Making The Most Of Your Whistler Cantando Experience

Make The Most
Of Your Whistler Cantando Experience

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

We often get asked how to make the most of the Whistler 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):
    • 8:00 – 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.
    • 8:20 – Ensemble 1 Warmup
    • 8:40 – Ensemble 1 Performance
    • 9:00 – Exit stage
    • 9:00-9:50 – Ensemble 1 Workshop
    • 10:00 – Back to the main hall
      • Gather Ensemble 2
      • Get Ensemble 1 settled in the hall.
    • 10:20 – Ensemble 2 Warmup
    • 10:40 – Ensemble 2 Performance
    • 11:00-11:50 – Ensemble 2 Workshop
    • **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. Instrumental Clinics happen hourly on Friday and Saturday. The schedule will be released in the spring.
  3. There are two Student Socials on Thursday evening – an early one for the younger participants and a later one for the older participants. It is a good time and a great place to reconnect with old friends. You can register for it in your Whistler Clinics & Concerts button on the Director Dashboard.
  4. There are two concerts in the Sea to Sky ballroom on Friday and two concerts in the Sea to Sky ballroom on Saturday – including the famed Mass Choir Concert on Saturday. The first concert is at 7:00. The second concert is at 8:30.
    • Register for them (this is covered by your fees) using the Whistler Clinics & Concerts button in your schedule on the Director Dashboard.
    • You will receive notification if additional concerts are planned.
  5. 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.