Period Festivals

Please note the dates of the following 2009-2010 Period Festivals. Registration information for each festival will be posted as it becomes available.

Classical Festival: Nov. 6-8, 2009. If needed, an additional day will be added on Nov. 14. Registration for the Classical Festival is now open.  The deadline has been extended to Wednesday, October 7.  To download registration instructions and forms, click here.

Baroque Festival (non-competitive): Feb. 5-7, 2010. Registration for the Baroque Festival is now open.  To download registration instructions and forms, click here.

Romantic Festival: April 16-18, 2010. If needed, an additional day will be added on April 24.  The deadline for registering is Friday, March 19.  To download registration instructions and forms, click here.

Each year, students of OMTA Portland teachers have the opportunity to perform in three period music festivals: the Baroque Festival, the Classical Festival, and the Romantic Festival. Students entered in each festival perform a piece composed in the musical period represented by the festival’s name. For example, students registered for the Romantic Festival perform music composed during the Romantic Period of music.

OMTA Portland festivals are open to students age 5 through 18. Each student may enter in a competitive and/or a non-competitive capacity, depending on that particular festivals rules. Participants perform or compete within their own age group. Each age group is adjudicated by a master instructor/adjudicator, who provides each student with a written critique of his performance as well as a certificate of participation. Competitive students who give particularly strong performances (as determined by the adjudicator) are awarded with trophies or medals.

If time permits, the adjudicator may invite some or all of the students to the instrument for a short master class. During the master class session, the adjudicator may give the student advice on how to play his piece even better. The adjudicator may share information about the piece’s composer, demonstrate how to play certain passages, or help a student fix common technical errors. The master class is a particularly exciting and educational part of the festival because it is held in front of the audience, all of whom can benefit from the master’s comments about each piece.