Kenora District Festival of the Arts — Monologue, Choir and Instrumental Classes for Six Grade Bands: A District Arts Festival Template

Speech & Drama · Canada

The 81-year-running Kenora District Festival of the Arts (Ontario, Canada): 5 real classes (Dramatic Monologue, Vocal Large Ensemble/Choir, Instrumental Solo, Instrumental Small/Large Ensemble) across a real 6-tier Ontario school-grade ladder, built from KDFA’s own official 2026 syllabus.

A ready-made district arts festival for schools and the wider community: a dramatic monologue, a large vocal ensemble, an instrumental solo and small and large instrumental ensembles, each run across five school-grade bands from Grade 3 and under to Grade 11-12 plus an adult tier. Every class is open to both genders, performed in any language, with a printed time limit per class and written adjudicator comments rather than a points table.

This template models a district arts festival in Ontario, Canada, built from the organiser’s own printed 2026 syllabus for a festival that has run for more than eighty years. The real festival covers piano, harp, instrumental, vocal, speech and drama, film, dance, visual arts and literary arts; this template carries five of its classes: Dramatic Monologue, Vocal Large Ensemble (Choir), Instrumental Solo, Instrumental Small Ensemble and Instrumental Large Ensemble. The monologue and the instrumental solo are individual classes. The choir and both ensembles are team classes. Every class is open to both genders and is set up as any language.

Entries are grouped by Ontario school grade rather than by age. There are six bands: Grade 3 and under, Grade 4-6, Grade 7-8, Grade 9-10, Grade 11-12 and Adult. The template converts the grades to ages 4 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 13, 14 to 15, 16 to 17 and 18 upwards. One exception: the monologue is published for Grade 4 up to adult, so it runs in five bands and has no Grade 3 and under class. The syllabus splits its adult tier by experience, but the time limit is identical in both halves, so the template treats Adult as a single band.

Time limits are printed per class. A school-grade monologue is limited to 3 minutes and an adult monologue to 10. The choir may sing for up to 15 minutes (the syllabus gives a range, and the template installs the upper end). An instrumental solo or small ensemble is limited to 8 minutes. A large instrumental ensemble, which means six or more players, is limited to 10 minutes. The small ensemble class is for two to five players. The same limits apply in every grade band.

The syllabus prints no points table. Adjudicators give written comments, and the marks they record are for the entrant’s information rather than announced. For that reason every class carries the platform’s nominal 10-point score, placings are left empty and fees are installed as zero for you to set. The instrumental and vocal classes are non-competitive unless an entrant is working towards one of the festival’s named trophy sequences, which are awarded for entering a prescribed set of classes rather than for a numeric ranking. The festival’s other sections, such as piano and harp, small vocal ensembles, dance, visual arts and literary arts, are not in this template; you can add them from the Competitions pages if your festival runs them.

Where this event is run

Graded, adjudicated festivals of the arts, where entrants perform in a class for their school grade and receive written comments from a visiting adjudicator, are a long-standing tradition across Canada and are mirrored by the eisteddfod and competitive festival circuits of Wales, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Monologue, choir and instrumental solo and ensemble classes are the usual backbone of such festivals. This template reflects one Ontario district programme, so its grade ladder, time limits and non-competitive adjudication describe that syllabus only; organisers elsewhere would normally swap the grade bands for their own year groups and add placings if they want a ranked result.

• Canada (Ontario)

Key facts

• Five classes: Dramatic Monologue and Instrumental Solo (individual), Vocal Large Ensemble (Choir), Instrumental Small Ensemble and Instrumental Large Ensemble (team)
• Six Ontario grade bands: Grade 3 and under, Grade 4-6, Grade 7-8, Grade 9-10, Grade 11-12 and Adult; the monologue starts at Grade 4, so it has five bands
• Time limits: monologue 3 minutes (adult 10), choir 15, instrumental solo 8, small ensemble 8 (two to five players), large ensemble 10 (six or more players)
• Open to both genders and set up as any language; the same time limit applies in every grade band except the adult monologue
• No points table is printed: adjudicators give written comments, so each class carries a nominal 10-point score, placings are empty and fees are installed as zero
• Piano, harp, small vocal ensembles, dance, visual arts, film and literary classes from the same festival are not included

Age groups

6

Competition items

5

Competitions

29

Grade bands

0

Rank awards

0

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

Grade 3 & Under

4From

–

8To

Candidates aged 4 to 8 compete in this group

Grade 4-6

9From

–

11To

Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Grade 7-8

12From

–

13To

Candidates aged 12 to 13 compete in this group

Grade 9-10

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

Grade 11-12

16From

–

17To

Candidates aged 16 to 17 compete in this group

Adult

18From

–

120To

Candidates aged 18 to 120 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Dramatic Monologue

ActionMarks

Vocal Large Ensemble (Choir)

MusicMarks

Instrumental Solo

MusicMarks

Instrumental Small Ensemble

MusicMarks

Instrumental Large Ensemble

MusicMarks

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.

Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?

No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.

Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to instrumental music competition judging criteria guide.