The Norfolk County Music Festival
(affiliated to the British Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and
Speech) aims to raise the standard of amateur music making by
giving its practitioners the opportunity to perform in public and
under concert conditions. The performer can hear fellow performers
and obtain a detailed assessment of their work from a wide range of
professional adjudicators who are practising professional musicians
in their own right.
The Festival was founded in 1925 arising from the vision of
Arthur Shorten, one of the two Members of Parliament for Norwich. Mr
Shorten's name lives on through the award of the Shorten Cup and the
cash prizes each year, kindly donated by his daughter.
It is truly an open Festival - the only requirement being that
amateur status is observed. Schools, colleges, groups of musicians
and individuals and families of all ages enter. There are classes
for practically all types of musical instruments, combinations of
instruments and types of music. It is not a competition as there are
no prizewinners (and therefore no losers) but is an opportunity for
these musicians to enter designated classes to be judged by
professional and specialist musicians. As such, all entrants are
awarded a certificate with classifications according to merit.
