Calgary Performing Arts Festival

Calgary Performing Arts Festival Encouraging amateur performing arts in our community. Take the stage and step into the spotlight. Share your talents and be heard. April 17 - May 8, 2026.

Celebrating 95 years!

Did you know that the Rose Bowl is presented each year to the top outstanding performer at the Calgary Performing Festiv...
06/01/2026

Did you know that the Rose Bowl is presented each year to the top outstanding performer at the Calgary Performing Festival?

The Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival Rose Bowl was donated to the Music Festival in 1968 by two Calgary piano teachers, Linhart Walker and John du Val as a lasting memorial to Dr. Gladys McKelvie Egbert, one of North American’s most highly regarded music teachers. It is awarded annually to the “Most Outstanding Performer of the Festival”. The donors stipulated that the recipient be in the senior category and over the age of sixteen.

The Rose Bowl holds one rose for each the Calgary Performing Arts Festival has been in existence, so this year the bowl will hold 95 roses. Each recipient’s name has been engraved on the bowl, adding to the legacy. The winner will also receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

The 2026 Rose Bowl recipient is Charlotte Giraudeau (piano).

We are delighted to share that Charlotte Giraudeau has been named the recipient of the 2026 RoseBowl, along with a $10,0...
05/28/2026

We are delighted to share that Charlotte Giraudeau has been named the recipient of the 2026 RoseBowl, along with a $10,000 scholarship to support her continued studies and artistic development.

“I am incredibly honoured to have been named the recipient of the 2026 RoseBowl by the Calgary Performing Arts Festival. I have participated in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival for about 10 years now, and this recognition represents the many years of learning, growth and hard work. This award means so much to me, and I am very grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout my musical journey. Thank you to my teachers, family, friends and the festival for their unwavering dedication, inspiration and encouragement throughout the years.”

— Charlotte Giraudeau

Charlotte’s artistry, dedication, and years of commitment to her craft stood out across her many performances in this year’s festival. Her achievement reflects not only an exceptional level of performance, but also the growth, discipline, and passion that the Calgary Performing Arts Festival is proud to celebrate in young artists.

“Charlotte’s performances were a beautiful example of what the RoseBowl represents,” said Weston Jacques, President of CPAF. “We are thrilled to recognize her talent, dedication, and artistic growth, and we look forward to seeing where her musical journey takes her next.”

Please join us in congratulating Charlotte on this outstanding achievement. We are proud to celebrate her success and wish her the very best as she continues this exciting next chapter.

It’s Provincials week! 🎶We want to send a huge congratulations and the very best of luck to our Calgary performers parti...
05/23/2026

It’s Provincials week! 🎶

We want to send a huge congratulations and the very best of luck to our Calgary performers participating in the Alberta Music Festival Provincials this week in Edmonton, Alberta, from Monday, May 25 to Saturday, May 30.

You have worked so hard to get to this point.

You stepped onto the festival stage, shared your talent, listened to feedback, kept growing, and earned the opportunity to represent Calgary at the provincial level.

That is something to be very proud of.

Now it’s time to go out there, give it your all, and do your best. Take a deep breath. Trust your preparation. Enjoy the moment. And know that your Calgary Performing Arts Festival (CPAF) family is cheering you on from afar. 👏

For those performing at Provincials, we would love to follow along! Please share your photos and videos with us and be sure to tag so we can be notified and share your experience.

For more information about Provincials, please visit albertamusicfestival.org or

Good luck, Calgary performers. We are so proud of you!

05/12/2026

Small ensemble. Big sound. Serious volcano energy. 🌋🎷

Some of Calgary’s high school band programs have been encouraging their students to enter the festival as smaller chamber ensembles - and we love seeing what happens when young musicians take ownership of their music.

Here is the Bishop Carroll High School Saxophone Sextet featuring:
Lucas on soprano saxophone
Ian on alto saxophone
Tyson on alto saxophone
Michael on alto saxophone
Natalie on tenor saxophone
Xavier on baritone saxophone

They are performing “Volcanic Ash” by Chris Evan Hass, an edgy, high-energy piece that really shows what the saxophone family can do.

The piece was originally written for saxophone quartet and is described by the composer as bold and lively, combining the intensity of heavy metal with changing rhythms, powerful “power chord” sounds, sweeping musical lines, and even a calmer, reflective sections. In other words, it has drama, drive, contrast, and a whole lot of fire.🔥

And you can feel it…
The fury of the volcano.
The rumble underneath.
The burst of sound.
The energy moving from one player to the next.

That’s what makes chamber music so exciting. In a smaller group, every performer matters. Every entrance counts. Every sound has a purpose. And when the students have helped put the entry together primarily on their own, it makes the performance even more impressive.

Please join us in congratulating Lucas, Ian, Tyson, Michael, Matalie, and Xavier on their performance! Let’s leave the Bishop Carroll High School Saxophone Sextet some well-deserved applause in the comments.👏👏👏

From Calgary… to Provincials! 🎶After a very successful 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival, we are so proud to ...
05/12/2026

From Calgary… to Provincials! 🎶

After a very successful 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival, we are so proud to celebrate the performers who have been selected to represent Calgary at Provincials with the Alberta Music Festival Association.

These young people performed above and beyond during our festival.

They stepped onto the stage with focus, courage, preparation, and heart. They listened. They learned. They gave their best. And now, they are moving on to the next level.

