��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge musicians mentor middle school band in rare virtual partnership

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 16:37:38 +0000

What is an ensemble musician to do when they can no longer do what they love most? The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Wind Orchestra and Gilbert Paterson Middle School band program turned to each other when faced with a common predicament, and it has resulted in a rare virtual partnership.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Wind Orchestra and Gilbert Paterson Middle School band program turned to each other when faced with a common predicament.

When COVID restrictions meant the U of L’s Wind Orchestra would no longer be able to practice together in-person, director Dr. Chee Meng Low reached out to colleague Karly Lewis (BMus ’97), band director at Gilbert Paterson Middle School.

“When COVID hit, my whole band program was thrown online and there’s no platform where we can do ensemble training online,” explains Lewis. “With no fault to our district, there was this anxiety to collect all the instruments back for fear that they would never be returned. I said, I will not do that.

“I started receiving emails from parents grateful to the school that the kids were able to keep playing because of their mental wellness. They were able to turn to something that allowed them to escape, because when you play an instrument, you’re allowed to escape to wherever you want to go.”

Lewis and Low knew both their ensembles needed an outlet to practice. This fall, university-level musicians enrolled in the Wind Orchestra ensemble began partnering, virtually, with grade 7 and 8 band students for weekly rehearsals over Zoom. By pairing beginners with university-level musicians, the students and the advanced players, who are challenged to think in a different way, are advancing their skills.

“That one-on-one time at this stage of a musician’s development is so valuable,” says Gerald Rogers (BMus ’20), a recent graduate and member of the Wind Orchestra. “In the long run, it’s only going to help them because they’re getting focused sessions with other musicians, and it’s a good experience for the university students because learning to teach is completely different than learning to play music.”

Bandmate Claire McMahon agrees.

“I have to really think about the fundamentals of the instrument again, so my technique has been improving a lot just from having to think about how to teach technique” she says. “The kids struggle with the same stuff I still struggle with, so it has been forcing me to practice those things so I can demonstrate in the lessons.”

Each Wednesday evening, 47 middle school students join the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Wind Orchestra online and break out into 23 rooms where Low and Lewis can move between to see how the lessons are progressing.

Rogers and McMahon, ironically, both started their ensemble careers in the Gilbert Paterson band program, under the direction of Lewis. They identify with her current students and recall the high expectations she has for her classes.

“I remember there was an expectation, and if you knew what was good for you, you were going to meet it,” says Rogers with a laugh. “It taught me the benefit of working hard at something. Having gone through her program, it gives me a good idea of how much I can ask of her students.”

McMahon is thrilled to be part of this mentorship program, recalling the influence senior students had on her decision to attend the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ when they visited her high school and worked directly with her and her classmates.

“The Wind Orchestra has always done a lot of events in the community, high school outreach, recruitment activities – and it works,” says McMahon. “I definitely felt more comfortable going into the program because I knew these three clinicians I’d been working with were going to be upperclassmen.”

Lewis is a self-proclaimed ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge lifer – starting with the Conservatory of Music as a child, then attending the U of L to study music and, today, continuing to partner with faculty and students in her role as band director.

“I started taking horn lessons with Tom Staples (former Wind Orchestra director and Department of Music professor emeritus) when I was 12, and then continued on until I was 22,” says Lewis. “I also attended Gilbert Paterson, where Susie Staples, Tom’s wife, was my band teacher. So, the web that has been woven for me musically in Lethbridge has been pretty incredible.”

Lewis has been teaching band for 20 years, 14 of those at Gilbert Paterson. She is known in the music community for the strong young players who come out of her program. She is grateful to Low and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Wind Orchestra for their willingness to mentor her students.

“Hopefully we will be able to partner again in the future.”

Both ensembles can’t wait to get back to practicing in person, and in the meantime, this rare virtual partnership is benefiting the skills, and well-being, of everyone involved.

CancerBlast concert raises more than $50,000 for cancer research

caroline.zentner — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 22:18:17 +0000

The Songs for Hope Society has used the power of music to inspire philanthropy and boost local cancer research to the tune of $53,550.

The society’s CancerBlast concert, held last April, brought together trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann and local musicians for a one-of-a-kind event to raise money for the cancer research being conducted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge by Drs. Bryan Kolb (neuroscience) and Olga Kovalchuk (biological sciences).

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, at left, accepts a donation from members of the Songs for Hope Society, René van de Vendel, Ken Lewis and Don Robb, in her lab in Science Commons.

Their Cancer, Chemotherapy and the Brain project is examining why radiation treatments affect memory, balance and other behaviours. “Chemo brain” affects up to 75 per cent of cancer patients and U of L researchers are working on novel strategies to prevent and mitigate chemo brain to give cancer patients a better quality of life.

Society members, including Don Robb, Ken Lewis, René van de Vendel, Karly Lewis, Tania Stilson and Cyndi Vos, were pleased to provide funding to help with the research project.

“Many of my friends and family members have suffered with cancer and research was something I knew nothing about,” says van de Vendel. “This concert really tied it together and made me realize there was something we could do and something we can hope for.”

“It’s a magnificent feeling,” Robb says about making the donation. “It was a great way to bring the musical community, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community and the cancer community together.”

“I would like to acknowledge all the brass musicians who stepped up and gratuitously participated in this fundraiser,” says Lewis. “This was a grassroots initiative by a small core of people and it really caught on. Everybody thought this was a great project and worked very hard to pull it all off.”

Kovalchuk says the funding allows her and the other researchers involved in the project to keep working on their research at a crucial time.

“This donation means we can continue our momentum and finish important experiments, analyze results and publish papers,” says Kovalchuk. “Cancer is turning into a chronic disease and the key thing is to make sure cancer survivors live their lives to the fullest.”

In an economic environment where there is more competition for fewer research dollars, donations from the local community become increasingly important.

“I lost my dad to cancer a year ago,” says Kovalchuk. “The concert gave us a moment to remember him and others who were lost to the disease. That was very important, as well as the sense of community working together and trying to build something together.”

“One of our founding organizers, Scott Reiter, was afflicted with cancer and he passed away just weeks before this event and he was on board,” says Lewis. “That became kind of a calling card for all musicians because everybody knew him.”

UNews - Karly Lewis

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge musicians mentor middle school band in rare virtual partnership

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CancerBlast concert raises more than $50,000 for cancer research

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge musicians mentor middle school band in rare virtual partnership