So you’re indicating you have some musical talent and want to expand your knowledge base. Where do you go to get the very best? Where is your musical Mecca?
If you are heading into the classical vocalist world, you’d probably steer toward Carnegie Hall or the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
If you’re getting well known for your C & W guitar licks, then you may head toward Nashville or Austin.
But, if you’re inclined to bend notes to serve your musical soul, your Mecca could be New Orleans, where jazz rules the day … and the night.
So, when senior members of the Estevan Comprehensive School concert band found themselves with the opportunity to visit the Big Easy, there was no hesitation.
According to ECS music director, Kyle Whitehead, the one-week sojourn provided the students with more than a musical experience.
“It was a social studies experience, historical tour, science experiment and yep, even a culinary opportunity,” he said.
The exposure to the finest jazz music in the world was slated between May 7-11 and involved 42 students, six chaperones and a lot of walking in the heat and humidity, but well worth the effort.
The students had an opportunity to display their own musical chops in some historical locations and to mingle with other young people with similar interests as well as some music experts.
“The senior band has a sprinkling of a few Grade 9 students. It forces some of the promising juniors to step up their game and gives the seniors an opportunity to mentor,” said Whitehead, about the mixing of the age groups. That strategy will be deployed next schoolyear, thanks to the success of this year’s effort.
Because they had to fly, some band members weren’t able to take their own instruments, due to size and weight, so those were rented in New Orleans.
“We had to split into two groups due to United Airlines dropping their flights out of Regina from their schedules after we had booked them,” said Whitehead. That half of the troop flew from Minot while the other team departed from Regina with everyone arriving no later than 7 p.m. in New Orleans.
Their time was pretty well booked solid, with maybe three or four unscheduled hours to allow the students a little personal shopping and touring time.
“We had a Louisiana swamp tour booked, so they got to tour through the Bayou. This was a first time in New Orleans for all the students and most of the adults,” he said.
The first morning’s visit to Preservation Hall, considered the home of jazz, was one highlight. Since their hotel was close to Canal Street and the heart of the musical city, walking was the key mode of transportation.
“Our tour guide met us at Preservation Hall and we got some history lessons on the music, the French Quarter and the first African-American communities,” said Whitehead, referring to the disembarkation points they saw where the African slaves would have landed on North American soil for the first time.
Rampart Street was visited and then the students journeyed over to Marerro Middle School and performed for the students there and then spent some time mingling with them and exchanging gifts and pins.
“Actually that visit turned out to be too brief. I think they would have enjoyed a longer visit, but due to heat, the school day there begins around 7 a.m. and they wrap up around 2:30 in the afternoon,” said Whitehead.
The next day the students visited Tulane University campus for a half-day workshop with professor Dr. Barry Spanier, the leader of their music department.
“He helped us work on our songs. We had a nine-song repertoire, some traditional big band numbers like In the Mood and a Mozart mix and the Colonial Song as well as the Zombie Tango. So there was a lot of work to do.”
The group then saw themselves next to Jackson Square playing an outdoor concert for the benefit of local and visiting pedestrians.
Another special moment was an opportunity to have a private concert in Preservation Hall where the house band leader, “really got the kids involved. He improvised O Canada showing them how it might be arranged as some early church music, for instance. It was a good education for them,” the ECS band leader said.
Some early evening hours were spent on Bourbon Street and the Hard Rock Café before the next day’s Bayou trip.
“We saw a lot of gators and they got to hold some baby gators and learned something about the swamps and the environment around there,” Whitehead said.
After the swamp tour, it was over to the French Quarter and the National Jazz Historic Park then the old U.S. Mint facility, which is now a museum where the music students saw Louis Armstrong’s first coronet and Fats Domino’s piano which was restored after the Katrina disaster. They also saw the corner bar/restaurant where Harry Connick Jr. first played at the age of six.
The students had a free afternoon to visit the French (open air) market while others visited the local aquarium. It was then time to pack for the return trip.
“Everyone stayed healthy and in spite of all the heat, there were no major glitches on that front,” said Whitehead.
“They learned a lot. One supper hour we spent at the New Orleans School of Cooking where our kids learned to make gumbo, chicken Creole, bread pudding and pralines. So, that was an additional educational opportunity,” he said with a laugh.
“So you see, there wasn’t a lot of down time and it was definitely worth the effort. They got the Acadian story which has the Canadian link, along the way.”
Next year’s music students will be focused on Canadian venues such as Winnipeg for the Grey Cup and the Regina Optimist Music Festival which is an official qualifier for the Canadian Music Festival competition. “I just hope it doesn’t clash with the local music festival schedule,” said Whitehead.
The band has been fundraising for their excursions, as well as, the Canadian Diabetes Association. The concert band attracted about 80 students this year with over 100 expected to register next year.
In spite of many cuts to programs in other school divisions, Whitehead said there has been no talk about similar cuts to the ECS music program. “I believe this board sees the value of keeping a strong music program going. There will be ebbs and flows, so it’s a matter of not cutting during the low times because you know in a short period of time, it gets right back up there. When students get into music, it provides them with a great opportunity for growth … educationally, musically, personally and socially,” said Whitehead.
The 2015 trip to New Orleans was a fine example of all those factors.
