High school musicians from nine schools across the Upper Canada District School Board gathered in Cornwall on May 5, 2026, for the third annual Grandioso music festival. Held at the Aultsville Theatre on the St. Lawrence College Cornwall campus, the event brought together 260 students to focus on improving their band performances and developing musical confidence.
The festival, which has grown from three participating schools in 2024 to nine in 2026, is organized by teachers Erin Ritchie of St. Lawrence Secondary School, alongside colleagues from North Dundas District High School and Seaway District High School. The program serves as a successor to the long-running Kinsmen Music Festival, which was a tradition in Cornwall for nearly 70 years before its cancellation during the global pandemic.
Throughout the day, students took part in workshops led by local musicians and participated in group activities. The festival concluded with mass-band performances of popular songs, including Like a Prayer and Toxic. To support the production, Long and McQuade, which recently opened a location in Cornwall, provided professional recording equipment for the student musicians.
Student volunteer Noah Bergeron noted that the event highlights the strength of the return of school music programs. Many of these programs had been suspended or forced to adapt to hybrid models four years ago due to the pandemic.
The resurgence of the festival coincides with a significant investment in arts education by the school board. In June 2025, the school board announced an additional $500,000 investment into music programs across the district. These funds, ranging from $2,000 to $19,000 per school, have been used to purchase or repair instruments and provide necessary audio equipment for students.
