REGIONAL PROGRAMS
Regional Programs & Events
2017 Parkland/Norman Region Honour Bands - report by Taylor Schmidt
2017 PNHB was an ENORMOUS success! What do you get on March 9, 10, and 11 with over 200 participants in 4 Ensembles, 4 Guest Directors, 13 directors, and 21 BU Clinicians = An unforgettable band experience for all the band participants and a fantabulous Saturday concert with 13 great tunes. This year the Honour Band tried something different and put together four ensembles instead of three. 2 Junior Bands, 1 Intermediate and 1 Senior. Under the direction of our fantastic and fearless guest directors, Mrs. Cheryl Ferguson (Junior), Alexis Silver (Junior), Dr. Fraser Linklater (Intermediate), and Mrs. Jacquie Dawson (Senior) it was a huge success ,and I believe we have plans to run the 4 bands next year again. We did run into some band weather this year, snow and cold, which unfortunately delayed Thompson a tiny bit and our friends from Flin Flon were unable to make it this year. Saying that though, all the students, guest directors, directors, and clinicians were so flexible and accommodating in doing whatever it took to make it a great honour band for the students.
2nd Annual MBA Summer Band Camp Dauphin August 14-18, 2016 Bill Kristjanson RETURNS! Organizing and PR work is well underway!
2017 Central Region Honour Bands - report by Derek Klassen
On Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2017, the annual Central Region Honour Band day was held at Buhler Hall/Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, MB. The event saw nearly 160 deserving band students from across central Manitoba gather for an inspiring day of rehearsals, sectionals, and a very well-attended evening performance. 15 different schools and 6 school divisions were represented, and 13 band directors were present at the event. Our esteemed guest directors this year were the widely sought-after Darryl Ferguson (Jr. Band) and Andrew Klassen (Sr. Band). Huge thank-yous go to Rick Heppner-Mueller and the staff at Mennonite Collegiate Institute for hosting the event, to Stephanie Rietveld of Long & McQuade who ran an onsite booth all day, and to our local sponsors Sunvalley CO-OP and Altona IGA for donating food supplies to help make the event possible. Participating teachers who attended the day with their students were Derek Klassen (W.C. Miller/Gretna Elementary), Heather Penno (Morris), Mike Urichuk (Emerado - Winkler), Lincoln Wiebe (Winkler Elementary), David Berglund (St. Paul's - Elie), Dwayne Schott (Parkside - Altona), Devon Berglund (Sanford), Kelsey Nicholson (Carman), Joel Swaan (Parkland - Winkler), Melissa Hodge (Garden Valley - Winkler), Patsy Andrews-Vert (retired), Justin Tan (Morden), and Rhonda Hannah (La Verendrye - Portage).
2017 Westman Honour Bands - report by Claire Powell
On Friday February 10 and Saturday February 11, 152 students from 43 schools in the Western Manitoba region participated in the WestMan Honour Band. Students rehearsed at Brandon University and in the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium over the two days, and gave a spectacular performance on February 11. This year, the WestMan Junior Honour Band was under the direction of Mr. Mike Brandon. They performed One Night In Athens (Bobrowitz), Thunderbird (Grice), Of Gentle Spirit (Owens), and Arabian Dances (Barrett). The Senior Honour Band this year was under the direction of Dr. James Popejoy. They performed Prestissimo (King/Swearingen), Pageantry Overture (Edmondson), Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs (Ticheli), and Themes From "La Belle Helene" (Offenbach/Mahaffey). Congratulations to all who participated!
2014 Central Region Honour Bands - report by Ken Epp
This year's Central Region Honour Band was hosted in Winkler on March 27 and included 16 teachers and over half of the 37 Central region schools which offer band. The 65-member grade 9-12 Senior Honour Band was directed by Alexis Silver and the grade 7-8 Intermediate Honour Band (73 members) was conducted by Darryl Ferguson. Participating teachers who attended with their students included Rhonda Hannah (La Verendrye), Lincoln Wiebe (Parkland & Winkler Elementary), Heather Penno (Morris), Dwayne Schott (Altona), Mark Borgfjord (MacGregor), Harold Epp (Plum Coulee), Kelsey Nicholson (Emerado), Michelle Funk (Elm Creek), Patsy Andrews Vert (Elie & Starbuck), Eric Skoglund (Northlands Parkway), Dennis Reimer (Gretna), Derek Frykas (Garden Valley) and Justin (Morden). Congratulations to Eric Skogklund for organizing the day, and thanks to Long & McQuade (Greg Barratt) and St. John's Music (Robert Clark and Ed Machado) for their onsite support.
