OKM 2020-2021 Virtual Concerts
Phil Nimmons Canadian All-Star Youth Project
Two of our Grade 12 students, Kai Trottman and Francisco Rubio, have been working as part of a Canadian All-Star virtual ensemble to build a tribute performance for one of Canada's top jazz musicians and educators, Phil Nimmons. Phil is celebrating his 98th birthday this year and is an absolute legend in the music education community! Dan Austin, music director at Guelph Collegiate, lead this tribute band for Phil and brought together some of Canada's top student jazz musicians to record Phil's famous tune, Nufsicisum. Because Phil was not only an amazing performer, but also a huge member and supporter of music education in Canada, this youth project is a very special part of celebrating his legacy. The OKM Jazz Program is thrilled Francsico Rubio and Kai Trottman were selected to participate. Take a listen to the performance and Happy Birthday Mr. Nimmons!
Two of our Grade 12 students, Kai Trottman and Francisco Rubio, have been working as part of a Canadian All-Star virtual ensemble to build a tribute performance for one of Canada's top jazz musicians and educators, Phil Nimmons. Phil is celebrating his 98th birthday this year and is an absolute legend in the music education community! Dan Austin, music director at Guelph Collegiate, lead this tribute band for Phil and brought together some of Canada's top student jazz musicians to record Phil's famous tune, Nufsicisum. Because Phil was not only an amazing performer, but also a huge member and supporter of music education in Canada, this youth project is a very special part of celebrating his legacy. The OKM Jazz Program is thrilled Francsico Rubio and Kai Trottman were selected to participate. Take a listen to the performance and Happy Birthday Mr. Nimmons!
Francisco Rubio performs as part of the MusicFest Conn-Selmer Centerstage Jazz Band 2021
Being selected to perform as part of this ensemble is such an incredible achievement as the absolute best student musicians from across the country audition and compete for a spot. The competition is exceptionally hard and Francisco is OKM's first student to be accepted into this prestigious group. In a year where it is so easy to be unmotivated with so many things being taken away from students, Francisco has powered through it all and not turned down a single opportunity. Check out the first of two virtual performances of the band below. Here they are playing In a Big Way, by Dan Gailey.
Being selected to perform as part of this ensemble is such an incredible achievement as the absolute best student musicians from across the country audition and compete for a spot. The competition is exceptionally hard and Francisco is OKM's first student to be accepted into this prestigious group. In a year where it is so easy to be unmotivated with so many things being taken away from students, Francisco has powered through it all and not turned down a single opportunity. Check out the first of two virtual performances of the band below. Here they are playing In a Big Way, by Dan Gailey.
OKM Jazz 12 Christmas Project 2020!
I am very proud to be bringing our Christmas Project to the community! I, like everyone else, have been really moved by the challenges long-term care facilities have had during this pandemic and I understand what it's like to not be able to see your loved ones at this time. In order to help bring some messages to residents and a little love to some families, we partnered with 3 long-term care homes and created the OKM Jazz Christmas Project 2020! I had family members of residents at the facilities send me pictures and videos with messages for their loved ones. Our students recorded individual performance tracks to the song Silver Bells at home and then I edited it all together for a special Christmas message to all the employees, family members and residents. This project gave our students a performance goal to work towards, taught them about the importance of giving back and supporting our senior population and hopefully brought a little bit of joy to everyone at the long-term care facilities. I'm very proud of our students for participating in this project. Hopefully, next year, we can go and perform in person!
The three videos below use the same audio and video footage of our students and are personalized for each long-term care home.
I am very proud to be bringing our Christmas Project to the community! I, like everyone else, have been really moved by the challenges long-term care facilities have had during this pandemic and I understand what it's like to not be able to see your loved ones at this time. In order to help bring some messages to residents and a little love to some families, we partnered with 3 long-term care homes and created the OKM Jazz Christmas Project 2020! I had family members of residents at the facilities send me pictures and videos with messages for their loved ones. Our students recorded individual performance tracks to the song Silver Bells at home and then I edited it all together for a special Christmas message to all the employees, family members and residents. This project gave our students a performance goal to work towards, taught them about the importance of giving back and supporting our senior population and hopefully brought a little bit of joy to everyone at the long-term care facilities. I'm very proud of our students for participating in this project. Hopefully, next year, we can go and perform in person!
The three videos below use the same audio and video footage of our students and are personalized for each long-term care home.
Glenmore Lodge
|
Stuart Lake Hospital
|
Spring Valley Care Centre
|
Grade 9 Fall Virtual Concert!
After only 10 short weeks together, in a very different school scenario, grade 9 students successfully completed Quarter 1! The Concert Band rehearsed between 3 different classes and was able to come together for one morning to record together as a band in the theatre. We are very lucky that all our grade 9 students are part of the same learning cohort to allow this to happen! The Jazz Band used one class to record their set in the music room. We are also very lucky to have such an amazing and supportive admin team who have helped us to navigate our new situation and create safe learning spaces for music students!
It is very challenging to record a band in this way for a number of reasons. The biggest challenge is that it is really hard to get good quality sound with limited recording devices, but we really wanted to give families a glimpse into what we've been working on!
All close-up footage was shot by students and then edited together by Ms. Frederick. We hope you enjoy!
Grade 9 Fall Concert Band Virtual Concert
|
Grade 9 Jazz Band Virtual Concert
|
Jamming with the Pros!
Dan Austin from Guelph Collegiate created the opportunity for students from across Canada to perform with one of Canada's top rhythm sections! Jodi Proznick (bass), Amanda Tosoff (piano), Ernesto Cervini (drums), Mike Rud (guitar) and Dan McCarthy (vibes) laid down the tracks to Autumn Leaves and left space for students to record themselves playing the head and a solo. What a cool opportunity! OKM Grade 12 student, Francisco Rubio Bocangel, participated and his video turned out fantastic! Thanks to everyone involved in this project and thanks to Francisco for taking it on. Well done! |
|
Spring 2020 Final Performances
Senior Jazz Band Spring Virtual Performance
Cotton Tail by Duke Ellington |
Grade 10 Spring Virtual Performance
Dance of Denial by Philip Mossman |
Gr. 10-12 Jazz Combo
Online Inquiry Project Highlights |