District Music Festival to be held at Three Rivers Community College

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Rivers Community College will host more than 1,400 musicians as students from Southeast Missouri school districts converge on the Three Rivers campus for the region's version of "Musical March Madness" - the District High School Music Festival.

Three Rivers has hosted the district festival since 1997, and is one of 21 district sites across Missouri. The judges are asked to rate the performances on a one to five scale using a specific, standard set of musical criteria.

The Three Rivers festival will begin Saturday, March 29 when 12 choirs and 14 bands perform in the Tinnin Fine Arts Center throughout the day. The March 29 events are state championship performances and the large ensembles will receive Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) state rankings. Choirs and bands perform two prepared selections for a team of three judges and sight-read music for a fourth adjudicator.

Aside from concert performance, sight-reading provides additional criteria to evaluate and opportunities for students to exhibit an understanding of the basic fundamentals of music. The importance of teaching the fundamentals of music, the skills of accuracy in reading music, and overall musicality are reinforced by sight.

On Saturday, April 5, soloists and small ensembles will perform. Vocal and instrumental soloists and small ensembles will perform in the Tinnin Center for a judge in a district festival. Students receiving the top rating of I will be eligible to participate in the state music festival at the University of Missouri-Columbia later this spring.

Three Rivers music instructors Cindy White and William White serve as the co-managers of the district festival at TRCC.

"It is always exciting to be a part of the District Festival," said Cindy White. "Despite the pressure of performing in public and being judged, these students often give the performance of their lives. Participating in music opens boundless opportunities for young people, including leadership, discipline and working toward achievement of a goal."

"Southeast Missouri has some of the finest high school choral and instrumental music programs in the state, and it is always an honor for Three Rivers to host this event and for the students to be on our campus," said William White.

Schools participating in the festival include Bernie, Bloomfield, Bunker, Caruthersville, Clearwater, Delta C-7, Dexter, Doniphan, Greenville, Holcomb, Kennett, Malden, Naylor, Neelyville, New Madrid County Central, Poplar Bluff, Portageville, Puxico, South Pemiscot and Twin Rivers.