The 49th annual Weyburn Rotary Music Festival is fast approaching, as it will be held in March, and the adjudicators have been chosen for all three portions of the Festival.

The piano portion of the festival will be from Monday, March 5, to Friday, March 9, and will be held in the T.C. Douglas Centre. The adjudicator for the piano portion is Gregory Chase from Yorkton.

Chase received his Bachelor of Music in Performance and Literature from Brandon University and his ARCT with the RCM, with Dr. Joan Miller. He is vice-principal of the Canadian National Conservatory of Music and is the president of the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers Association.

He has examined for over 20 years and is an examiner for the Canadian National Conservatory of Music and examined through Canada with the RCM. Chase adjudicates festivals and conducts workshops throughout Canada, has taught at the International Music Camp, has spoken at numerous Provincial Conventions, and adjudicated at the Provincial Festival Finals.

The instrumental portion of the festival runs from Monday, March 12, to Wednesday, March 14, with Aaron Hiske from Estevan coming to adjudicate classes. Instrumental classes are held at the T.C. Douglas Centre, Weyburn Comp. School and Weyburn Junior High School.

Hiske was born, raised and graduated in Estevan, and after attending the Minot State University in North Dakota he graduated with a BSC in Education and a Major in Music in 1994.

He continued his education while teaching in North Dakota until 1997 then he returned to Estevan to accept a position at the Estevan Junior High. Hiske obtained his Masters of Music Education degree from Minot State in 1999, and in 2006 he completed a Masters of Education Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Regina.

The festival ends with the vocal classes which run from Monday, March 19, to Wednesday, March 21, with Joy McFarlane-Burton coming to adjudicate from Biggar. Vocal classes are held at the T.C. Douglas Centre, WCS and WJH.

McFarlane-Burton has obtained a Royal Conservatory of Music Associate Diploma in Singing Performance and has studied Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Saskatchewan. She has also had the privilege of attending the Opera Nuova Professional Development Weekend for Singing Teachers in Edmonton.

She has adjudicated extensively throughout her home province for the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, as well as the Contemporary Showcase, Regina Musical Club Recital Competition, CDMF Performing Arts Festival in Port Coquitlam, B.C., EnCana Music Festival in Grande Prairie, Alta., and Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival. McFarlane-Burton currently serves as the second vice-president of the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, as well as being a member of the Music Selection Committee.