Cremona’s Grade 7–9 band returned from the national music festival with a gold award for their performance.
Alex Hutcheon, Cremona School’s band director, shared that this finish signifies an achievement of excellence in all aspects of the band’s performance.
”I am very proud of the group for achieving the standard of excellence for their performance,” says Hutcheon, “but what I am most proud of is the respect and gratitude that the students displayed to our parent chaperones, tour guides, bus drivers and clinicians. They did a fantastic job representing our school, school division and our province.”
From May 13–17, York University in Toronto hosted the National MusicFest Canada. Following a "superior" performance at a music festival in Alberta this spring, the 37-student Cremona School band, which consists of students in Grades 7 through 9, was invited to the national competition.
According to Chinook's Edge, the band performed at the national festival for 30 minutes, and then had a private clinic with a guest conductor for an hour following the performance. Students were also able to listen to other bands perform.
The band performed the following songs:
- Eagle Song by Robert Buckley
- Zenith by Peter Meechan
- Marzo Zingaro by Randall Standridge
Ada R., a Grade 7 student, says she enjoyed the trip because band members.
"Strengthened our friendships, learned about individual responsibility, and gained a cultural experience from exploring a different part of our country. I enjoyed watching other groups perform. I had no idea that Canadian schools had string ensembles, and that was great to watch. Finally, I loved working with the guest conductor. He had great feedback, and he was kind and patient.”
Beyond their musical performances, band students enjoyed a variety of experiences, including visiting Niagara Falls, hiking nearby trails, and riding the Whirlpool Aero Car. They also explored Clifton Hill, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ripley’s Aquarium, and the CN Tower. To top off the trip, students attended a Toronto Blue Jays game.
"The ultimate goal of a music educator is to instill such a love for music that students continue playing, creating, enjoying and being involved in some sort of music making outside of school and into their adult lives. I hope that the experience of performing on the national stage, representing Cremona School, Chinook’s Edge, and small communities and K-12 schools across our country, will instill an intense passion for music that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives,” shared Hutcheon.
Through fundraising efforts throughout the past year, numerous families and community members made the trip to nationals possible for the students.
The school division has 12 schools in neighbouring communities, including Olds, Mountain View County, Didsbury and Carstairs. Chinook's Edge has a total of 11,000 students across 40 Central Alberta schools.
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