Stopping only once, during the Second World War, the annual event has showcased the budding talent of hundreds of thousands of young people since 1911.
The biggest of its kind in the UK, and the 100th festival starts on Saturday, running for two weeks in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Renfield St Stephen's Church.
Originally a choral festival, Glasgow Music Festival started the same year as the Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art and Industry, a huge event held in Kelvingrove Park to celebrate Scotland's imperial status.
Thousands of people flocked to Glasgow for the major event and the festivals founder, Sir Hugh Roberton, could not resist the chance to display Glasgow's singing talent.
Choirs travelled from as far afield as the north of England to compete in the fierce competition.
Since then the festival has added to the categories and now includes orchestras, bands, Scottish Country Dancers, speech and drama.
Every year 7000 performers, now mainly from Glasgow and the West of Scotland, descend on the city, many returning year after year first as schoolchildren performers, then soloists and orchestra members before coming back to volunteer.
Now there is more emphasis on performance and the excitement of being on stage, and although competition is a part of the festival, groups are welcome to take part without competing.
Honorary president of Glasgow Music Festival Robert MacDonald first performed as a child at the festival in the 1970s.
With Hillhead Primary School and Hyndland Secondary School he played the cello and the recorder and sang in the choir. He then went on to be chairman for the festival for 17 years from 1992.
Robert from Broomhill, said he still remembers queueing up to go on the stage and sing.
He said: "It is all about giving performers a place to take part. Groups perform in their own concerts and in their own school and this gives them a chance to perform on a major platform in Glasgow."
He said it is not about winning though, it is about coming to perform and develop your own skills.
Robert added: "I got involved in organising because I felt that when I took part I got a lot out of it and it was a means of trying to put something back."
But, the success of the festival has not always been a subject for celebration.
In the 1920s they had a spat with the Inland Revenue after the tax man claimed the festival was doing too well to be a charity.
Back then choral singing in Scotland was big business and choirs bought huge groups of fans to support them.
The festival is mainly funded by ticket sales, as well as some charitable grants.
The case went to the Court of Session in Edinburgh and the festival emerged victorious.
In 1926, the year of the General Strike, performers pushed to the extremes to get to Glasgow.
Young violinist James Soutar hitch-hiked from Kircaldy to compete while former honorary president and musician Agnes Duncan and fellow singers in the Vale of Leven Co-operative Junior Choir travelled from Springburn in a hearse.
The determination of performers to make it the festival was shown again a couple of years ago.
A group of girls from Oban set off on the train to Glasgow with a Clarscah – a Scottish Harp.
On the way the train broke down and they were transferred to a bus.
The driver refused to take the harp on board but the girls had been practising for so long that they ignored him, carried the harp on and refused to budge.
Glasgow Music Festival chairwoman Sheila Craig, said the festival makes a big contribution to the cultural life of the city.
It is organised entirely by volunteers who give up their time to serve as committee members, staff and stewards.
Sheila said "It is the volunteers and the people on the committee and past committee members who keep things going.
"I think as long as there are people willing to volunteer and give us their time we will get there by hook or by crook."
matty.sutton@heraldandtimes.co.uk
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