Wednesday, February 15th was a big day for Trinity College School's Tottenham Band. We returned to the Ontario Band Association's Provincial Band Festival after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Music programs have gone through many challenges in the past few years, and to see the halls of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto filled with young musicians on their way to perform was heartwarming from the first step inside. Our students were nervous and excited to perform at a band festival for the very first time.
The OBA festival is a wonderful opportunity for young musicians. It is a four-day festival where over 120 bands perform. Students have the opportunity to showcase their talents on stage to an audience of their fellow musicians, friends and family, and a panel of adjudicators. OBA's adjudicators are phenomenal educators from across North America, comprising university professors and professional clinicians. Students also enjoy being audience members and hearing other school bands from surrounding areas.
At the festival, bands compete against a standard of Gold, Silver Plus, Silver or Bronze. Bands that achieve Gold or Silver Plus may also be invited to perform at Musicfest Canada's national competition. Every performance at the festival includes a 20-30 minute clinic. Here, students work with one of their adjudicators to celebrate and reflect on their performance, taking their playing to the next level. It is always a positive, rich learning environment where students experience their musicianship differently.
Tottenham Band performed three selections this year. Festival rules require a program of contrasting pieces, where one piece must be lyrical in content, and one must also be from the festival syllabus list. Musicians in Tottenham Band went through a process in early January of selecting their repertoire from a list created by their teacher. They analyzed different aspects of the pieces and devised a selection that best suited the musicians and the required criteria. They chose well.
Tottenham Band's first piece, Dance Slav by Jack Wilds, is a tribute to late 19th- and 20th-century dance pieces, full of energy from the very first beat. It is a challenging work due to its fast tempo, detailed articulation and large dynamic contrasts. It demands a high level of control and precision that Tottenham Band delivered. Their second selection was called A Song for Peace by James Swearingen. This reflective ballad represented the lyrical portion of the program. Slow, melodic pieces are challenging for young bands. They require an in-depth understanding of phrasing/expression, tremendous air support and a goal of playing together with every single note. Tottenham Band came together beautifully with this performance. Many students stepped out of their comfort zone and took on solo roles in this piece. A duet line played by Antonia Patsias on clarinet and Kate Thiebaud on alto sax started the music with a beautiful warm sound and drive of phrase. Cederic Hamilton on trumpet announced the band's resonant answer to the soloist's call. Next, the melody performed by Delyth Thomas on flute and the counter-melody by Antonia Patsias on clarinet continued the wonderful musical conversation. Again, it was answered beautifully by the full ensemble. Ira Hodges, on the trombone, gave the next solo, continuing the same musical thread of long, expressive lines. As the piece came to a close, each solo passage returned with the same beautiful emotion, echoed with a warm response from the group. At the conclusion, the pride in our accomplishments as a team was evident in the smiles on our faces and the reaction of our audience. Our final selection is the band's favourite: Taiko by William Windham. "Taiko" refers to the drums used in Japanese drum ensembles. This piece brings this percussive art to young bands, featuring the percussion section with a dramatic pentatonic melody throughout. Crystal Ding set the tone of the work with a flute solo that began with confident long tones with pitch bending, blending into the introduction of the main melody. Quin Mendum on clarinet joined as the two parts interplay to announce the full band. They both did a terrific job. Throughout this work, the percussion section of Alicia Lui, Arwen Rankin, Edgar Merepeza and Avantika Choudhary did an outstanding job providing the punctuation and drive that the music demanded.
After their performance, Tottenham Band headed to a clinic with Dr. Mark Hopkins, professor at Acadia University's School of Music. Dr. Hopkins congratulated Tottenham Band on their fine performance. He loved that the band was so expressive with their music. Dr. Hopkins commended the percussion section for their playing, saying it was the best ensemble work he had seen at their level. He told the group that Tottenham Band had been nominated for an award in percussion excellence. These awards are given out at the conclusion of the four-day festival. Dr. Hopkins worked with the band through Dance Slav and A Song for Peace, giving wonderful tips on articulation and dynamics. The musicians put their new learning into immediate action, playing exceptionally well under Dr. Hopkins' direction. The clinic concluded with Dr. Hopkins presenting the musical leadership award to Ira Hodges. Ms. Crawford nominated Ira for his leadership in the band's fundamentals section and his dedication to musical excellence.
Tottenham Band had a fantastic day at OBA. Their performance was a wonderful celebration of their dedication to the team, their own performance practice (hours and hours!) and our school community. For a group of musicians that had never competed in a band festival before, some of whom learned to play their instrument online, and others who just started to play their instruments in October, their achievement is exceptional. We are thrilled to announce that Tottenham Band received a GOLD award for their performance with an invitation to perform at MusicFest Canada's National competition. To the members of team Tottenham Band, we are so proud of you! Working with each and every one of you is an absolute pleasure.
- By Emma Crawford, music teacher
