SUDBURY -- There are many disappointed music teachers and students across the north right now, as a long-time running music festival had to be cancelled because of the current fight between the Doug Ford government and teachers.
The 43rd annual Northern Ontario Music Festival marks only the second time in the festivals history that the event had to be cancelled.
"I don’t think it was because of job action. I believe it might have been due to renovations or something like that we didn’t have a venue that year and there are a lot of puzzles pieces to put together for an event like this," said festival director Carolyn Otto.
NOMF is one of the longest running regional festivals in Ontario. Choirs, concert bands, and jazz ensembles from elementary and secondary schools from across the north travel to Sudbury to showcase their work.
Not only are they judged, they also get to participate in a clinic with one of the adjudicators so they can find ways improve.
In a statement sent out from the festival it says "After much deliberation and debate, the NOMF 2020 committee has made the difficult decision to cancel NOMF 2020. As you know, it is a complicated time in Ontario schools. This unrest in public education presents significant challenges to the planning and preparation of a festival event such as NOMF. Although the NOMF committee has spent many hours brainstorming possible alternate strategies and scenarios, it was concluded that for each possible solution, a new list of challenges was presented."
Mitch McIntyre is an instrumental teacher at Sudbury Secondary School and is also the festival host, as NOMF takes place in the Sheridan Auditorium in the school.
"The kids have been working on this repertoire since September. So they have to do three pieces of music so we’ve rehearsing since September and now finding out the festivals cancelled all that hard work that they put into those three pieces and the hopes of getting to work with a professional musician or music educator gets shut down," said McIntyre.
The festival also serves as a qualifier for the national festival, Musicfest Canada, which is held in a different location across the country each May. Luckily, the invitations to nationals last for two years, so groups who qualified last year could attend this May. McIntyre also says groups can apply directly to Musicfest Canada for consideration.
The cancellation will affect hundreds of students across the north but organizers are confident the event will return next year.
"For sure the Northern Ontario Music Festival will be back for season 44 in 2021," said Otto.
