Prodigy performs at Queen’s Jubilee celebration

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/10/2002 (8468 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IF you happened to watch the motorcade drift to a stately stop in front of the Legislative Building during the royal couple’s recent visit to Winnipeg, you may also have heard the beautiful music welcoming them to the party.

That music was composed by Zane Zalis, music director at Miles Macdonell Collegiate in East Kildonan. Zalis also wrote the song, Shine, that was performed by his singing group Prodigy at the celebration.

“This is a responsibility, and an opportunity, for us to shine,” Zalis said, mere hours before the big event. “It will be televised from coast to coast. We will be representing Manitoba to the rest of the country.”

Zalis was contacted back in June by members of government, who asked him to write the music for the Queen’s jubilee performance.

“Prodigy’s reputation is well-deserved, these kids have worked hard,” added Zalis. “They’ve always represented the government well when we’ve done high profile events. I’m told the premier is a big fan of ours.”

At the last minute, Prodigy was also asked to sing backup for Tom Jackson, who performed a song at the event.

The students had less than 24 hours to learn the song and choreograph their movements, but they never faltered, Zalis said.

“They are pumped and excited. These young people are wonderful, not just as performers, but as people.”

Prodigy is an a cappella group of eight singers ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. Zalis founded the group about 20 years ago, and they’ve been a huge success ever since, raising thousands of dollars for charity and performing all over the world.

“They may be high school students, but they’re older than most adults because most adults don’t have the experience they do,” said Zalis. “They take performing very seriously. This group has always been modelled after professional standards.”

Even though preparing for the big event was very exciting, Zalis admitted that everyone — including himself — is looking forward to things getting back to normal.

“It’s been wonderful, but also an immense amount of work, hours and hours and hours,” he said. “I haven’t been getting any sleep.”

Expect to see two new CDs from Miles Mac students next spring. One release will feature Prodigy exclusively, while the other will highlight the talents of the school’s bands and choirs.