Miles Mac music program is a treasure

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This article was published 02/01/2019 (2729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Miles Macdonell Collegiate music program is proud of its history in the community. The school has several music programs under the direction of Garth Rempel and Zane Zalis, many of which were recently featured at the school’s annual Christmas concert on Dec. 5 and 6 at the Covenant Christian Reformed Church.  

Nearly 800 people attended these concerts, which featured a wide variety of holiday tunes from a traditional Ukrainian carol all the way to a super jazzy version of Little Drummer Boy. All this music was performed by the concert band, the Miles Mac choir, the jazz orchestra, the big band jazz troupe and the beginning guitar program. Superphonic (an advanced instrumental group focused on creativity), and Prodigy (an advanced vocal group) also made appearances to round out the show.

The programs lasted two hours and 15 minutes and were attended by school families as well as members of the community who look forward to this Christmas music each year. There is no paper program printed for this event; instead, the money that would have been spent to print it is donated to Winnipeg Harvest.

The other way that the MMC music program helps the community kick off the season is with its annual Christmas craft and bake sale.  

Band director Garth Rempel loves how the annual event is an example of “community in action” and that “the whole community makes this happen and makes this popular.”  

The community also attends the event in droves; over 2,000 people attend each December, and local crafters come back year after year to rent tables. It has been an annual tradition for over 35 years. All proceeds raised support of the MMC music program, and will help the program continue to deliver outstanding quality education and experiences for its talented students each year.

On Nov. 14, 2018, students in the concert band program had the opportunity to play to a sold-out crowd with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

What’s up in the new year?

The music program has so many different performing groups it will be impossible to put them all on one show at the end of the season. Therefore, this spring there will be two different concerts so that audiences can experience the breadth of the program.  

The concert band and choir will perform May 29 and 30, and the jazz bands with Prodigy and Superphonic, along with any other, smaller groups will have one show on June 3, 2019.

Wendy Hrynkiw is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email her at wendyhrynkiw@shaw.ca

Wendy Hrynkiw
East Kildonan community correspondent

Wendy Hrynkiw is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email her at wendyhrynkiw@shaw.ca

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