It was a golden moment for the St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School Concert Band.
The group travelled to compete at Music Fest Nationals in Niagara Falls last week and achieved a Gold Standing.
The 55-member band performed three challenging pieces on the festival stage for an audience and adjudication panel.
“Over the last nine years at St. Anne’s, we have had some amazing concert bands. This particular band is very special. I have never had a group that I have pushed so hard," says music teacher and band director Josh Geddis. "The band this year is also unique as over half of them are junior (Grade 9 or 10) students, and our Concert Band usually consists of a higher ratio of senior students. Both the junior and senior students really stepped up and the entire school along with myself and Mrs. St. Onge (choral director, band assistant and educational assistant at St. Anne’s) are extraordinarily proud of these students.”
Grade 12 saxophonist Ben Luelo received the ensembles Honour Award for performance and leadership in preparation for Nationals. And Goderich's Joshua LeBlanc-Demers, a Grade 11 student at St. Anne’s, was accepted based on an audition to the National Wind Ensemble and National Percussion Ensemble.
