Musicfest Canada

MusicFest Canada is a competition festival, established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival (CSBF) in Toronto, in 1972, by Robert Richmond (founding president), Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner. The CSBF added vocal and concert band components in 1981 and 1986, respectively. MusicFest Canada, introduced as of 1987, embraced[clarification needed] the CSBF and what had come to be identified by 1986 as the Canadian Vocal Festival and Canadian Concert Band Festival. Bands and choirs are adjudicated by noted Canadian and US professionals in the jazz, concert band, orchestra and choral fields. Classifications are either by age (Jazz and Choral) or by an established level set by test piece (Concert Bands and Orchestras). Winning ensembles are ranked according to gold, silver, and bronze; awards and scholarships are also presented to individual musicians. MusicFest Canada currently hosts six Honour Ensembles of outstanding students who rehearse the week of the Festival and perform a feature concert at the end of the week. They are The Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra, The Conn-Selmer CenterStage Jazz Band, The Ellison Tours Honour Choir, The Thomastik-Infeld Canadian String Orchestra, The National Youth Jazz Combo, and The Woodshed Percussion Ensemble.