Making The Most Of Your Edmonton Cantando Experience

Make The Most
Of Your Edmonton Cantando Experience

In addition to the information on this page, make sure you check out the Frequently Asked Questions page for the Edmonton Festival.

We often get asked how to make the most of the Edmonton Cantando Festival with regards to effective planning, so here are our favourite tips and tricks:

  1. For your performance as a single director, if you are trying to stack your performances, make sure you plan an hour in between to get your ensemble off stage and settled. Then you have time to get to your next performance. For example (choirs work the same way, just with fewer instruments):
    • 9:00 – Arrive,
      • Check in
      • Be shown where to put ALL instrument cases, jackets, book bags, etc.
      • Take instruments out for Ensemble 1 but ABSOLUTELY DO NOT BLOW INTO THEM…
      • Get Ensemble 2 settled in the hall.
    • 9:20 – Ensemble 1 Warmup
    • 9:40 – Ensemble 1 Performance
    • 10:00 – Exit stage
      • Get Ensemble 1 instruments back in their cases.
      • Ensemble 2 should be gathering, getting instruments out, ABSOLUTELY NOT BLOWING INTO THEM…
    • 10:20 – Ensemble 2 Warmup
    • 10:40 – Ensemble 2 Performance
    • 11:00 – Exit stage
    • **Make sure you account for travel time when planning your pieces. You must travel to the performance venue during your warmup and you must be off the stage for the next ensemble to entering at their start time. A few minutes cushion is always wise.
  2. For your concert band workshops, instrumental clinics, and jazz band performances, there are a number of ways to effectively stack your time. It looks very full, but in reality, it is not as full as it seems. For example (not related to the above example):
    • 9:00 – Concert band workshop
      • Directors MUST go to the workshop. The ensemble is largely not for your students. It is for you to lead them. Be engaged. Our adjudicators are excited to work with you.
    • 10:00 – Woodwind/Double Bass instrumental clinics
      • There is enough time to get from your workshop to the clinics. They are easy walking distance.
      • Brass and percussion go find snacks.
    • 11:00 – Brass/Percussion instrumental clinics
      • Woodwinds and Double Basses go find snacks.
    • 12:00 – String instrumental clinics (if you have strings), otherwise you’re done!
    • If you have a jazz band, add them at 8:00 or 1:00. The Yardbird Suite (jazz band venue) is within easy walking distance of the other venues.
    • If you choose the coveted 8:00 workshop, and you arrive early because you want extra time to warm up, We arrive at 7:30. If the rooms require some setting up or adjustment, we don’t mind if you want to assist. No one sets up band rooms faster than band students. Otherwise, please wait patiently until 7:50 while we get the spaces set for the day.
  3. There are concerts Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Tuesday is the famed Mass Choir Concert.
    • We recommend attending all of them.
    • Register for them (this is covered by your fees) using the Edmonton Clinics & Concerts.
    • There are TWO concerts on Monday night. One is at 7:00 and the second is at 8:30.
  4. Be an audience member! No one likes to perform for an empty church or concert hall. If you have time, please consider sticking around and listening to some other ensembles play.
    • Previous directors have created adjudication assignments for their ensembles for later assessment and discussion.