In the absence of the Hafford music festival this year, organizers acknowledged the importance of showcasing the musical talent from Hafford and surrounding area.
There were 31 performances March 23, ranging from instrumental and speech art to lyrical dance and vocals.
The evening program opened with a guitar duet by Jordan Gall and Jason Gall followed by Jordan's guitar solo of the theme from the Pink Panther while Jason accompanied on drums. Lucas Lafrieniere joined to make a guitar trio to perform ZZ Tops' famous Sharp-Dressed Man. It was an incredible performance to start the show and was just a peek at what the remainder of the evening talent would be like.
The vocal performances were an amazing display of vocal control and harmony. Vocalists included Cabri Tanchak, Codie Yasieniuk while playing guitar, Kacy Tkachuk accompanied by Lucas Lafrieniere on guitar, Dawson Lehmann accompanied by Melissa Saunders on piano, Karen MacNutt while playing guitar and Megan Jones. Chloe Woytiuk performed an amusing musical theatre rendition of You Can't Get A Man with a Gun, then performed a vocal duet with her mother, Diana Woytiuk. Michelle Gall and Jenna Gall also performed a vocal duet. The vocal ensemble of Jenna Gall, Michelle Gall, Megan Jones, Brooke Kowalchuk, Kendra Lafrieniere, Cabri Tanchak, Colby Tkachuhk and Kacy Tkachuk made vocal harmonization appear to be an easy task. These youth demonstrated vocal control while incorporating some theatrical abilities.
Piano solos were performed by Kathryn Naharney, Leah Kohut, Clayton Wiebe, Rayleen Roth, Jesse Wensley, Amber Jackson, Hayley Lesko, Audrey Friesen, Marina Rice and Tyra Smith. These young performers challenged themselves to perform more difficult songs displaying a range of notes and chords. A special performance was the piano duet with Diane Jones and her mother Phyllis Cunningham.
Dance performances were included into the evening agenda. Gillian Oliver performed a Highland dance and Madison Flath performed a lyrical ballet dance.
Instrumentals were performed by Rayna Yasieniuk on accordion, Reeve Johnson on guitar and Brooke Kowalchuk on violin. Colby Tkachuk performed speech art with two humorous recitations.
The evening concluded with a performance by Redberry Grass. A family trio of Stephanie, Samuel and David Derbawka of Borden entertained the crowd with their instrumental and vocal talent.
Hafford's spring talent showcase was an incredible opportunity for youth, and some adults, to share their hard efforts of lessons and practice, which took place over the year. There are many aspiring musicians, vocalists and dancers in the area and everyone should be proud of their performances. It takes a tremendous amount of courage, self-confidence, concentration, coordination and positive attitude to be able to perform on stage in front of a live audience.
