Isabel Groves, centre, has been competing in music festival since she was six years old. (Submitted photo/Beckie Groves)

By Derek Cornet

accomplishment

La Ronge teen returns from provincial music festival

Jun 3, 2019 | 12:07 PM

It was a unique experience for La Ronge’s Isabel Groves, 14, who recently returned from the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association’s 2019 Provincial Final Competitions in Moose Jaw.

“This was my first time attending provincials,” she said. “It was nice to see how other people sing and not just people in town. I think I did pretty good. It was quite different than I expected it to be, but I felt like I fit in pretty well.”

Although Groves wasn’t able to outperform her competition, she is the first resident in the previous five years or more to represent the region at provincials. At the La Ronge and Area Music Festival back in April, Groves was able to advance to the event after she earned a score higher than 87 and was recommended by the adjudicator. Groves, who is a Grade 9 student at Churchill Community High School, believes she sang her song well.

Groves sang The Lass with the Delicate Air by Michael Arne, which is a folk song about a man pursuing a woman he’s interested in. Groves stated she chose the song because she was looking for a tune to showcase her range and it was recommended to her by one of the local music festival organizers. Her mother, Beckie Groves, noted her daughter sang it with a lot of emotion, which was one positive factor the provincial judge provided as advice.

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“She didn’t win the competition, but she definitely belonged there,” Beckie Groves said. “It’s good to expand her experience a little bit and see there’s definitely a long way to go. It was also pretty good for her to see she is kind of measuring up to right where she needs to be.”

Isabel Groves stands with La Ronge and Area Music Festival Secretary Kaylene Bagwell. (Submitted photo/Beckie Groves)

La Ronge and Area Music Festival Secretary Kaylene Bagwell also commended Groves for competing at provincials, adding she worked hard to get there. She mentioned just being recommended to attend is an honour itself.

“It’s a wonderful experience for the students,” Bagwell said. “There’s a lot of attention paid to development of young performers, particularly with singers whose voices have not yet fully developed.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno