2025 Festivals
Edmonton: April 13-16
Whistler: April 24-27
2025 Cantando Festival Information
We had two great festivals in 2024 with fantastic participants, outstanding adjudicators, inspiring guest artists and clinicians, and world class venues including the Winspear Centre in Edmonton and. . . . well, the mountains of Whistler.
2025 dates are indicated above for both festivals with Edmonton continuing to start on Sunday morning, April 13th at the Winspear and continuing through to Wednesday, April 16 th . Whistler will open with concert bands on Thursday, April 24 and continue through Friday and Saturday while choirs and jazz bands start their performances on Friday and continue Saturday.
I am always overjoyed to see the reaction of students at the final events of our festivals. As a non-competitive festival, we have no winner and losers, only participants that leave the festival inspired to come again at a higher level and with motivation to do so throughout the year. We regularly get well over 80% returning schools to our festival and many come on an annual basis. While our festivals are not inexpensive, most other festivals don’t hire world class performing groups, internationally renowned adjudicators, the best venues available with extended workshop times and clinics for both students and directors as well as 3 or 4 days of musical activities. Come to our festival and all of your students will leave walking on air.
ALL FESTIVALS FEATURE
Instrumental workshops, Mass Choir rehearsals and concerts, 50 minute workshops following performances and much more.
Past guest artists have featured world class artists like Jim Walker (principal flute, LA Phil), Eddie Daniels – renowned jazz and classical clarinetist, Fred Hemke – classical saxophonist, Allan Vizzutti – trumpet soloist par excellence, Jeff Nelson – hornist with the Canadian Brass, Grant MacEwan faculty big band – a pro ensemble, jazz ensembles, orchestras and wind ensembles from most western Canadian Universities, choirs from around the world including Rajaton, New York Voices and the University of Pretoria Youth Choir. These performances are the highlight of our festivals and the reason students leave feeling excited and enthused about music. We’ll keep you updated with all the amazing talent we bring to Cantando festivals as we get schedules finalized. We have booked Jens Lindemann, Canada’s greatest trumpet soloist, to perform a new commissioned work by Johann de Meij in 2025, and are working on bringing other world class participants.
A couple of other major changes are continuing – BOTH OF OUR FESTIVALS are open to any travel agency you wish to contact. Recommended Travel Agencies can be found on our contact page. Cantando music festival fees will be collected prior to the festival with a $500 deposit required upon fall registration, $1000 before December 15 and the remainder by February 15th. Fees can be paid with cheques or electronic transfer (see our fees page under each festival).
Travel, accommodation, meals, etc. can be taken care of by anyone or agency you choose. In some cases, we can schedule groups to attend with only one evening stay but suggest a two night minimum (with many groups electing to stay 3 or more) to take advantage of all we offer. In a few isolated cases, we can schedule groups to perform and take advantage of workshops without an overnight stay.
ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL NEED TO REGISTER ON OUR WEBSITE
You can choose your performance and workshop times to better fit your schedule and it makes schools with many ensembles a breeze to register. Festival fees are listed on our website. With the options mentioned above, we feel that schools can now get great value for the services they require.
If you aren’t on our email list, send me a note and we’ll add you to it – we send regular emails to all possible participants and along with our website, you will get lots of information on a regular basis. Just shoot me an email at dprime@cantando.org
Have an enjoyable summer and good luck with the upcoming school year, and I look forward to hearing your ensembles at one (or both) of our festivals.
Dr. Dennis Prime
Director
Canadian Cantando Festivals
Registration for both festivals will be open in early July so keep an eye on this website.
Our Story
Below are typical responses by participants and guest artists as well:
- James Walker, Guest soloist
"Cantando Festivals are an amazing musical oasis for the young musicians of North America. Being able to perform for these students is always unforgettable exciting and regenerating!"
-Dr. Rob Taylor, UBC Conductor
"I want to thank you for inviting the UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble to perform at this year’s Whistler Festival. It was really a joy to perform for such and large and enthusiastic audience, and I know my students appreciated the opportunity to “pay it forward” by creating as much excitement among the young musicians as they could muster!"
"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
- Colin Clarke, Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra
"Cantando sets a new standard for music festivals. My musicians loved every minute of it!"
- Heidi Wood, Lord Beaverbrook Choir
"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!"
"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
- Anita Anton, Cardinal Carter Catholic Toronto
"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😊"
- Jeff Smith, Artistic Director, M-pact
"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!"
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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