Lockview High band students nab six prestigious awards

FALL RIVER - When members of the Lockview High School senior concert and senior jazz bands recently returned from an international music festival in Boston, they brought more than memories back with them.

The 100 Lockview High School students who attended the Heritage International Music Festival were the only Canadians among more than 1,500 students from Boston, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, New York and Virginia.

Despite being in the minority, the group nabbed six prestigious awards.

"For me, receiving the Spirit of the Festival Award was the most important. It talks about why we're playing, it tells us we did our best," said Lockview High's music/band director Joe Cormier.

Cormier brought a group of 92 students to the same festival two years ago, and they were proud to receive two awards.

But Cormier said this year, his students far surpassed expectations. In addition to their passion for music, Cormier said they brought an unidentifiable quality to the festival that didn't go unnoticed. For him, it was one of the trip's most memorable moments.

'Something special'

"At the end of the festival, an adjudicator said, 'There's something special happening here.' He looked at me and he looked at the band and he said 'It's about more than just the music. Don't ever lose it,'" recalled Cormier. "It's amazing when you have an international adjudicator recognizing there's something happening that goes well beyond the music.

"It's something you can't quite put your finger on."

The Festival Spirit Award was given to Lockview High School in recognition that they best represented "their school, community, state, province and country, and that in doing so, displayed wonderful co-operation, spirit and support for all Heritage Festival performances and activities."

First place

The school's jazz band also took first place in its class with a silver rating and a mark of 87 while the senior band was first in its class with a silver rating and a mark of 88. Individual musicians who earned awards included flute player Taylor Davis, who received the Senior Band Maestro Award for outstanding solo, musical ability and sensitivity. Lockview High vocalist Annie Brown nabbed the Jazz Band Maestro Award for outstanding solo, musical ability and sensitivity. Cormier himself was presented with the adjudicators award.

Another highlight for Cormier occurred during a banquet that followed the awards ceremony.

"There were 1,500 Americans around us and I was thinking why am I hearing O Canada? I looked and all 100 of our kids had stood up and broke into O Canada. Time stopped," he said. "It was a special moment. It was them being proud."

The senior band students and a parent-led committee raised between $65,000 and $70,000 for the trip.

Although the festival itself took place over two days in Boston, students also made stops in Maine and New York City, where they took in musicals and enjoyed tourist excursions.

"This is likely the most learning week of school they've had this year. They'll remember it forever. They learn team work and they're way more confident," Cormier said. "They're vibrant, active and so proud of what they've accomplished. They learn that if you work hard, it comes back."

ydentremont@hfxnews.ca