Okotoks band and choral groups made quite an impression on adjudicators at last month’s provincial music festival.
After spending months perfecting their numbers, dozens of junior and senior high school music groups from across the province headed to Edmonton in late May for the Alberta Provincial Music Festival.
Among them was Ecole Okotoks Junior High School senior concert choir, which earned first place in the junior high category for its performance of John Rutter’s God Be in My Head and Eric Whitacre’s Glow.
“I’ve never had a group work harder,” said the school’s music director Sam Shumka. “They really threw themselves into it.”
This was the first year Shumka split the choir into junior and senior groups. The program grew from 26 students two years ago to 72 this year.
Shumka was confident the senior choir was ready for some advanced material and had them rehearsing four-part music.
“This year we had a group of students that was capable of doing it,” he said. “In previous years I haven’t, but they sang equally well with the music they were given.”
Most junior high choirs sing two or three part music, Shumka said.
“At every single music festival we have been to this year the adjudicators couldn’t believe they were in junior high,” he said. “They said four-part at the junior high level is unheard of and it’s to be commended.”
While the senior choir had an obvious edge, Shumka admits the competition was fierce with eight choirs at the junior high level - the most he’s seen at the festival.
“Many of the volunteers that have been there for 15 plus years said this is the most junior high choirs they have ever seen,” he said. “This was the highest quality year I’ve heard at provincials so far.”
Okotoks high school music groups also impressed the adjudicators at last month’s provincial festival.
Holy Trinity Academy’s Grade 10 band received an excellent plus rating at the Grade 3 level, it’s symphonic band received a superior rating at the Grade 4 level and the wind ensemble received a superior rating at the Grade 5 level.
Band director Martin Kennedy said these results are pretty typical.
“The adjudicator said when they look at the program and see our school’s name they know they are going to get a good performance,” he said. “We’ve got some history at the festival.”
Kennedy said he has high expectations of his music students and they never fail to reach them.
“We work really hard,” he said. “The expectation in the classroom is they are going to learn the music and we rehearse and rehearse and rehearse to get them to the level it needs to be.”
Kennedy said the groups are given pieces to perform at the festival that they’ve never seen before.
“There is no real way of preparing them,” he said. “It’s just mastery of the day-to-day skills and a little bit of confidence. The adjudicators work with one of them on stage and give us some things to try out and we receive a recording of the other two adjudicators’ written comments. When you get a new set of ears to point things out it’s always eye opening.”
Also impressing adjudicators is the Alberta High School of Fine Arts vocal ensemble, which although they didn’t place among this year’s 11 other choirs were still a musical force worth being proud of, said Nicole Hounjet, the fine arts music director.
“The adjudicator said that if we all came back the next day and sang our programs again it very likely would turn out differently,” she said. “Once you get to this point it really does become subjective. Almost all of them could have placed, it was that close.”
Hounjet said she’s proud of her choir, which “sang with passion and precision.”
“The adjudication didn’t produce a single criticism,” she said. “After 12 years at the school this was our strongest yet. And with both the vocal ensemble and concert choir growing next year, we are excited for what the future holds.”
