The next generation of talented musicians took centre stage this spring as the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Music and Spoken Word Festival wrapped up another successful year, showcasing a growing wave of local talent while expanding opportunities for young artists across multiple disciplines.

Held from March 31 to April 26 at venues including Zion United Church, the Moose Jaw Public Library Theatre, and the A.E. Peacock Centennial Auditorium, the long-running festival featured performances in vocal music, piano, strings, band, musical theatre, and the spoken word, drawing participants from schools, studios, and private instruction programs across the community.

Jeri Ryba, corresponding secretary for the festival, described this year’s event as one of continued growth and strong community engagement.

“We feel like it was a very successful festival,” Ryba said. “Participation has increased every year over the past couple of years, so that has been fantastic to see. We had really good quality adjudicators working with the students, and overall, we were very pleased with how things went.”

One of the festival’s notable developments was an expanded focus on the spoken word category, which was further highlighted through the organization’s rebrand from the Moose Jaw Music Festival earlier this year following a three-year commitment from the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club.

While the spoken word category isn’t new, Ryba said participation was historically minimal.

“We just wanted to let people know that (the spoken word category) is something anybody can do,” she said. “You don’t even need to have a teacher — you can get up and read a poem or a story.”

That renewed emphasis appears to be gaining traction. After years with little to no participation, the spoken word category welcomed five entries this year, with organizers already hearing interest from additional students for 2027.

The festival also saw strong participation in its band and musical theatre programming. Ryba said that school band participation was especially encouraging this year, and the musical theatre category stood out provincially.

“We actually had more entries than the Regina Music Festival, so we’re proud of how many kids are entering (the musical theatre category),” she said.

Throughout the festival, adjudicators from Saskatchewan and Manitoba worked directly with participants, offering feedback and educational support alongside the competitive performances.

Ryba said one especially meaningful moment came during the festival finale at Zion United Church on April 26, when graduating student Camron Deans performed “O Canada” on the Casavant pipe organ.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever had an organ competitor in the festival before,” she said. “That was really exciting.”

The festival’s major scholarship competition, held April 23, highlighted many of the event’s top performers. Scholarships were awarded across multiple disciplines, with recipients including Cadence DeJager, Elizabeth Deans, Asher Brown, Natalie Warren, Izzy J. Adams, Alora DeJager, Esme Brekker, Isaiah Artavia, and Camron Deans. Ryba estimated that more than $5,000 in scholarships was distributed this year.

In addition, more than 20 participants from Moose Jaw qualified for the provincial finals of the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, scheduled for June 3 to 7 at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Four musical theatre performers also advanced toward the Canada West Performing Arts Festival, set for July 23 to 25 in Edmonton.

For Ryba, the results continue to reinforce the depth of artistic talent developing within Moose Jaw.

“We have fantastic talent (here in Moose Jaw),” she said. “We have a lot of kids who are working really hard.”

She added that one adjudicator remarked she had “never given marks as high as she had at our festival,” feedback organizers viewed as especially meaningful coming from an outside professional who was hearing local performers for the first time.

Beyond the performances, Ryba also credited the volunteers who helped make the festival possible, noting the organization continues to welcome new committee members as planning begins again this fall for next year’s event.

For more information, contact MJMusicFestival@gmail.com or visit MJMF.MusicFestivalSuite.ca.

Aaron Walker

Reporter

Moose Jaw Express