L’Harmonie de l’École Arthur-Pigeon high school band offered students at Heritage Elementary School and the Huntingdon Adult Education and Community Centre the opportunity to listen to their music on December 18. The 40 musicians played multiple Christmas songs including All I Want for Christmas is You, Feliz Navidad, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and many more.
The band played for students at various schools in the Haut-Saint-Laurent and Suroit region before the holiday break to help get the school community in the Christmas spirit.
“Because this was the first year that music has returned to Heritage, getting the students exposure to the instruments of the orchestra was crucial,” said music teacher David Rosenbaum. Classical instruments are not as accessible in rural areas, “so it is quite valuable and unusual to have such talented youths nearby make the tour of our community,” he added, noting he was “immensely impressed that the students were an attentive audience.”
The conductor asked Heritage’s principal, James Furey, if the student musicians could come to perform, and he said, “Yes, because we need more musical culture.”
Mr. Furey was especially pleased with the collaboration between the schools. “This is a community event. Music is universal; whether you speak English or French, it doesn’t matter. It brings people together,” he elaborated.
The gym was packed for the performance. Most of the students had never seen a full band perform. “There were some kids that were very sceptical,” said Mr. Furey. “But, after that first song, everybody was clapping and really into it,” he noted.
“It was impressive, because it takes a lot of skill to learn a single song all the way through and they learned so many, and all of them had to learn it and play it together in perfect harmony,” said one student in Grade 6.
This was the second musical performance to take place in the gym in under 24 hours. The students were on stage the night before for the return of their own Christmas concert to the school.
The concert featured musical performances, guitar solos, dances, a comedy routine, and Christmas music sung by all grade levels.
“It was so nice to have the concert back, said Mr. Furey.
“It was wonderful seeing all the students put something together in just a few weeks,” said a Grade 6 student. There were more than 45 individual students who auditioned either as groups or solo acts over four days.
“For some of our younger students, I was immensely proud that they decided to both get up there and give their all,” said Mr. David.
“Giving them an opportunity to rediscover themselves and having the collaboration of our MCs and backstage crew and getting to see those students in a different environment was really rewarding,” he concluded.
*This article was written by students at Heritage Elementary School as part of a partnership between The Gleaner and the New Frontiers School Board with support from the federal government.