Hours of dedication and practice helped an Okotoks school band hit a high note at the Alberta International Band Festival last week.
The Grade 8 and 9 band from Westmount School traveled to Edmonton March 14 to perform in the Alberta International Band Festival (AIBF), where they earned the gold award.
It’s a big honour, said Westmount band director Jeff Graham.
“Only about 5 to 10 per cent of the bands win these awards,” he said. “That’s a big accomplishment for a really small junior high, to have that quality of education and musicianship happening.”
With only about 200 students in junior high, he said the band program’s numbers are limited, as opposed to schools like Okotoks Junior High and St. John Paull II Collegiate, which have as many as 800 students top pick from.
This was the first year Westmount bands have traveled to Edmonton for AIBF, and Graham said he’s pleased with their results and how the students represented their school.
“I’ve always said I prefer to have nice kids over talented kids and I have a group of really, really nice kids and they always win because they’re so much easier to work with,” he said. “That’s what stood out. They are really a great group of kids and they’re really respectful and talented.”
Students worked on their festival pieces – a march, a lyrical (or “pretty piece,” as Graham calls it) and a more modern song – for about seven weeks leading up to the festival.
Due to the small numbers registered in music, the 38 students enrolled in the Grade 8 and 9 bands play together for performances, but do not have class at the same time, which adds to the challenge of pulling together festival and concert programs.
“Just before performances we get together and they have a few rehearsals,” said Graham. “We went to Camp Caroline last week for three days where they all played together, so that was a good way to get comfortable with the music.”
Practicing together is a highlight for Grade 8 trumpet player Etta Johnston, who said last week’s performance at AIBF was one of their best.
“It wasn’t just the performance for me, it was everything else,” said Johnston. “Our practicing that built up to the performance, the confidence build-up and working together.”
All that practice shone on stage and the band awed its audience and earned two superior ratings from adjudicators, resulting in the Gold Award.
Sheena Johnston, secretary of Westmount School and Etta’s mother, traveled to Edmonton with the group and was amazed by the band’s decorum and performance.
“Our group came on and they were just so professional, sitting up tall, perfectly quiet, and they played with such a perfect sound,” said Sheena. “It made me so proud to be part of the school. It was so well executed and I was super proud.”
Pride was a common theme among the band members, who gathered excitedly for a group shot in the music room at the school the day after winning their award.
“It was a really good experience and I was really happy with it,” said Grade 9 trombone player Joey Fisher. “I was really confident going in because of all our hard work, and I was very happy with how it went.”
Working with guest conductors and participating in clinics at the school and at Camp Caroline boosted band members confidence going to AIBF – a confidence that Grade 9 flute player Zoe Maciejowski said kept the nerves at bay.
“We were really prepared for it,” said Maciejowski. “We worked really hard to get there and we did it and it went well and it was just a victory for us.”
The Westmount band will next take the stage in Red Deer at the Alberta Music Association’s provincial festival in April.
The experience in Edmonton prepared the band for the upcoming festival and adjudicators provided them with words of advice, said Grade 8 alto saxophone player Chloe Hunter.
She said there were butterflies in her stomach before taking the stage at AIBF, but her nerves were calmed as they finished the performance and met with an adjudicator for the band’s private clinic.
“My favourite part, I think, was getting the clinician after,” said Hunter. “I think it really helped us improve and think differently and feel confident with our music and that’s going to help us get ready for the other festivals.”
Graham said the band typically performs well in Red Deer and he is looking forward to seeing them shine in another festival.
“They’re just doing so well,” said Graham. “I mean, they’re in the top 5 to 10 per cent in the province, which means they’re in the top 5 or 10 per cent in the country really, because Alberta has such strong band programs. So if they’re doing well here, they’re comparing well across the country. That’s pretty incredible for a small school.”
