Beginners and advanced students are encouraged to participate in this year’s Bland Music Contest. Any Botetourt/Craig County student up to age 18 can compete in either the instrumental or vocal categories on at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at The Glebe in Daleville.
The only criteria are performances must be memorized and limited to eight minutes.
The Bland Music Contest, which promotes and assists cultural educational opportunities for Virginia youth, was started by the Lions of Virginia in 1948 to honor James Bland, a popular composer in the late 1800s. His most popular composition was “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” which was adopted as the state song in 1940 and is now the state song emeritus.
The Bland Music Contest encourages parents and music teachers to involve students not only for scholarship opportunities but also for the experience of performing before an audience and being critiqued by several judges.
The local contest prize for first place, both instrumental and vocal, is $75 each and second place will receive $50 each. The first place winners will advance to district competition in Salem to be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, May. The district winners will advance to state finals in June.
First place at state is $2,500 each, second is $2,000, third is $1,500 and fourth, fifth and sixth is $1,000 each.
Local musicians from Southwest Virginia have fared well at the state level. In 1998, a Franklin County student not only won the state contest but then went on to “America’s Got Talent.” In 2017, a Franklin County student won the vocal division. In 2019, a Franklin County student playing a banjo placed third in the instrumental category.
Anyone wishing to submit an entry for the local contest, or has any questions, may contact Lion Robin Ward of the Daleville-Fincastle Lions Club at 540-591-2180 or email rward@theglebe.org
