Two Salmon Arm high school bands struck the right chord at the Okanagan Music Festival earlier this month.
The J.L. Jackson Grade 9/10 Concert Band and Salmon Arm Secondary (SAS)Grade 11/12 Concert Band each earned a standing of Superior Excellence in their categories at the festival held in Penticton on March 12.
The Jackson band was also invited to MusicFest Canada, an invitation-only Canada-wide festival that will take place in Toronto from May 13 to 18, although the invitations for the category that SAS was in haven’t yet been announced.
The Okanagan Music Festival has been around for years and has competitors from the local region and the Lower Mainland.
School District 83 music vice-principal Michelle Reed, who attended the event, said the local students all performed beautifully.
“I feel very strongly about the power of music and how it builds belonging and community within a school. Band is not easy. There is no instant gratification. It requires patience, resilience and a desire to continually improve oneself for the sake of the whole,” Reed said in a media release.
“It is in these incredible festival moments that we can truly celebrate the hard work and commitment of our music students. They are learning lifelong skills that will serve them well into adulthood.”
For its festival piece, the SAS band chose a Class B300 repertoire, which is a challenging set that still earned the group that top rating. They also had the opportunity of a workshop with Dr. Gareth Jones, director of bands at the University of Calgary, who gave the musicians “inspiring feedback,” the release reads.
Jackson had a workshop of their own as well, led by BC Music educator, adjudicator and professional trumpet player Michael Perkins, who Reed said “was astounded with their level of musicianship” given that most of the members are in Grade 9.
She added the Jackson students were ecstatic after their award-winning performance.
“One of the students was just beaming with pride after…and told me that it was so much fun,” Reed said.
“They knew they had just achieved something very special together as an ensemble.”