For one day only: Mid Argyll Music Festival returns

Organisers of this year’s Mid Argyll Music Festival have decided to run it as a one-day event only.

The plan is to bring back a full week of performances and competitions next year, giving youngsters more time to get ready.

Saturday June 17 will see a focus on action songs, primary choirs, secondary vocal solos plus woodwind and brass solos for beginners through to S6, says festival chairman Martin Gorringe.

In January, Mid Argyll Music Festival put out a desperate call for people and businesses to get behind the annual event so that it did not disappear from the region's cultural calendar for good.

Organisers hoped that the event, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, could find its place in the region’s musical calendar once again, having become a firm fixture in recent years after its inaugural one-day showcase of young musical talent in 1980.

By 1981 the one-day festival drew 300 entries over a wide range of classes including vocal classes and a much wider group of competitors from communities as far away as Islay.

The festival has continued to expand over the years to include piano, woodwind, brass, piping, spoken word and string instruments.

At its peak it attracted more than 800 entrants in 2010 with entries from Campbeltown, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Helensburgh and Mid Argyll.

Classes diversified to include dancing, poetry, action songs, news reading and the non-competitive “anything goes” class. In 2018, the first clarsach and harp classes were included.

The festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech with costs covered by fundraising, donations from entrants, supporters and grants. Her Grace the Duchess of

Argyll is the charity’s patron.

And local companies have sponsored the festival, which is a registered charity.

In 2020 the global pandemic struck and the 41st festival was cancelled on its first day.

Music tuition in schools came to a halt and even when it restarted, up-take seemed to be low, posing a dilemma for festival organisers who were genuinely concerned participants would feel unprepared.

But this week, the festival’s committee announced it would be returning.

“The committee has agreed that there is a genuine desire for the music festival to re-commence and although music tuition has only recently been re-established in schools, it would give performers the opportunity to compete in a one-day event on June 17,” said Mr Gorringe.

To get a copy of the syllabus, email: midargyllmusicfestival1980@gmail.co.uk.

Closing date for entries Friday March 31. is