DREW LYALL
For the Bulletin
Hi, my name is Drew Lyall, and currently I am sitting on a bench outside the band room at Moscow High School. The band room has served as an abode for the members of the Selkirk Secondary Jazz Choir and me over the weekend while we have been taking part in the workshops and performances--observed and given--of the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival here in Moscow, Idaho. Concert highlights included performances by Tower of Power, Dee Daniels, The Monty Alexander Trio featuring Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton, and the Lionel Hampton Big Band featuring Warren Wolf.
The current iteration of the Selkirk Jazz Choir started singing together this past August. For me, the past six months add up to a set of experiences that I will always remember. We all come from different musical backgrounds, from classical piano, dance, school band and choir, as well as private vocal lessons, but I believe I can safely speak on behalf of all of us in saying that we are all significantly stronger musicians than before this group formed. We have all put in a tremendous amount of effort and I really feel that is has paid off. Whatever our futures may be in music, I am sure that this experience will shape that path for all of us.
With the weekend drawing to a close, I find my self looking forward. I am very keen to see what the next project for our jazz group will be. There is an amazing intimacy that comes with singing in a small group, especially singing a cappella, and I think we are all looking forward to pushing the boundaries of what can be called jazz. Also on the horizon is Selkirk’s production of Rent (School Edition) in April. Many of the kids in Jazz Choir are also in the cast so there will be many familiar faces there. On the drive back to Kimberley I’ll be studying my script!
I hope to see you out to some of our program’s offerings this spring. Our Concert Band is joining forces with the Kimberley Community Band for a night of instrumental music on Wednesday, March 9th at 7:30 pm at McKim Theatre. Admission to that is by donation. Rent runs at McKim Theatre from April 6-9. Tickets are available at the Selkirk School office and Snowdrift cafe in Kimberley and Lotus Books in Cranbrook. On Friday, April 29th we will be having our small-group talent showcase at Centre 64 which is going to be a lot of fun for audience members and performer alike, and on Wednesday, June 8th we will have our final performance for the season at McKim Theatre.