Instrument festival marked by ‘really great’ performances

The 120th year of a Dunedin art society has been marked by a high calibre of competition at its annual instrument festival.

Dunedin Performing Arts Competitions Society convener Sofie Van Huffel said the event, which ran from Thursday to yesterday, was well received and included some "really great" performances from both junior and senior entrants.

About 200 performances took place this year, up from about 150 last year, Mrs Van Huffel said.

The Dunedin Performing Arts Competitions Society was established in 1902 as the Dunedin Competitions Society which was intended to follow the example of groups founded in Australian cities to promote art competitions.

The annual instrumental competition had been held most years since, Mrs Van Huffel said.

Fortunately, it had been unaffected by cancellations caused by Covid-19 since the pandemic started.

It had been exciting how much interest there had been in this year’s event, along with the level of enthusiasm shown by the entrants, many of whom had been preparing for months.

Family members and music teachers came along to support the young musicians and the event was honoured to have Dunedin Symphony Orchestra conductor Kenneth Young adjudicating the event.

It was important for the youngsters to get experience performing in front of an audience, especially given the level of promise displayed by many of the contestants, Mrs Van Huffel said.

oscar.francis@odt.co.nz