Ontario Music Festivals Association

ONTARIO MUSIC FESTIVALS ASSOCIATION
is an organization of volunteers serving music festivals across the province,
and through them, over 170,000 young classical musicians.

Purpose

OMFA's main objective is the development and encouragement of talented Ontario youth in the performance and knowledge of classical music.

Our Mission Statement...

“We envision a world that appreciates music.

We provide a step in the journey towards excellence in music performance with educational opportunities for students and teachers.

We strive to develop well-rounded individuals with positive life and performance skills who will give their gifts back to the community, ensuring that the arts will flourish.”

Organization

Local community festivals are the foundation of Canada's music festival movement. They are alive and well throughout Canada, and Ontario, in both small towns and urban centres.   Every festival is run mostly by volunteers, who ask only that young classical musicians get the opportunity to grow musically.

OMFA is the umbrella body for all such festivals in Ontario.  Member festivals share the mutual objective of providing performing and competition opportunities for young artists, with professional adjudicators offering assessment, helpful critiques, and workshops where possible.  And at every level in the festival movement, besides developing friendships, competitors also learn a great deal from each other.

Winners of member local festivals from Conservatory Grade 7 and up are eligible to proceed to comparable competitions at the annual Provincial Music Festival, organized by OMFA.

On recommendation of adjudicators, the senior winners of the Provincial Festival proceed to the National Music Festival, held annually in a different part of Canada.  At the National Music Festival, Ontario competitors will meet, compete against, and become friends with the best young musicians from every province.

OMFA is proud to be a member of the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals (FCMF), the umbrella organization for some 230 local and provincial festivals across Canada and sponsor of the annual National Music Festival.