MARY RASMUSSEN, PRESIDENT, welcomes you:

Welcome to the Aberdeen and North East of Scotland Festival’s website, and a special hello if we have not met before!

2012 is an exciting year for us after 103 years of promoting music and performance skills in the north east. We look forward in these challenging times to bringing together musicians, singers and dancers from all over the north east and beyond.

Festival events begin by making the city’s toes tap at the Scottish Country Dance Section which takes place in the Music Hall on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th March. To wind up these competitions, the Festival Dance takes place on Saturday 17th March from 7.30pm – 11pm at Ruthrieston West Church, Broomhill Road.  More information is available from Lesley Martin (see Scottish Country Dancing in syllabus).

The Music and Speech and Drama Sections have had to be brought forward to the week beginning 28th May as the UK celebrates the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee during our usual first week in June, and there will be a national holiday. We hope this will not deter you from entering!

We really hope we have something for everyone and have lined up an exciting panel of professional adjudicators to offer advice and opportunity to competitors of all standards. No one leaves empty handed as each competitor receives a certificate and adjudication sheet and there are 87 trophies to compete for.

There are also substantial bursaries to be awarded in the Piano and Vocal sections as well as many small cash prizes. For winning singers, the opportunity to receive tuition in master classes run by the Aberdeen International Youth Festival under the Mary Garden Opera placements scheme or to play in an Up Close and Musical Concert are added incentives.

Do look up the Syllabus now, enter by Friday 12th March, and I’ll look forward to seeing you!