Grande Praire & District Music Festival Association

Music Festival History 2024

From its early beginnings as a small two-day festival, the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival has grown to become a very full three-week annual event which concludes with a final Grand Concert.  The caliber of entries has continued to improve over the years and many young musicians from the area have gone on to achieve provincial and national recognition. The festival would not exist in its current format if it weren’t for its past dedicated organizers.

Music Festivals in Grande Prairie were initiated in 1921 when the Women’s Music Club began promoting festivals in this city. Early organizers included Mrs. F. Barber-Smith, A.E. Galway and L.B. Yule, Superintendent of Schools. Joint music festivals were held with Peace River starting in 1927; however, travel was a challenge and the partnership ended when Grande Prairie resumed its own annual festival in 1932.  The festival became non-competitive in 1945 and as a result interest and caliber declined and, except for 1952 and 1953, no festivals were held from 1949-1958.

In 1959 Martin Intscher re-established music festivals in Grande Prairie with the assistance of the Allied Arts Council and the Grande Prairie School Board.  The Grande Prairie Art Festival was held in 1962 and included elocution, public speaking, penmanship, dancing, drama, arts and crafts, in addition to other music entries, Festivals continued on an annual basis with various innovations, including a partnership with Dawson Creek which led to the 1964 festival being held in that city as the Peace Country Art Festival.

Grande Prairie joined the Alberta Music Festival Association in 1962 as the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival.  This affiliation means that, besides Grande Prairie musicians, students from the entire Peace region could participate and benefit in our Festival. In 1976 the Festival Organization officially became an association – the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival Association. This provided access to additional grants and funding.

 In 1998 EnCana (formerly AEC West) became the Festival’s first major sponsor, donating funds to assist with operating costs and was pivotal in the development of the Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship.  It contracted Merv Bielish to create a commemorative statue, which was presented for the first time to the scholarship winner at the Festival’s Grand Concert in May 1999.  This sculpture remains in the trophy case at the Northwestern Polytechnic (formerly the Grande Prairie Regional College).  It is accompanied by a plaque honouring each winner of the trophy and scholarship. Winners receive a photo plaque depicting the presentation of the trophy to them. Encana continued its sponsorship until 2017.

In 2018 the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie assumed responsibility for the sponsorship.  This scholarship continues to be presented annually to rotating disciplines to ensure opportunities for all performers.

The Grande Prairie and District Music Festival is held annually each spring with the exception of 2020 when the global pandemic caused its cancellation. Ongoing COVID restrictions led to the 2021 and 2022 festivals being held as a virtual event.  The festival returned to regular in-person format in 2023.

This festival would not be possible without the hundreds of hours provided by volunteers, financial assistance from individual donors, local organizations, businesses and sponsors, and the provision of performance facilities, often free of charge, by the Northwestern Polytechnic (formerly the Grande Prairie Regional College), local churches and schools.  We are so grateful for these contributions, which continue to provide an excellent opportunity for area musicians to perform, learn and grow at the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival.

Past Presidents

1921 – 1926 Unknown
1927 L.B. Yule
1932 – 1942 A.E. Galway
1943 T.W. Mel Fowler
1944 H.G. Melsness
1945 – 1946 Sister Lucy
1947 Stan Hambly
1948 Walter Kujath
1952 – 1953 J.A. Wilson
1962 Martin Intscher
1963 Mel Howey
1964 K.G. Kingswell
1965 – 1966 M.W. Howey
1967 S. Kapcos
1968 W. Warren
1969 – 1970 Bill Bowes
1971 Bill Lowe
1972 Clem Collins
1973 Sydney Larter
1974 – 1975 Hugh Kidston
1976 Rick McFadyen
1977 – 1978 Norman Enns
1979 George Simpson
1980 – 1981 Art Piggott
1982 – 1983 Al Robertson
1984 – 1986 Hank Scheunhage
1987 – 1989 Mary Wild
1990 Margaret Bowes
1991 – 1993 Ron Woolley
1994 – 1995 Rosemary Smith
1996 Marg Simpson
1997 – 1998 Pam Steeves
1999 – 2001 Lynne Dennis
2002 – 2006 Patricia Larter
2007 – 2010 Barbara Donkin
2011– Present Dennis Fedeyko