MusicFest: Ribbon Festival

The Ribbon Festival is an annual event that our Chapter offers to give students a chance to polish their musical skills, perform in a comfortable environment, and receive colorful ribbons!  It also helps to provide funds for college and summer music camp scholarships that our Chapter awards to students each year.

This year the Ribbon Festival will be held in-person at Central United Protestant Church, 1124 Stevens Dr. in Richland, on Saturday, November 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Students and their families can attend any time during these hours.  It normally takes a little over an hour for a student to complete all the events.  If students are unable to attend during those hours, they can play for their teacher in the teacher’s studio and receive their ribbons. 

Registration will be online, as in past years.  The registration deadline is Friday, October 10.  During registration each teacher will need to list the exact number of ribbons needed for the students in their studio. As they did last year, parents will fill out the Release Form and Volunteer Form online.

The entry fees this year are $20 for the first child in a family and $15 for other children in the same family. The fee for students of non-member teachers is $40 for the first child in a family and $30 for other children. If a student is entering the Ribbon Festival on two different instruments, they will need to pay two fees. If a family has children entering the Ribbon Festival who study with different teachers, the parents can give the $20 fee to one teacher and the $15 fee to the other teacher(s). Teachers need to turn in one check for their entire studio.  Checks should be made out to Tri-City Chapter WSMTA and can be turned in at the October 14 Chapter meeting or sent to our treasurer, Patti Robertson. 

Students can receive a maximum of 11 ribbons. The categories are: Solo, Duet (also includes trios or other ensembles), Original Composition, Hymn (includes Christmas and patriotic songs), Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, Theory, Ear-Training, Craft and Special (Baroque) Ribbon.  Students may be signed up to receive any number of ribbons from 1 to 11, at the discretion of their teachers. Descriptions of the requirements needed for each ribbon are on our Chapter website, along with copies of the Theory and Ear-Training tests. 

Theory and Ear-Training tests will not be given to students at the Ribbon Festival.  Teachers can download the tests and have their students complete them during lessons.  Teachers need to download and fill out a Student Participation Sheet for each student to bring to the Festival and initial the sheet so that their students can receive ribbons for Theory and Ear-Training.  Teachers also need to send the link to the Release Form (which includes the Parent Information Letter and Volunteer Form) to the parents of their students to be filled out online. Parents should complete the form by October 26. 

Each teacher is asked to volunteer for 4 hours at the Ribbon Festival.  If a teacher is unable to volunteer that day, they can recruit another responsible adult as their substitute or they can volunteer to help ahead of time.  Teachers can sign themselves up online on the Chapter website. Parent and high-school student volunteers are also needed to staff the craft and ribbon tables.  Each teacher is asked to provide at least one or two volunteers from their studio to volunteer for one hour each. The Volunteer Form for parents and older students is included on the Parent Information Letter.

Please contact Holly Harty at hhpt123@msn.com if you have any questions.

Ribbon Festival Co-Chairs: Holly Harty and Ben Walley

Students will receive a ribbon for each skill they perform. There are eleven ribbon categories. Students may enter to earn any or all ribbons. None of the events are scheduled. Students may coordinate their time to play with their teacher and/or ensemble partners.

SOLOS and ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS will be performed in the same room at the Ribbon Festival. There is a five-minute time limit including both pieces.

1. Solo. Memorization is optional but encouraged.

2. Original Composition. Memorization is optional but encouraged. To ensure that this piece is not improvised at the moment, the written composition or a note from the student’s teacher, verifying that the music has been composed, should be presented to the monitor.

ENSEMBLES and HYMNS will be performed in the same room at the Ribbon Festival.

3. Ensemble. The teacher will have organized ensemble or duet partners on the Ribbon Festival Participation Sheet so that they plan to meet at the Ribbon Festival and perform in the same room together. The music does not need to be memorized. Each child playing in the ensemble must turn in a release form. If a performer is not participating in the Ribbon Festival, other than playing in the ensemble, and wishes to receive a ribbon, there is a $1.00 fee for the extra ribbon. 

4. Hymn. One verse of a simplified hymn, a standard four-part hymn, a Christmas carol, a praise chorus or a patriotic song is acceptable. Students may use chord charts or lead sheets where they have to improvise an accompaniment. The intent is one verse of a song which a congregation or group would sing, with a time limit of one minute. The music does not need to be memorized. If two students want to play a hymn as a duet, that is fine, but they will need to play another song to receive an ensemble ribbon.

SKILLS AND LEVELS

Scales, chords, and arpeggios combined will have a maximum time limit of 3 minutes, regardless of Levels. Students may play in as many different keys as they like, within their 3-minute time limit. These skills are to be memorized.

5. Scales. Major or minor, parallel or contrary motion, with musical shape

Level 1: 5 finger patterns, hands separately or together

Level 2: 1 octave up and down, hands separately or together

Level 3: 2 octaves up and down, hands separately or together

Level 4: 1 and 2 octaves up and down; 1 and 2 notes to the pulse, hands separately or together

Level 5: 1, 2 and 3 octaves up and down; 1, 2 and 3 notes to the pulse, hands together

Level 6: 1, 2, 3 and 4 octaves up and down; 1, 2, 3 and 4 notes to the pulse, hands together

6. Chords. Major or minor

Level 1: I chords in root position, hands separately or together

Level 2: I V I or I V7 I with the I chord in root position, hands separately or together

Level 3: I chord played in three positions up and down, hands separately or together

Level 4: I V (or V7) I played in three positions, hands separately or together

Level 5: I IV I V (or V7) I played in three positions, with chord root (single note) played in left hand

Level 6: play a diminished, augmented and diminished 7th chord on any note

7. Arpeggios. Major, minor or diminished 7th

Level 1: 4 octaves, hand over hand

Level 2: 1 octave up and down; staccato then legato, hands separately or together

Level 3: 1 and 2 octaves up and down; 1 and 2 notes to the pulse, hands separately or together

Level 4: 1, 2 and 3 octaves up and down; 1, 2 and 3 notes to the pulse, hands separately or together

Level 5: 3 or 4 octaves up and down; hands together

Level 6: diminished 7th arpeggios up and down; 4 octaves, hands together

*Non-Keyboard students can make adjustments to scales, chords and arpeggios that are appropriate to their instruments.

8. Music Theory tests are to be studied and tested in the studio. The teacher signs the Student Participation Form when the work is completed and before the Ribbon Festival date.

9. Ear Training tests are to be practiced and tested in the studio. The teacher signs the Student Participation Form when the test is completed and before the Ribbon Festival date.

Music Theory and Ear-Training. Tests are available here: 

https://sites.google.com/site/3cmtaarchives/home/ribbonfest-tests

10. Music Craft. Any work of paper, clay, fabric, dough, wood, etc. using a musical motif. The students make their craft at home, bring it to display at the Festival during their performance time, and take it home when they leave the Festival.

11. Period or Composer. This varies from year to year. If a student’s solo, ensemble or hymn is by a composer from this time period, the student will receive the period ribbon along with the regular ribbon for the entered category. For 2025 the period ribbon is Baroque, for music composed from approximately 1600 to 1750. The music can be in original form or an arrangement.