The Alberta Music Festival Association brings together 37 local member festivals from across the province. Each local festival sends top competitors to the annual Alberta Provincial Festival in disciplines such as voice, piano, speech, and many other instrumental classes.

And this year, these talented Calgary performers will be part of it.

Provincials take place May 25–30, 2026, in Edmonton, and we could not be more excited to cheer them on as they represent our city.

Please join us in congratulating these incredible young performers! Drop some applause in the comments and help us send them off with all the encouragement they deserve. 👏

Calgary is cheering for you!

The 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival may be over……but we’re not done yet. 🎶Over the past few weeks, we watch...
05/09/2026

The 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival may be over…

…but we’re not done yet. 🎶

Over the past few weeks, we watched performers step onto the stage with courage, focus, nerves, excitement, and heart.♥️

Some were performing for the very first time.

Some were chasing a personal best.

Some were sharing pieces they had worked on for months.

And every single one of them reminded us why this festival matters.

The performances may have wrapped at the Engineered Air Theatre and the Leacock Theatre, but the stories are still going. We’ll be sharing more highlights from the past few weeks, celebrating the talent we saw on stage, and following some of our participants as they continue their journey to provincials and beyond.

So don’t go anywhere…

Keep following. Keep cheering. Keep showing up for these incredible performers.

Because this festival is more than a few weeks of music and speech. It is a starting point, a confidence builder, and for many young artists, one more step toward something bigger.

Thank you for being part of this year’s Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

There is still so much to celebrate. 👏

What do you do when you get back from choir tour late the night before, and have 3 choirs that perform first thing the n...
05/08/2026

What do you do when you get back from choir tour late the night before, and have 3 choirs that perform first thing the next morning at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival?

You take advantage of the adjudicator’s offer to warm up your groups all at once. (Working with a new person often gets the students to think differently and focus a little harder because it’s outside of the “norm”.) Thank you to our amazing choral adjudicator Catherine Robbins for having some fun with the Bishop Carroll choirs and showing them a few different warm-up ideas.

A festival like ours is built on community.It takes performers, families, teachers, volunteers, adjudicators, audience m...
05/08/2026

A festival like ours is built on community.

It takes performers, families, teachers, volunteers, adjudicators, audience members — and sponsors who believe in the importance of giving young artists a place to learn, grow, and shine.

Today, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to Long & McQuade for being one of the valued sponsors of the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

With multiple locations in Calgary to serve our community, Long & McQuade has long been a place where musicians can find the instruments, supplies, repairs, rentals, and support they need to keep making music.

Calgary Royal Vista
Calgary Chinook
Calgary East
Calgary Seton

Their sponsorship helps make our festival possible and supports an experience where amateur and student performers can step onto the stage, share their hard work, receive meaningful feedback, and be celebrated.

That matters.

To the Long & McQuade team: thank you for supporting music education, young performers, and the Calgary arts community. We are truly grateful to have you as part of our festival family.

And just like that… we’ve reached Day 21! 🎶Today is the final day of the 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival, a...
05/08/2026

And just like that… we’ve reached Day 21! 🎶

Today is the final day of the 95th Annual Calgary Performing Arts Festival, and we’re wrapping things up with one more exciting day of concert bands.

For 21 days, the Leacock Theatre has been filled with music, stories, courage, nerves, smiles, applause, and that wonderful moment when a performer steps onto the stage and gives it their all.

We’ve heard from so many talented young performers across Calgary — musicians, singers, instrumentalists, ensembles, bands, and speech performers — each one bringing something special to this year’s festival.

And honestly?

What an incredible 21 days it has been.

From first notes to final bows, every performance has reminded us why the arts matter. They build confidence. They create connection. They give young people a place to be heard, seen, supported, and celebrated.

Today, we celebrate our final day of concert bands and the final day of this year’s festival.

To every performer, parent, teacher, volunteer, sponsor, adjudicator, and audience member who has been part of the journey — thank you.

You made these 21 days unforgettable.

Come join us for one last day of performances at the Leacock Theatre at Mount Royal University. Admission is free to the public.

Let’s fill the comments with applause for everyone who helped make this year’s Calgary Performing Arts Festival so special! Did you have a favorite part? If so, tell us what it was.😊👏

05/08/2026

Some stories are told with words.

Some are told with music.

And sometimes… they’re told with woodblocks, shakers, cowbells, gongs, tambourines, and a whole lot of imagination.

Today, we’re featuring Sydney performing “The Turnip” by Cory Hills.

This piece is a wonderful example of multi-percussion, which means the performer doesn’t just play one percussion instrument. Instead, they move between several instruments, each with its own sound, colour, and personality.

Think of it like one performer becoming an entire sound effects team.

A shake might feel like movement.

A tap might sound like a character taking a step.

A crash might tell us something big just happened.

That’s what makes this piece so much fun to watch and hear. It combines the joy of storytelling with the excitement of percussion, helping the audience imagine the story through sound.

And for the performer? It takes focus, timing, coordination, and confidence. Sydney has to know not only what to play, but when to move, where to look, and how each sound helps bring the story to life.

Please join us in congratulating Sydney on her performance! Leave her some applause in the comments. 👏

Tomorrow is the last day of this year’s Calgary Performing Arts Festival, so it’s not too late to come out and support our young performers. Performances continue through May 8 at the Leacock Theatre at Mount Royal University. Admission is free to the public.

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PO Box 94021/Elbow River RPO
Calgary, AB
T2S0S4

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+14032836009

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