John McGregor Secondary School’s concert band has come a long way in just three years’ time.
On May 11 in Niagara Falls, the 26-member ensemble earned a Gold Standard at MusicFest Canada “The Nationals” competition – joining more than 8,000 student performers at the largest band competition in North America.
Led by educator Curtis Clarke, the band includes students from grades 9-12, some who never touched an instrument before Clark’s arrival at the school three years ago.
To go from that to winning gold “reflects the power of dedication, teamwork and the transformative impact of music education,” Clarke said in a Lambton Kent District School Board media release.
“The students worked so hard for this,” the teacher said. “I’m incredibly proud of them.”
According to the release, Clarke rebuilt the school’s music program from the ground up. Starting in his first year, every student enrolled in a music class was taught to play an instrument.
“Going from not being able to play any instrument to winning gold at the national level in just three years is such an incredible accomplishment for the students at JMSS,” he added.
The concert band officially formed only last year, debuting at the school’s Panther’s Palette arts night. The band went on to perform at feeder schools and revived JMSS’s Winter Concert for the first time since the pandemic. In addition, the band earned a Silver Plus rating at MusicFest Windsor, qualifying them for the Nationals.
As part of its top-notch showing, the band performed three contrasting pieces, as well as a rigorous one-hour adjudication session, which included sight-reading a new piece of music with no preparation – a demanding component of the festival.
