Junior Music Festival celebrates 30 years in Cape

For several decades, music students have performed in Cape Girardeau as part of the Junior Music Festival.

The event allows students, ages 18 and younger, to demonstrate their skills and musicianship in front of a judge and receive a rating. Each rating comes with points. A superior, for example, is 5 points. An excellent is 4 points. And so on. When a student accumulates 15 points — a minimum of three years — they earn a Gold Cup Award. Multiple awards can be earned over the years.

Recently, the local Junior Music Festival, which is part of the National Federation of Music Clubs, was held at the River Campus in Cape Girardeau. This was the 30th year for the festival in Cape Girardeau. Over the last three decades, thousands of students have performed at this event. These are primarily piano and voice students, but the festival also has categories for brass, strings, woodwinds, percussion, theory and dance.

The local organization behind the event is the Encore Music Club, which includes several area music teachers.

This is a top-notch event for local musicians. It allows them to work toward a goal, perform and see tangible results in their musical proficiency with time. Many hours go into it, from classes to practice and the event itself.

Congratulations to the students and the Encore Music Club on this 30th anniversary.