Spring is concert and festival season, and bands from Phoenix, Southgate, Carihi, and Timberline hit the road touring and performing on Vancouver Island, Whistler, Vancouver, Seattle, and San Francisco.
The École Phoenix Middle School bands once again traveled to Whistler for the Con Brio Music Festival where the 55 concert and jazz band members played for adjudicators and fellow students from B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Washington, and Oregon. The Phoenix Grade 8 concert band received a Superior rating in their category, and the Grade 7 /8 jazz band got a Gold rating in their category.
The festival brought together over 3,000 middle and high school musicians from the North West.
The festival concluded with a massed band of over 1,200 students, as well as a gala concert feature gospel singer great Marcus Mosely, trombonist Christopher Bill, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s Naden Band.
Phoenix wrapped up their band year on May 26 with their year-end concert at the Tidemark Theatre under the direction of Kolya Kowalchuk.
Terry Johnson’s Southgate Middle School bands toured and performed on several occasions. In early March, the Grade 7/8 concert and jazz band toured Victoria to perform at local elementary schools and the University of Victoria Band Festival.
April saw the Grade 7 and 8 jazz bands perform at the Westcoast Jazz Festival in Nanaimo, and in early May, the Grade 7/8 concert band performed at the Vancouver Island Concert Band Festival in Port Alberni.
The year culminated with 40 band students traveling to San Francisco from May 16-23 where they performed concerts at an elementary school in Yreka, California, Pier 39, the California Academy of Science, and 6 Flags in Vallejo. The tour was extremely successful and educational for the students.
The Carihi concert band and jazz band, under the direction of Phil Cassidy, spent their spring touring down the coast performing in Tsawwaassen at Beach Grove Elementary School, and then heading farther south to Seattle.
While in Seattle, the bands toured and performed for Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary School and Our Lady of Fatima Elementary School. The bands also received a 90 minute clinic at the University of Washington, toured the Experience Music Project Museum, and watched the Broadway musical, Newsies.
Carihi’s year-end band concert is tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Carihi multipurpose room. Entrance is by donation to the band program. Next year the senior band and jazz band will be participating in a festival tour in the province of Nova Scotia.
Timberline hit the festival circuit with gusto this year, and returned to Campbell River with plenty to show for their efforts. The Grade 9 concert band, and senior concert band travelled to the Vancouver Island Concert Band Festival.
The bands received Gold and Superior ratings respectively. Additionally, both bands were invited to participate in MusicFest Canada, the national music festival being held in Niagara Falls next year! Timberline’s jazz bands also performed for adjudicators at the West Coast Jazz Festival. Again, both bands received a Gold and Superior ratings respectively, as well as an invitation to MusicFest Canada. Timberline’s final band concert was at the Timberline Theatre on Monday under the direction of David Johnson.
This past month saw a first for the Timberline and Carihi jazz bands performing at a coffee house at Carihi on Monday May 30 with the Strathcona Big Band. This tour of jazz music through the ages, performed by all ages, was not only a great performance, but a nostalgic one for many Strathcona Big Band players that are alumni of the Carihi and Timberline jazz bands: Colin Massie, Amanda Rogers, Hailey Dean, Erin Dwyer, and Kolya Kowalchuk.
