Four winners get $500 PSHB Inc. funding
Three individuals and one high school band are sharing $500 in prize money offered to participants in this year’s Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Music Festival (KWKMF) by Preston Scout House Band Inc.. The prize money is awarded in memory of Preston Scout House Band founder Wilf Blum, who introduced music to the activities of the 1st Preston Boy Scout troop in 1938. The Band became one of the most famous and popular drum and bugle corps in North America
The Scout House prize winners, amounts and Festival competition categories are:
Nathaniel Nahrgang – $200 (Woodwinds Trophy Winner)
Alexander Zan – $50 (Woodwinds)
Emile Grimes – $50 (Brass)
Laurel Heights Senior Jazz Band – $200 (School Bands)
The 2025 awards bring the value of Preston Scout House Band Inc. youth music awards since 2014 to $12,050. Awards were presented through the Waterloo Region boards of education until 2023 and through the Kiwanis Music Festival in 2024 and 2025.
The Kiwanis Music Festival is the largest annual music education event in Waterloo region, running since 1948 as a Kiwanis Club service project. Between 1,200 and1,600 public school and private music students perform in solo and group classes. The aim is to support and inspire youth musical ambitions and skill development.
The festival offers classes in a wide range of instruments and musical styles and offers both competitive and non-competitive opportunities to music students. The festival also welcomes music students of all ages, with classes for families, adults, and community ensembles. Every participant receives feedback from an adjudicator: a professional musician and educator. Participants are eligible to receive ribbons, financial awards and trophies. Each year the festival distributes $8,000 to $20,000, with individual awards ranging from $25 to $500.
The KWKMF also selects delegates to represent Kitchener-Waterloo at the 2025 Ontario Music Festivals Association (OMFA) provincial competition, held in the Kitchener-Waterloo region from June 9 to 14.
OMFA is the umbrella body for community music festivals in the province of Ontario. Member festivals provice performance and competition opportunities for young artists, with professional adjudicators offering assessment, helpful critiques, and workshops. Adult classes are also offered for every discipline.
Preston Scout House Band, Inc. is a non-profit corporation with registered charity status able to issue tax receipts to donors, incorporated under the Corporations Act of the Province of Ontario on Nov. 29, 1956. The current active group is award winning Silver Leaves Brass ensemble, including some members who marched in the original band in the late 1950s and later years.
Scout House community partners include the City of Cambridge, Waterloo Region Community Foundation, Kitchener Access Storage, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 530 Waterloo and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 126 Preston.
For more information about Preston Scout House Band Inc. activities, contact telephone (519) 653-3376, email PSHBAND [dot] INC [at] outlook [dot] com
