Central Huron Secondary School bands have received accolades and awards after performances at Kiwanis Musicfest at Saunders Secondary School in London.
The awards also come with an invitation to the National Musicfest competition in May in Toronto.
Their April 18 appearance marks the first time the bands have competed at a Musicfest competition since the pandemic. In total, nearly 50 students across three bands performed a total of nine pieces for an adjudicator at the festival.
The CHSS Jazz band was awarded Gold and was invited to the National level competition for its performances of “Do the Funky Sam”, “My Funny Valentine” and “Sing, Sing, Sing”. The CHSS Intermediate Concert band also received Gold and an invitation to Nationals for “Squonk Blues”, “Expedition” and “Crusade”. Senior Concert Band received a Silver award for its performance of “Three Folk Miniature”, “Old Churches” and “Incantations”.
“Our adjudicator praised our bands' energy, artistic interpretation, stage presence and style.” said CHSS Music director Aaron Neeb. “It was rewarding to see the many hours of student rehearsal and hard work pay off. These students have contributed a lot to their craft of music making while doing it as a team. To hear that our students' artistic interpretation was unique and original says a lot about the maturity and skills that these students have honed over the past year.”
The CHSS Jazz band will be attending the 52nd Musicfest Nationals in Toronto on May 15. The National competition brings approximately 7,000 of Canada’s top young musicians together to celebrate excellence in musical performance.
The CHSS Music program will be hosting a Cabaret on Thursday May 2 at Central Huron Secondary School at 7 p.m.. The evening will feature soloists, small ensembles and the Concert Band, Jazz Band and Intermediate Band performing their award-winning setlist. Donations will be collected for the music program and to assist in sending students to Nationals in May.