Groups & Grads February 21, 2019

Groups & Grads 2015 at Stanley Milner Library Theatre

This concert is the showcase concert of the year for our program. It features both solo performances of students who are celebrating completion of a book level, and group performances from the ensembles.

This year Groups & Grads will be at Knoppers Hall, Kings University (9125  50 St. NW)

Concert starts at 6:30 pm – students should arrive by 6:00 pm for set up and tuning.

Admission is free! Bring a friend!

Groups & Grads 2017 at City Hall

Groups & Grads 2016 – check out the bass recorder and bass flute!

Click here for more information about the ESFRS book level graduation program.

Flûte Alors!

Flûte Alors! is a dynamic recorder quartet from Montréal. They passed through Edmonton on Wednesday, February 21, and we are grabbed  them as they went by for an amazing evening of concerts and classes!

 

5:00 – 6:00 pm: Masterclass / Workshop for young recorder players

6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CONCERT! Bach ’n’ Jazz

8:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Masterclass / Workshop for adult recorder players

All events were at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church,  9155 79 Ave, Edmonton

Many thanks to Edmonton Recorder Society for co-sponsoring the concert, and to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for the use of their facility.

Kiwanis Music Festival

ESFRS Students are encouraged to participate in the Edmonton Kiwanis Music Festival when their teachers feel that they are ready to benefit from this experience. What is the Kiwanis Festival? Its an opportunity to play in a concert AND have a lesson at the same time. Here’s how it works:

Students who enter the festival choose to enrol in a class, which is sorted by age, instrument, or playing level. Once the Festival organizers have received all the participants, they schedule the classes to perform in short concerts at various times throughout the day. (Yes, you may have to miss school to participate – but its more fun than a dentist appointment 🙂 ) After each class performs, the adjudicating teacher will them give each performer comments related to their performance, identifying strengths and challenges. Sometimes these comments are verbal, sometimes they take the form of a short lesson. It depends on the adjudicator. The adjudicators are very fine artist teachers who are brought in from out of town. For the 2018 Festival, we will get to perform for the famous Canadian clarinetist James Campbell. This is a wonderful opportunity to get feedback from an excellent musician.

If you want to participate in the Festival, check with your teacher first to see what piece you should prepare to play if it is appropriate for you to participate. Then you go to the Festival website to register on-line or print out the registration form to mail (or scan and e-mail): http://www.edmontonkiwanis.com/musicfest/registration.html#regforms There are links on this site to pay your entry fees as well.

Here are the class numbers that our students will often enter. This is not all of them! Check with your teacher for more possibilities. The Suzuki Flute classes are not part of the provincial festival syllabus, they are special classes for our youngest students that we added at the local level a few years ago when we had Dr. David Gerry come to be the adjudicator :

  • Suzuki Flute 5 + under: K41900
  • Suzuki Flute 6 + under: K41910
  • Suzuki Flute 7 + under: K41920
  • Suzuki Flute 8 + under: K41930
  • Suzuki Flute 9 + under: K41940
  • Suzuki Flute 10 + under: K41950
  • Suzuki Flute 12 + under: K41970
  • Suzuki Flute 14 + under: K41990
  • Recorder Solo Pre Grade 1 standard: 47310
  • Recorder Solo Grade 1-2 standard: 47320
  • Recorder Solo Grade 3-4 standard: 47330
  • Recorder Solo Grade 5-6 standard: 47340
  • Recorder Solo Grade 7-8 standard: 47350
  • Woodwind Solo 12 + under: 48000
  • Woodwind Solo 14 + under: 48010
  • Woodwind Solo 16 + under: 48020
  • Woodwind Solo 18 + under: 48030
  • Flute Solo Pre Grade 1 standard: 41310
  • Flute Solo Grade 1-2 standard: 41320
  • Flute Solo Grade 3-4 standard: 41330
  • Flute Solo Grade 5-6 standard: 41340
  • Flute Solo Grade 7-8 standard: 41350
  • There are other classes for concertos, sonatas, and modern music, as well as special scholarship classes. Consult with your teacher to find out more possibilities. Your group may also participate in a chamber music class.

The grade standards are not the grade you are in at school! They represent the grade level of your chosen piece according to the Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus. Check with your teacher to find out what the grade of your piece is.

Some of the classes have a competitive element. The adjudicator will give a percentage mark and declare and first and second place in the class. Others are non-competitive. In non-competitive classes they give ratings such as S (superior) and D (distinction). In this case D is an excellent mark!! (not like on your school report card.)

Student performances from the Edmonton Kiwanis Music Festival – April 2015

Borealis Suzuki Winds Institute 2017

The 2017 Institute featured many guest artist teachers from all over the world!

Music cognition researcher and Suzuki Flute teacher trainer Dr. David Gerry presented public lectures at McEwan University and a training class for teachers.

Christine Hildebrand was here from Germany – she attended the teacher training class and worked with some of our local students.

And the The Fourth Wall was here at the Fringe Festival, so we grabbed them on short notice for a  fantastic workshop!

 

10th Anniversary Celebration

January 28, 2017

10th anniversary Concert Celebration

Groups performed:

Mixed group with teacher Kathleen Schoen

Recorder group with teacher and pianist Dorothy Beyer

Flute group with teacher Beth Gardner

Soloists also performed on both flute and recorder:

And of course there was cake, and flowers, and general happy celebrations:

In our program, the beginners start out like this:

and end up sounding like this:

Many thanks to photographers Asanka Dissanayaka, Jackie Lalonde, Kelly Komm and Thomas Schoen.

Thanks to Susanna So for organizing and donating the cake.

Thanks to McEwan University for the use of the concert hall.

Thanks to Dorothy Beyer for playing the piano.

Borealis Suzuki Winds Institute 2016

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The Canadian Recorder team at the Instrument Olympics

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Mixed doubles “breath tennis” at the Instrument Olympics

 

The highlight of the Institute this year was the “Instrument Olympics”, inspired by the Summer Olympics happening in Rio de Janeiro at the same time.

 

 

 

Events included the Instrument Balance Beam, Feather Float, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Mixed Doubles Breath Tennis, Scale Relays, and Long Note. And of course, every participant received a Gold Medal at the medal ceremony on the last day .

 

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Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastic Recorder Team at the BSWI Instrument Olympics

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Gold medal presentation on the last day of the BSWI Instrument Olympics