COLD LAKE – Two Cold Lake High School (CLHS) students showed they can do more than just carry a tune.
Bass clarinet player Colton Young and flutist Shayla Roger are among over 100 musicians from across the province heading to the University of Alberta from Feb. 4 to 6 to learn from some of the top musicians in the industry.
The Provincial Honour Band is offered to junior and senior high school students to improve their skills and perform alongside the best of the best in their age group. Those selected demonstrate excellence in leadership, musicality, and engagement in their school band programs.
In order for Young and Roger to be considered, they had to have their name suggested by CLHS band teacher Doug Sirant.
The provincial program’s three days of rehearsals are meant to build on the young musicians’ skills and provide them learning opportunities they may not have access to otherwise.
“They’re going to have much more challenging music than I can do for them in that timeframe,” Sirant detailed. “They only have a weekend to do this, so it’s a very short timeframe of high-intensity but awesome music. There’s a world class conductor and educator coming to do all the work, then they do a performance right after and it’s a pretty amazing performance.”
This is the second time Young, who’s in Grade 11, has had the opportunity to participate in the band after attending last year.
“When I first heard I made it, I thought it was a joke because it’s people from all around Alberta. When I applied, I just figured it would be one of those things where you apply but you don’t get in,” the young musician said. “It was a really great feeling to get accepted into something like this.”
After learning more than he could have imagined, Young was excited to hear he was chosen again.
“I really felt this was a really good place to go where there was a great band that sounded absolutely incredible. I’m not saying that my band isn’t incredible, but this was a really great experience and I really wanted to try it,” stated Young, adding he received hands-on training from an expert last year.
“They took the four of us and we met with a professional on the instrument. He taught us and let us ask any questions that we had. He also taught us how to breathe properly with the instrument.”
Young joined his school band around seven years ago after deciding sports wasn’t the direction he wanted to take. He’s been playing the bass clarinet for about four years, but admits he tried a few different instruments before settling on which one he liked best.
“I like the sound of it and the way it feels. The entire bass section is support for the main melody, so I enjoy supporting everyone else,” expressed Young.
He credits his time in school bands for giving him the confidence and skill to join a provincial band.
“At music festivals I’ve been to over the years, I’d like to think I’ve raised some eyebrows of certain officials to make me more confident when I play, and I think that helped me get into the Provincial Honour Band these last two years.”
Although CLHS has had representation before, Young and Roger are the first in quite sometime, Sirant stated, congratulating the pair on being selected for the honour.
“In the case of Shayla, she’s one of the top 10 flutists in this end of the world. Colton is in the top five bass clarinet players that I know of in northern Alberta, so it’s a very big feather in their hats. They’ve done so well. I was so thrilled that they were selected and that they’re going to go perform.”
Roger wasn’t able to be reached about her participation in the Provincial Honour Band before the Nouvelle’s press deadline.
