2019 Q1 Review
As we slog through another Canadian winter, a lot has happened musically in the last three months.
As I mentioned in my last news post, Bekah Simms received a Juno nomination for her fantastic piece Granitic. The piece has been receiving accolades from around the musical community, and although the award was ultimately given to another deserving work, everyone who was involved in bringing the piece to life, including myself, are thrilled about its success and Bekah’s as well.
The Rouge River Winds made their third appearance at the OBA Concert Band Festival, once again achieving a gold standard with their performance of Brian Balmages’ Shrine of the Fallen and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sea Songs. I was delighted to once again have been selected by the adjudicators for the “Conducting Excellence” award at the festival. The members of the band were so moved by the powerful message and music of Shrine of the Fallen that we have decided to perform it again at our upcoming concert on April 13.
Winter and spring also means festival season, and I have had the pleasure of working with many ensembles so far this year as they prepare for their festival performances, including the bands from St. Joseph Morrow Park H.S., Malvern C.I., and Bill Hogarth S.S. Each session is wonderful opportunity for me to share my musical thoughts and also to learn from the different approaches taken by different ensembles and their directors. Occasionally, I also get to meet some precocious young musicians, such as Piper Shiels, a horn player and future music educator from Aurora HS, and Lauren Greenberg, a composer from TanenbaumCHAT. My time at Lauren’s school included leading an exploration of her original composition, Destination: Ethereal, with the senior music class.
In the coming months, I'll be seeing and adjudicating many more ensembles at the TCDSB Festival and at MusicFest Canada. This year, I will be fully taking on my duties as Vice-Chair of the Concert Band Division of MusicFest as my predecessor has stepped down after many years of service to the festival.