About the Manx Music Festival

The Manx Competitive Music, Speech and Dance Festival or The Manx Music Festival , as it is more commonly known, or The Guild , as it is known locally, had its origins in The Isle of Man Fine Art and Industrial Guild. It was during the fifth Annual Exhibition of this organisation, held in December 1892, that choir competitions were held for the first time. These were organised by Miss M L Wood, who became known as "the mother of music in the Isle of Man", and took place over just one day. Competition was accepted as the motivation for improvement in many spheres. From this humble beginning the "Music Guild" developed:

1894 The first vocal solo classes were included
1895 The senior music classes moved to the spring to allow greater time for preparation after the end of the tourist season
1897 The Music Guild expanded to two days and was soon to include elocution classes
1902 The new Palace Ballroom opened with a capacity of 4,000 for the Music Guild concerts
1905 The British Federation of Music Festivals was founded (under a different name)
1923 The first Cleveland Medal was awarded to Mr Allan Quirk
1929 Dance classes were included for the first time
1933 The first competition for one-act plays was held in the Palace Coliseum
1947 The Villa Marina took over from the Palace Ballroom for the main events