Jim Thomas
Columns
November 13, 2008 10:22 PM
Jim Thomas
Light rain filled the night skies over Stouffville District Secondary School Friday evening. But the walls of the cafetorium below echoed to the sounds of bands and choirs.
It was the 16th annual Student Music Scholarship Concert, an event that’s become a town tradition.
And what a tradition it is, a showcase of voice and instrumental talent that, this year, involved seven elementary and secondary schools and hundreds of boys and girls.
While performers are front and centre, their smiles only mirror the pleasures of parenthood, the devoted moms and dads who see through the skills of sons and daughters, the pride of accomplishment and the joys of success.
Adoration’s a two-way street.
Unlike most committees, where organizers have a direct link with participants, such is not the case here. Members’ children have long since passed through the system. For them, it’s solely a labour of love, a desire to give back.
And give back they have. Over the past 16 years, more than $62,000 has been raised, with all monies returned to participating schools to assist their music programs.
But there’s more, the unsung music directors who give of their time and talents so the show can continue: Susan Whitebread of St. Mark’s; Lisa Parkes of St. Brigid; Donna Friedbacher and Ingrid Legros of Ballantrae; Jennifer Frans of Whitchurch Highlands; Kate Hagen and Rachelle Nieboer of Stouffville Christian; Deon Flash of Summitview; Miriam Sellick-Smith and Diane Marlatt of SDSS. Without their leadership, there would be no show.
Regardless, as far as parents are concerned, the focus is on the kids, their kids: little Johnny in pressed pants, white shirt and an appropriate red poppy. Wee Mary in plaid pleated skirt, a light blue blouse and pink bow attached to a pony-tail.
Dad takes a picture and Johnny beams. Mom waves and Mary waves back; experiences forever stored in parental memory banks.
Not to be discounted, however, is the skill factor. Six choirs came to sing and sing they did, beautifully. Two bands came to play and play they did, also beautifully. For some, it was a first time appearance in public.
“Really fun,” said Erin Curtis of Whitchurch Highlands. “I want to do it again.”
Enthusiastic responses weren’t restricted to children.
“A fabulous night,” said Diane Marlatt, SDSS band director. “It’s wonderful bringing so many schools together at one time.
Ms Marlatt said similar concerts had been attempted at her previous school “but never anything like this. I’m pleased and proud.”
“Fantastic,” said Ms. Sellick-Smith, director of the SDSS choir, Spartan Sound. “There was excellent community participation.”
Ms Smith said, for her, it was extremely satisfying to hear beautiful young voices from many feeder schools in the area.
The presence of Stouffville Secondary principal Beverley Madigan added a managerial dimension to the event. She was everywhere, embracing students and staff alike. She even found time to take pictures.
“I was proud and excited to be part of the audience,” she said.
Jim Mason, editor of this newspaper, co-emceed the concert with daughter Jennifer. He appropriately singled out former York Board of Education chairperson and town councillor Harry Bowes for recognition.
“Mr. Bowes is the only person in our audience to have a school bearing his name,” he said, with reference to the new facility on Greenwood Road.
He was enthusiastically applauded. So were two other guests, Aaron Clubine, recipient of a $200 St. James Presbyterian Church scholarship, and vocalist A.J. deBoer, Grade 8 student attending St. Mark.
All in all, it was a night in which the youth of Whitchurch-Stouffville stood proud; singing proud and playing proud. It was a night they and I will not soon forget.
(See Saturday’s Sun-Tribune for photographs from the concert.)
Jim Thomas is a Stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years.