Arts Council wants this year’s Holiday Music Festival to be “more traditional”
The American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, and Humanities will be sponsoring the annual Christmas Holiday Music Festival to be held at the Malaeoletalu Fagatogo Pavilion from December 16-18.
Registration for the event will take place November 9-15 at the Jean P. Hayden Museum compound in Fagatogo. Phone-in registrations will not be accepted.
Arts Council Executive Director Mrs. Leala Pili said that this year, they want the performances to be more traditional and therefore, they are discouraging the use of modern organs and pianos but instead, focusing in on the use of traditional musical instruments like the ukulele, kitara, and drum.
Performers that have possession of the fagufagu and the lali are welcomed to use those as well.
All registered participants will have to audition for a slot in order to perform, and those selected will have to attend a meeting where details like time limits will be ironed out before the final program schedule of performances are distributed.
The Music Festival can include Nativity scenes and Christmas plays, provided that the performers furnish their own props.
“We are inviting the public to come out and view this year’s Music Festival to celebrate the birth of Christ and at the same time, promote the art of music,” Leala said.
The week before the Music Festival, as has been the practice every year, employees of different departments and agencies of the American Samoa Government will be decked out in colorful uniforms as they perform Christmas songs, dances, and skits that focus in on the spirit of the holiday season.
The annual Holiday Music Festival is sponsored by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, and Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
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