Venues

• Concert bands will perform in the Winspear Centre for Music.
• Concert band workshops will be in the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre and the Knox Evangelical Church.

Scheduling

Performances

• Concert bands playing at a Gr. 1-3 level have 20 minute performance slots.
  • Please show up in enough time to check in, get your instruments out, and get to your warmup space.
  • You will have a 20 minute warmup before your performance.
  • Warmups take place in the Founders’ room or the rehearsal room downstairs in the Winspear.
    • Wait to be escorted. Please do not take yourselves to the warmup. It causes confusion and delays when our staff cannot find their assigned ensembles.
• Concert bands playing at a Gr. 4-6 level have 30 minute performance slots.
  • Please show up in enough time to check in, get your instruments out, and get to your warmup space.
  • Most Gr. 4-6 concert bands will have a 30 minute warm up. Those choosing the 11AM and 4PM slots will have 20 minutes as they are following the 20 minute Gr. 1-3 concert band slots.
  • Warmups take place in the Founders’ room or the rehearsal room downstairs in the Winspear.
    • Wait to be escorted. Please do not take yourselves to the warmup. It causes confusion and delays when our staff cannot find their assigned ensembles.

General Concert Etiquette

• “Early is on time. On time is late!” – Dr. William Revelli
  • Sometimes there are delays – we get it. It happens.
    • If you are delayed, please call Kelsey at 780-884-4338.
• Warmups:
  • This is a warmup, not a rehearsal.
  • If you are late, you will not get your full warmup time. The performance starts on time (or as near to them as we can get).
  • A few minutes of your warmup time is for getting organized and getting to the stage. Larger ensembles need more time to travel. You should be waiting at the stage entrance a few minutes before your performance slot.
  • When Cantando Staff say it’s time to go, it’s time to go.
• Your Performances:
  • Please have your ensemble line up in order with percussion leading the charge. You are entering from stage right. (Right side of the stage from the performer’s point of view.)
  • Plan your music appropriately. Your performance slot includes equipment setup/teardown time as well as getting off the stage.

Workshops

• Workshops are 50 minutes and happen the day AFTER your performance. There are no Gr. 1-3 or Gr. 4-6 slots. All the workshop slots are available to everyone.
• There are three (3) locations for workshops. We use the two rehearsal rooms in the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre (OSPAC A and OSPAC B). We also use the gym in the Knox Evangelical Church.
  • When deciding who goes where, if there are 3 ensembles having workshops at the same time, the largest is assigned to Knox, second largest is assigned to OSPAC A, and the smallest to OSPAC B. If there are only 2, we try to use just OSPAC A and OSPAC B. However, if an ensemble is exceedingly large, they are assigned to Knox.
  • Additionally, if a school brings multiple ensembles and stacks the workshops one after the other (10AM, 11AM, etc.), we do our best to put them in either Knox or OSPAC A so their entire complement can unload their equipment.
    • This doesn’t always work, but we do try our best.
• Check the equipment list below. There is less equipment provided for workshops than for the performance stage. If you require instrumentation that is not on the list, you will need to bring it.
• A reminder for our directors – the workshops are for you. Your ensemble is just the vessel which our adjudicators use to teach. Please be present and participate.

Music

If you need some ideas for music, you can take a look at our list of Music Suggestions.

If you’d like to check out some music that has been performed at our festival in the past, check out Cantando Repository.

Instrumentation and Equipment

Instrumentation and Equipment List Provided by the Cantando Festival

• Ensembles are expected to provide their own instrumentation and equipment outside of the above linked list.
• Note that the list of instrumentation and equipment provided for the performance is NOT the same as what is provided for the workshop.
  • If you require equipment for the workshop that is in the performance venue, but not in the workshop, you will need to bring it with you.
• Cantando does not provide other instrumentation. Ensembles not wanting to travel with large instruments such as double basses can rent them from music local music stores or may be able to contact local schools.
  • Directors are responsible for instrument pick up and drop off.

Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre – Percussion Expectations

Scores

• You will need to bring 4 scores – 3 for the adjudicators and 1 for yourself.

Bring a Friend!

Do you have a concer band director friend who is looking for a festival this year? Log into the Director Dashboard and see how you can save some money on your final balance of fees!