Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs

Federation Festival

What is the Federation Festival? 
The National Federation of Music Club’s festival is a musical event held every year during the spring as a means to foster musical education and development among musicians of all ages. The festival is held in many locations all over the nation. Students prepare musical pieces which are performed before a judge. The judge issues each participant a written critique to help them improve and grow as musicians. In addition to providing a valuable educational opportunity in a non-competitive setting, students can earn gold cup trophies and certificates for their participation

When is the Federation Festival?

For Janesville, our 2024 festival will be held on Saturday, March 2nd at both the School for the Wisconsin School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 1700 W State St, Janesville, WI 53546, and the Janesville Woman's Club, 108 S Jackson St, Janesville, WI 53548

Is there a fee?

Yes, the Fee for participating in the 2023 festival event is $23 for the first event and $21 for each additional event.

Gold Cups and Certificates

Students participating in WFMC’s Federation festival receive a rating sheet with a judge’s critique of their performance and a certificate of participation, indicating the event they participated in (e.g. flute solo, piano duet, theory/musicianship, etc.) the location and date of the festival they participated in, and the rating they received from their judge. Each rating is worth a certain number of Gold Cup points.

As students continue to participate year after year in the NFMC Federation festivals, they will amass more and more points in the events in which they participate. When students earn a certain number of points, they earn Gold Cup Trophies. With only a few exceptions, points from different events may not be combined. For example, a student who plays a flute solo may not combine her flute solo gold cup points with points she earned in the Theory/Musicianship event. When the student has earned enough gold cup points, individual trophies will be awarded for each event in which the student participated.

First Gold Cup: 6" tall - 15 Gold Cup Points
Second Gold Cup: 8" tall - 30 Gold Cup Points
Third Gold Cup: 10" tall - 45 Gold Cup Points
Fourth Gold Cup: 12" tall - 60 Gold Cup Points
Grand Gold Cup: 14" tall - 75 Gold Cup Points
President's Cup: 16" tall - 90 Gold Cup Points

Theory/Musicianship

The theory/musicianship event is held every year at Federation Festivals and is worth mentioning because it is an event that is appropriate for all students of music regardless of which instrument they play. The theory/musicianship event is a written examination that tests students’ knowledge of music theory, history, notation, and instrumentation.

WFMC State Festival Competition

All festival participants who receive a superior rating are invited to participate in the WFMC State Festival Competition.  Here they will play only the required piece from memory for a panel of 3 judges.  This event is competitive for students as awards will be presented.  The date for the 2023 State Festival Competition is Saturday, May 20th, and will be held at the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, 2400 E Kenwood Blvd, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Entry fees are $33 per student (1 – 3 events) and $48 per student (4 or more events).   Checks should be made payable to WFMC.