Three bands from Springbank Middle School will be taking part in a 12-day music festival in Red Deer, all as part of their quest to qualify to perform on a national level.
The Grade 6, 7 and 8 concert bands will be participating in the Alberta Band Association’s Provincial Festival of Bands, held at Red Deer College, May 13-24.
“The festival runs for two weeks and encompasses more than 100 bands — from school to community bands,” said Verna Ahner, the music director at Springbank Middle School. “It’s open to all bands. If you succeed at this level, you qualify to move on. It’s our provincial screening.”
The Grade 7 and Grade 8 bands will be performing for the adjudicators on May 13. The Grade 6 band will take to the stage May 16.
In addition to the performance, the festival is designed to give musical directors and performers an educational experience. Following the performance, a clinic session will provide band members with constructive feedback to help them grow as performers and musicians.
Between the three bands, Springbank Middle School will be sending about 125 students to the festival.
“Each band has to select a test piece,” said Ahner, adding that the performances can’t be longer than 30 minutes. “The rest of the repertoire has to be selected to complement that one piece — it has to show off the range and talent of the group.”
In 2012, the school’s Grade7/8 band received a gold medal for their performance at the National Music Festival — the only gold medal awarded to an Alberta band. With this year’s Grade 8 band consisting of some of the same musicians, Ahner said band members won’t settle for less than the best.
“Now that we’ve succeeded once, (the students) figure they have to keep up the high standard,” she said.
The Grade 7 band takes the stage at Red Deer College at 11:30 a.m. May 13, while the Grade 8 band performs at 3 p.m. the same day. The Grade 6 band performs at 8:30 a.m. May 16.
