The Festival will now run over THREE weekends in November. 11th & 12th November will be Dance and Classical Guitar, 18th & 19th November will be Speech & Drama, Musical Theatre and Dance and 25th & 26th November will be Music which will include Singing, Piano and Instrumental.

Guitar

Introducing a new Beginners Class in Graded Solos for those who have had up to twelve months tuition.

Introducing a Plucked Strings Family Ensemble where two or more members from the same family can present a piece together.

Novice Grades are now for anyone who would like a performance opportunity – not just adults!

The Composition Class has now introduced a class for age 16 years and over.

Also to remember the Ukulele, Mandolin and Acoustic instruments are part of the Classical Guitar Section.

Music

Following the popularity with the Disney Singing Classes in 2022 there are now three new classes for School Years 10 & 11, School Years 12 & 13 and Adults.

The Piano section have introduced three new classes for Primary, Secondary and Adults to perform any piece by any German composer

 There are also three new Pupil and Teacher Duet Classes for Primary, Secondary and Adults. (Teachers won’t be adjudicated).

Very exciting! The Instrumental Section has introduced three new Recital Classes and Electronic Keyboard Classes for Primary, Secondary and adults.

There is also a new section where Traditional Music from any Country can be showcased, suitable for Solos, Duets and Ensembles. 

Musical Theatre

Solo classes have been introduced for Year 4 & under and Year 5.

Duo classes now have a Year 5 & under class.

Dance

Dance have introduced NOVICE Classes for Solo Ballet, Solo Tap, Solo Song and Dance, Solo Modern / Lyrical, Solo Character and solo National.

Speech & Drama

There is a new Duo-Mime Class for Year 4 and under.

Sight Reading Class Year 6 & under have a new book by local author, Alex Evelyn – The Secret Wild. Alex will be joining the festival this Autumn to speak with entrants after the class to see how much they enjoyed the book and characters, and maybe with some tips on how to be an author!

Competitions

We have a new Radio Play Writing Competition. We invite potential authors to write a ten-minute play for radio. The winning play may be produced, performed, recorded and broadcast on local radio, the RWBAF website and digital media by members of The Western Players. 

The Poetry Competition is now open to Adults!