Fest in Canto, an annual music competition for students, opens on Friday.
Organized by Bracell and supported by the Education Secretariats of seven municipalities in the region, the event will see the winners get to record their own CDs, as well as earn cash prizes.
Participating schools also compete for prizes: those that mobilize the biggest and liveliest crowd at the local stages and the final will win a multimedia kit containing a projector, an amplifier and a microphone.
Fest in Canto works like this: The company advertises the project in public schools and interested people sign up to participate by sending a home recording to the organization. The jury shortlists students from each municipality who are invited to perform at public auditions, accompanied by a professional band hired by Bracell. The first and second places in each category are awarded with R$60,000 and R$40,000, respectively, and the winner goes on to compete in the grand finale. The two overall winners who will get to record their own CDs with a circulation of 1,000 copies for dissemination, all funded by Bracell.
“Music is a fundamental tool not only for culture, but for the transformation of education. It is an honor for a company like Bracell to contribute to this change,” said Ana Paula de Matos, Bracell’s Social Responsibility Analyst and project manager. According to her, this year there have already been two Fest in Canto try-outs: one in Itanagra and one in Inhambupe.
Further auditions are scheduled in Alagoinhas, Aramari, Conde, Entre Rios and Esplanada, after which the grand finale will be held in Alagoinhas.