Thursday, July 3, 2008

School bands win big

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published June 15, 2008


Burnaby high schools had some terrific results from the Canadian Music Festival competitions held in Richmond last month.

Burnaby Central's 77-member wind ensemble won the gold standard at the competition, while its 87-voice concert choir and 22-member chamber choir achieved the silver standard.

Burnaby North's beginner concert band also won a gold medal, while the Viking intermediate and senior concert bands brought home silvers.

"This is exhilarating," said Central band director Rob McLeod. "This shows that with kids, no matter how high you set the bar, they will achieve it. It's all about self-discipline and focus and leadership."

McLeod, who arrived at Burnaby Central just seven years ago when the school's showcase concert band had dwindled down to only 12 members, said the medals prove what good things happen when young people are given the opportunity to excel.

Today, McLeod and Carrie Taylor, the director of the school choirs, have more than 400 students in their fold and the department is looking forward to winning even more awards next year.

Peter Wenzek, a band director at North, said his students also did remarkably well, especially considering the fact that large numbers of them were in the midst of writing advanced placement exams that same week.

"The kids felt really good about the result, but I think some of them thought we may have taken on more than they could chew," Wenzek said. "It was a balancing issue between academics and the arts, and the kids persevered."

Wenzek notes that the 55-member Viking marching band, which was last seen during the Hats Off Day parade, will wind up its year by marching in the Canada Day parade in North Vancouver.

For the future, Wenzek is hoping to find some way for the Viking marching bands to participate in the 2010 Olympics.

JESSIE NOMINATIONS

A pair of Burnaby actors have been nominated for the 23rd Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, which honour the best in professional theatre in the Lower Mainland.

Craig Erickson is in the running for the outstanding performance by an actor in a lead role in small theatre for his portrayal of Mark Antony in the Mad Duck Equity production of Julius Caesar earlier this year.

Corina Akeson has been nominated for outstanding performance by an actress in a lead role in small theatre for her role in the Pacific Theatre production of Chickens.

Erickson, a native of Kamloops who studied acting at Southern Methodist University in Texas, lives with his wife and three kids in the Forest Grove neighbourhood and was most recently profiled in the Burnaby NOW for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Akeson, a Burnaby native who graduated from Studio 58 just six years ago, spent two seasons touring with the Montreal-based Repercussion Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park Festival before coming home to join the Cor Departure Physical Theatre Ensemble as a Jane-of-all-trades.

The Jessie awards will be handed out on June 20 at the fabulous Commodore Ballroom with tickets available from the usual suspects.

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