From Kindergarten to grade 12, LCS students have had an incredible year filled with music, creativity, and unforgettable performances!
This year those events from K-12 were our Christmas and Spring Concerts, chapel performances for worship teams, bands, and choirs (including a visiting band from Kelowna Christian School in MS Chapel), Elementary Arts week presentations, a grade 8 field trip to the VSO, the Middle School Honour Band performance and adjudication at Kiwanis Music Festival, the Middle School Talent Show, High School Open Mic events, the Senior Jazz Ensemble at Surrey Jazz Festival, the Tarzan Musical Theatre production, and our high school arts tours. There is so much to celebrate from kindergarten through grade 12 in music at LCS!
Our music program is blessed to have three highly skilled music educators in Mrs. Williams, Mr. De Guzman, and Mr. Murdock. Our music educators collaborate and support each other as well as other programs throughout the year to provide engaging learning and performing experiences as well as field trips and overnight tours that serve as key places of belonging and connection, equipping our students to thrive and discover their God-given potential throughout the year and beyond.
In High School, the music program typically includes a local/regional junior tour, and the senior tour alternates between local/regional destinations and national/international destinations. Last year, there was a combined grade 9-12 touring ensemble that toured to California in the spring where they viewed a professional touring Broadway Musical Theatre show in LA, performed at a seniors home, did a workshop at Biola University, and did a soundtrack session recording and workshop at Disney Imagine Campus. In this post, we’d like to highlight two of our music educational performance tours from this year: the Junior Music Tour to Whistler and the Senior Music Tour to Alberta.
The Junior Tour was a fantastic two-night trip to Whistler for the long-running Cantando Music Festival, with Mr. Murdock, Mr. De Guzman, and Mrs. Guenther chaperoning twenty-four grade nines and three grade eight students who performed as a wind ensemble. They explored the Sea to Sky Gondola, enjoyed nightly concerts featuring professional musicians like trumpeter Jens Lindemann CM and various professional ensembles, and listened to outstanding jazz, choral, and wind ensemble groups. Some highlights included the mass choir performance, featuring hundreds of voices, along with the student and professional choirs and jazz bands. They also visited the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, immersing themselves in the rich lands, traditions, wisdom, and artistry of these two local Salish peoples, as a small part of our dedication to reconciliation, and the students enjoyed exploring Whistler Village together. Two weeks after their tour, the Junior Band also took part in the Christian Schools music festival at Regent Christian and had a great workshop there with Chad Joiner from MEI.
The Whistler trip was filled with inspiration, learning, and community-building. The students took part in a valuable adjudication workshop with Dr. Robert Spittall formerly of Gonzaga University, the composer of the festival’s commissioned piece, a Concerto for Oboe & Wind Ensemble.
Most of what I enjoyed was spending more time with the people in my band as I got to learn more about them, and create deeper connections with people I already knew. One educational value I appreciated was the [instrumental masterclass] clinics…I learned how to breathe better from mine. Something I grew in was being able to perform on stage under pressure. One thing that connected me with others was just being able to spend time with them, and have fun with them.
Jeremy M. Grade 9
The Senior Music Tour to Alberta took thirty-six grade ten, eleven, and twelve music students on a four-night, five-day excursion. Their first stop was Banff, followed by Calgary where they visited the National Music Centre including the Canadian and Country Music Halls of Fame as well as many interactive exhibits including a private 100-year movie theatre organ demonstration, then it was off to Edmonton for the Cantando Music Festival at the incredible Winspear Centre – one of the finest music halls for acoustics in Canada. The group spent some time at the West Edmonton Mall attractions, led worship and performed at two local elementary schools, and had an inspiring adjudication workshop with Dr. Angela Schroder, director of the U of A Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Some students’ highlights were playing on the Winspear stage and hearing 600 children’s voices belting out worship songs and pop songs at their school performances. Thanks and congratulations to Mr. Murdock for leading the tour, to Mrs. VanWerkhoven who chaperoned, and to Mr. Ferguson and Mr. VanHemert who chaperoned and served as drivers for the 5-day tour. We also want to acknowledge and thank the PAC for their invaluable support of both tours this year, which helped lower costs and increase tour inclusions for all students!
I am new to LCS, and I’ve found great friendships and community in the LCS junior and senior bands. Getting to spend more time with my friends, learning more about percussion, and getting to see and experience a new city was really cool and a wonderful opportunity. When we performed for the kids at the school you could really see God moving as the kids all-in worshipped. It was really cool, despite how exhausted we all were.
Keelie K. Grade 11
I think it was really awesome that we got an opportunity to not only watch performances at [the] Winspear, but perform there ourselves. It was the best place I’ve ever played music in. I also loved when we performed at two different schools. The students there loved the music, and wanted to join in however they could. It made playing music worth it by bringing joy to others and glorifying God.
braylon d. grade 10
Our music students are looking forward to their year-end events as well as next year’s events, which will include an Elementary Musical, new middle school music explorations options, and more high school music tours!
So let the music begin; praise His name—dance and sing to the rhythm of the tambourine, and to the tune of the harp. For the Eternal is listening, and nothing pleases Him more than His people; He raises up the poor and endows them with His salvation.
Psalm 149:3-4 VOICE
