Sudbury Catholic District School Board
May 01, 2019

Connecting through music

Director's Corner

With the sun shining and the grass beginning to show, Spring may finally be upon us!

In this month’s blog we explore music and the essential role it plays in the education of our students. Through participation in the arts (dance, drama, media arts, visual arts and music) our students develop many important skills and attributes including creativity, self-awareness, team work and a sense of well-being that are essential to success. Dedicating a blog to celebrating the gift of music allows us to highlight the amazing talent in our schools and to THANK the educators who nurture, encourage and provide the opportunities that allow this talent to grow. We thank our staff for the hours of dedication that made these accomplishments possible!

Sudbury Catholic Schools Shine at Kiwanis Festival

The 74th Annual Kiwanis Festival took place from March 23 – April 5, 2019. Students participated in several categories including concert band, jazz ensembles and choirs. We are thrilled to see so many success stories come out of this year’s festival!

Marymount Concert Band Achieves Diamond

The Senior Concert Band at Marymount Academy was able to achieve a diamond result! The band also received a scholarship for having the highest mark of all senior bands at the Kiwanis festival and received an invitation to the recorded provincial level of Kiwanis.

The Concert Band is made up of 31 students from grades 8 to 12. The group competes at three festivals each year: the Northern Ontario Music Festival in March, Kiwanis Music Festival in April, and this year, the Atlantic Band Festival in Halifax, in May. Brittany Goldsborough, band instructor and music teacher, believes that music festivals offer more than simply a placement or result. Festivals also offer participants feedback which allows the band to continue to improve and grow together.

“A festival prompts a new learning cycle as the feedback is for both me, the conductor and the students, our musicians, on what we should work on to continue our development of musical expression. Of course, we are always excited to hear the result of our festivals, but what’s more important overall is that we are always growing and moving toward a higher standard of performance.”

Brittany also believes that music education is one of the best places our students can work on soft skill development.  Through music, students learn about improving skills such as: Leadership, confidence, collaboration, initiative, resiliency, discipline, work ethic, time management, self efficacy, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and self awareness.

In addition to the diamond achievement, Marymount Academy also won awards in the following categories:

  • Secondary School Jazz Ensemble –SILVER
  • Secondary School Brass – GOLD
  • Secondary School Woodwind Duo – GOLD and SILVER
  • Elementary School Concert Band – SILVER
The Senior Marymount Concert Band achieved a diamond result in this year’s Kiwanis Festival.

St. Charles College sees gold in multiple categories!

St. Charles College was successful in several categories at this year’s festival:

  • Percussion Ensemble – Gold
  • Junior Concert Band – Silver
  • Senior Guitar Ensemble – Gold
  • Secondary Concert Choir – Gold
  • Elementary Concert Choir – Gold
  • Elementary Band – Gold

In addition to the wonderful results, Mrs. Demore’s Percussion Ensemble, Mr. Bubalo’s Guitar Ensemble and Ms. Coyle’s Choir received honorary music awards at this year’s Annual Kiwanis Awards Ceremony held on April 15.

Both the Elementary and Senior Choirs received a Gold at the festival.

Sudbury Catholic School Elementary Concert Band Achieves Gold

The Sudbury Catholic School Elementary Concert Band was also a recipient of a Gold ranking at this year’s Kiwanis festival! The Sudbury Catholic Elementary Band is currently made up of grade 7 and 8 students from St. Charles College and St. Benedict and is directed by Leanne Urso and Danielle Conti.  In addition to the Kiwanis Festival, the band will be joined by students from St. Anne, St. James, St. John and St. Charles in Chelmsford for a series of Spring Concerts at each school, as well as a performance at the Canada’s Wonderland Music Festival.

The Elementary Concert Band is comprised of Grade 7 and 8 Students from St. Charles College and St. Benedict.

Full list of 2019 Stars of Excellence at the Kiwanis Music Festival

St. James Students connect through ukuleles

Mrs. Moores and Mr. Maloney are embracing music with their classes at St. James School. The two teachers at St James are teaching students how to play ukuleles. The school invested in a class set of instruments so that all students within the classes would be able to learn. The school also has a ukulele club so that other students have the chance to learn as well!

St. James students have enjoyed the opportunity to learn how to play ukuleles.

Pius XII Students Explore Instruments

Students in Grade 2/3 at Pius XII have been exploring the ways in which different instruments are used around the world. Each student investigated an instrument and then made it out of materials found at home! We think we have some great future musicians in this mix!

Pius XII Students got creative creating their musical instruments!

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Julia Burns and Emily Bona are two members of the Senior Concert Band at Marymount Academy that helped achieve a diamond ranking at Kiwanis. The girls are both in Grade 12 at Marymount.

Julia plays trombone in both the concert band the jazz band and also performed in two solo pieces at Kiwanis achieving gold. Emily plays the alto saxophone in both the concert and jazz band. Music, they say, has provided them with skill sets that positively influenced both their education and their personal mindsets.

“Being in band has allowed us to connect through music and learn to work together as a team. It is also is a great way to meet new people who share the same interests,” said Julia. Emily agreed. “It’s a great outlet for stress too. When my other schoolwork seems difficult and frustrating, I know I can come to band and feel better.”

The girls say that their success in recent years is due to the band acting as a team and putting the work in. They felt prepared and confident going into the competition season.

The bands wrap-up their year with the Halifax Atlantic Band Festival taking place in May. Good luck, Regals!

Emily (left) and Julia (right) believe that participating in music and band has positively influenced them as students and musicians.
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