance, speech and drama; provide a platform for public performance; provide assessments by professional adjudicators and preserve cultural heritage. Encompassing various prizes for dance, music, speech and drama there is also a BSO Instrumental prize.
With such a wide and varied selection of competitions, this Festival is well worth looking at if you’d like to develop your talents, brush up on public performance skills and be in with a chance of winning some great prizes!
To view the festival website see here
To view the festival brochure see here