TASSS jazz band wins gold at MusicFest Canada

Three Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School jazz bands, along with three students in individual categories, won national medals at the 46th annual MusicFest Canada in Toronto last week.

The Thomas A. Stewart Jazz Band A won gold in the instrumental jazz division.

The Thomas A. Stewart Jazz Band B and the Jazz Combo won silver awards in their categories.

Individual outstanding musicianship awards went to students Noah Abrahamse, Steffen Davidson and Roz Shepherd.

The TASSS music program will host a Jazz Night on June 6 at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium.

Featured groups will be the TASSS jazz bands and the Peterborough Jazz and Blues Workshop.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5.

Call 743-5230 ext. 366 for additional information.

Meanwhile the Senior Jazz Ensemble from Campbellford District High School repeated as national gold award winners at MusicFest Canada.

The ensemble won with the piece, Whiplash, the title track to the 2014 Academy Award-winning movie of the same name.

Campbellford’s Intermediate Jazz Ensemble also won a national silver award at MusicFest Canada.

Grade 11 singer Olivia Rapos, who was featured in an arrangement of the piece Save Your Love for Me by Brian Barlow, received praise from the adjudicators for her mature style, according to a release from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.

Students who were singled out for outstanding playing included Grade 10 student Patrick Muldoon for his lead trumpet work and solos; Grade 12 saxophonist Becca Westall for her beautiful tone; Grade 9 guitar player Ivan Stille, whose solos and leadership earned him a musicianship/ leadership award; and Zoe Saito, Grade 9 lead trumpet player in the Intermediate group, for outstanding performance and leadership. Whiplash is a piece written in 7/4 time, rather than the traditional four beats to a measure, which makes counting and group blend difficult, according to CDHS teacher Dave Noble.

“It was a real challenge to put the piece together and get used to feeling different subdivisions of seven beats to a bar,” Noble stated.

“But it is a huge sense of accomplishment when it happens… adjudicators always talk about how this group is able to sound really tight and together. Everyone in the band did a great job.”

“That was a really, really powerful performance,” Juno-nominated Humber College teacher and adjudicator Shirantha Beddage told the Senior Jazz Ensemble.

“Obviously, with a tune at this level, you’ve got to put a lot of time and energy into it, and the fact that you did — I really appreciated that, and so did the crowd.”

“The Intermediate group also did a fantastic job with their tunes,” Noble sadded. “National silver is a huge accomplishment for our young musicians. They should be very proud.”

CDHS musicians will play shows for 1,200 area elementary students June 1 and then hosting a music night and awards show that evening.