The 104th Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts gets under way this weekend with competitive drama, speech and music classes coming to venues around Ilkley during the week-long event.
The festival has proved to be a springboard for many young up-and-coming musicians and performers over the years, and one of the most prestigious awards on offer will be the HSBC Rose Bowl, awarded to the most promising singer under 25.
Outstanding soloists from the festival’s music classes, and speech and drama section, will also be picked out by the festival adjudicators and offered the Denis Sharp Bursary, to enable them to take part in the EYSM summer school for music and drama, and the Scunthorpe Music Festival Speech and Drama Summer School in Lincoln.
Bands, singers, drama groups and schoolchildren are expected to converge on Ilkley from across Wharfedale and beyond to take part in the wide array of classes.
Among the highlights of the festival is expected to be the Ilkley Parish Council Evening of Vocal Delight, on Friday, May 21, featuring an Old Time Music Hall theme, plus the Popstar classes from the festival.
The festival will begin at Riddings Hall, Riddings Road, Ilkley, on Saturday, with musical theatre, junior folk song and songs from the shows to get the festival going. This will be followed in the evening by chorister classes, classical guitar and organ solos at All Saints Church.
Poetry and story writing entries have been adjudicated by Lizzi Linklater, and the entries be displayed in the foyer of Christchurch during the week of the festival.
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