2014 Parkland/NorMan Regional Honour Band - report by Ken Epp
For the 16th consecutive year, Dauphin hosted the PNHB on March 6-8. The event, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, was organized by Taylor Schmidt and Kevin Monaghan (Kevin's 16th year as coordinator or co-cordinator). Students from as far away as Thompson participated. The concert bands were conducted by Darryl Ferguson (140-member Junior Band), Cheryl Ferguson (82-member Intermediate Band), and Wendy McCallum (50-member Senior Band). Brandon University music students attended the first two days to conduct sectional rehearsals and clinics. The final concert on Saturday afterrnoon was very well attended and live streamed on the web. Congratulations to all the participating teachers including: Serena Godmaire, Greg Corcoran, Sarah Lewis & Kevin Lewis (Thompson), Anna Jardine and Kim Jones (Flin Flon), Kevin Salmi (Benito), Glenda Turton & Dave McGarry (Swan Valley), Mark Matejka (Minitonas), Brenna Smith and Suzanne VanBaarsel (Bowsman), Stacy Ponask (Ste. Rose), Heather Gibson and Geof Ings (The Pas), Tenley Schmidt (Ochre River), and Kevin Monaghan and Taylor Schmidt (Dauphin). Thanks also for the support of Long & McQuade (Greg Barratt), St. John's Music (Tom Shoesmith) and the Dauphin Ochre Band Parent Organization.
2014 Westman Honour Bands - report by Janet Yochim
The Westman Junior Band (99 members) and Senior Honour Band (77 members) from 45 schools gathered February 7 & 8, 2014 at Brandon University School of Music and the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. Under the capable and masterful direction of Ms. Andrea Schellenberg (junior) and Mr. Doug Breckman (senior), the students put together a very musical performance! Both conductors quickly built a sense of community within the group and within a few hours were working musical magic with their ensemble. A huge thank you to our sponsors, Long & McQuade and St. John’s Music, Brandon University School of Music and Dr. Edward Bach. The University welcomed all the students and were very accommodating throughout the day. The Brandon University Symphonic Band and Brandon University Brass Ensemble, under the capable direction of Dr. Edward Bach, were wonderful exemplars for all the students! Next years dates will be February 13 &14.
2014 Da Capo Conference - report by Erin Dodds
The 8th Annual Da Capo Conference presented by the Brandon University Student Music Educators Association (BUSMEA) on January 18th, 2014 was a great success. This year’s conference brought in music education students, and practicing educators from across Manitoba to the Brandon University School of Music for professional development. Mark Reid, President of the Canadian Music Educators’ Association, presented an inspiring keynote address to the conference’s thirty-six participants. In addition to Mr. Reid’s keynote, sessions on jazz improvisation, engaging your percussionists, sound and lighting systems, mock interviews, choral conducting, vocal jazz, Aboriginal music in the classroom, and elementary music were provided. New to the Da Capo conference this year was a Leadership Roundtable featuring Mark Reid, Dr. Heather Duncan (Dean of Education at Brandon University) and Tom Brophy (Associate Vice President of Student Services, Enrollment Management and University Registrar at Brandon University). Other clinicians who shared their knowledge throughout the day were: Darrell Chrisp, Carl Bittner, Kevin Tacan, Rob Monson, Rhonda McRorie, Cynthia Peyson-Wahl, Victoria Sparks, Eric Platz, Wendy McCallum, Mel Sutherland, Kevin Doell, Kathie Gordon and Anna Penno. Donations from the Manitoba Band Association, Canadian Music Educators Association, Brandon University Students Union and the Faculty of Education at Brandon University made this meaningful event possible.
2013 NorMan Jazz Festival - report by Kevin Lewis
On November 2-3, 2013, R. D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson was proud to host the NorMan Jazz Festival. Seven bands from three school divisions attended including the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Jazz Bands from Flin Flon (Anna Jardine and Kim Jones, directors), the Senior and Grade 9 Jazz Bands from the Pas (Heather Gibson), and the Senior and Junior Jazz Bands from Thompson, (Kevin Lewis). These bands had the opportunity to work with jazz performers and educators including Greg Gatien, Steve Kirby, Daniel Steinhilber, Eric Platz, Derrick Gardner, Andrew Littleford, Graham Dion, Hubert Grenier, and Mike Manny. Students received instruction on jazz performance, section playing, and jazz improvisation. The festival was capped off with a performance by all groups in attendance and a performance by the clinicians. The event was attended by over 180 people and was recorded and broadcast by Shaw Cable in Thompson. Every director indicated that their students returned home very excited by their work at the festival. Thanks to our clinicians, directors, students and sponsors for making the 2013 NorMan Jazz Festival a great success.