Welcome

The Thanet Music and Drama Festival was founded as a charity in 1921, and each year offers a platform for hundreds of amateur musicians, actors and dancers in and around the Thanet area to perform in front of an audience and gain expert critical advice.

The festival consists of five sections (Instrumental, Speech & Drama, Piano, Dance, Vocal & Choral) and is held in February to March every year, culminating in an Award Ceremony & Gala Concert featuring some of the best performances from all sections.

We are delighted to announce that the VIP for the 2019 gala concert is Tabitha Webb (nee Watling) who grew up in Thanet and feels that her appearances in the TMDF were an integral part of her success. Tabitha has appeared in the West End as Christine in 'Phantom', and in the film of the hit musical 'Les Miserables'. She has co-written a musical 'Love Beyond' which has already been performed in this country at Wembley etc, and is soon to open in the States.

The 2019 syllabus is all ready for you to start preparing your entries for next year's festival. The entry forms are now available to download (please use the correct one for each section!) - see box to right... and hard copies are also available. These are already sent to anyone requesting one in previous years... but please email tmdf@live.co.uk if you would also like one, stating in which sections you are interested. This year, Charlotte Rose Moore was a worthy winner of the Miss Vyse cup, having won trophies in all 3 sections in which she entered. But I am waiting for someone to again enter all 5; a feat which has only been done once before, by Zofia Wolny in 2016.

Our Gala Concert 2018 was back in the Sarah Thorne Theatre, a venue that provided us with everything we needed, and is just the right size for our grand finale. This year the trophies were awarded by BBC presenter Evan Davis who compared the masterclass element of the adjudications to the process in Dragons' Den! He continued by explaining that, although he didn't feel he'd been any good performing at school (with TMDF secretary Lynn where they were both in various drama productions and the school orchestra), he did gain from it all... He realised that it is important to try things, to discover one's passion... and en route one finds out much about oneself. And he noted that it was such experiences that gave him the confidence to stand in front of audiences, or a live camera, in later life. He still doesn't find it easy but reckons that nerves play a crucial part in a good performance. We might not have been much good as young performers, but the same can't be said for those who entertained us at the concert. The standard seemed higher than ever, with stunning performances from each section. Photos of the trophy winners can now be seen on the news page where you can also download this year's programme and see a list of this year's trophy winners.

Dates for 2019:

Speech & Drama	Wed 27th Feb. - Sat 2nd Mar. Sun 3rd Mar.	Queens Road Baptist Church, Broadstairs Sarah Thorne Theatre, Fordoun Road, Broadstairs CT10 2BN	map map
Pianoforte	Saturday 9th March	Salvation Army Citadel, 167 High St. Ramsgate, CT11 9TT	map
Vocal & Choral	Thursday 14th - Saturday 16th March	St Philip's Church, Palm Bay	map
Dance	Saturday/Sunday 9th,10th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th March	Birchington Village Centre	map
Instrumental	Saturday 23rd March	Salvation Army Citadel, 167 High St. Ramsgate, CT11 9TT	map
Gala Concert and Prize Giving	Friday 29th March, 7PM	Sarah Thorne Theatre, Fordoun Road, Broadstairs CT10 2BN	map

2018 programme is available as a download now...