THE 3rd Tumon Bay Music Festival will kick off this Thursday, March 1, with the start of the Choral Festival, a press release said.
The nine-day event was organized to commemorate 30 years of music from the Guam Territorial Band Society. It was 30 years ago in January that the then Guam Youth Band (also known as the Governor’s Youth Band) traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent Guam at President Carter’s inauguration parade.
This April, the Guam Territorial Band will be sending a 50-member band to represent Guam at the 5th New York Band and Orchestra Festival to be held in the world renowned Carnegie Hall. The Guam Territorial Band is a Gold Award winner of the 2005 Australian International Music Festival.
The 3rd Tumon Bay Music Festival features over 30 performing groups, over 800 performers, nine days of music of all types, and will be presented at various venues in Tumon.
The festival consists of adjudicated public concerts, workshops and clinics, a festival select choir, a festival select band, and award ceremonies.
The Festival Select Band and Choir will consist of 12 members from each participating school. They will meet for four days and undergo intense rehearsals and will present a public concert on March 9.
Returning for his third trip to Guam is Dr. Robert Halseth from the California State University, Sacramento. He will be one of the band/orchestra judges, and will lead the first Festival Select Band. GySgt Chris Carpenter will also be a band/orchestra judge and will be on island to audition interested individuals who would like to join the U.S. Marine Corps Band. Will Dewitt of the Saipan Pacific Winds will also join as a judge.
Randolph Stenson of St. Mary’s School in Tokyo will be the guest clinician and adjudicator for the Choral Festival. He will be joined by Drs. Cynthia Sajnovsky and Randall Johnson from the University of Guam. Johnson will lead this year’s Festival Select Choir.
The Rock and Jazz Festival Scheduled for March 4 promises to be a day of fun for all ages. The free event will be held at the Ypao Amphitheater from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be food, the warm sun, and Guam’s finest up-and-coming jazz and rock musicians.
• Choral Festival, March 1-3.
• Rock and Jazz Festival, March 4.
• Band and Orchestra Festival, March 5-7.
• Command Performances, March 8.
• Award ceremonies and closing concert, March 9.
For a complete list of performing groups, visit http://www.gtb-guam.org