The Yorkton Community Concert Choir, Community Concert Band and All That Jazz Big Band are getting ready for their next concert. The performance, on May 1 at 2:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart High School, will feature a selection of choral classics and popular film themes to delight the audience.
The Community Concert Band draws people from far away to play in the group. Coming each week from Russell, Manitoba are Larry Schroeder and Mana Motoyama.
A Japanese exchange student, Motoyama says she joined because she was feeling very homesick. Under the suggestion of her teacher, she joined the band, and she says that helped her feel more at home in Canada.
“The people here were very kind to me, and that helped my homesickness get better.”
Schroeder had heard about the band before, but only joined when a group from Russell had decided to become part of the band. Since he had been a part of a band in Thompson, MB, he wanted to join another.
“It is an opportunity to make music and, not necessarily relive what we did in high school, but a place to connect with people with a like mind who want to make music.”
Motoyama says that joining the band has been a way to connect with people. Since English is not her first language, she says it’s easier to connect with people in Canada through the band than it is through other activities.
“It’s a good opportunity to communicate with people, especially for me... Playing music together is beyond language.”
Both Schroeder and Motoyama encourage people who are interested to consider joining the band. The environment is friendly and welcoming, and it’s a good way for people to get an instrument back in their hands and start playing again.
“It was 25 years between when I graduated high school and when I played in a concert band again... Some people will say that it’s been so long since I’ve played, but it doesn’t take long to get back into it, get the chops back and get back into the swing of things, come out and enjoy it and try again,” Schroeder says.
Motoyama adds that playing together with the group is a great deal of fun.
