Lisgar Collegiate Institute Ensembles Find Creative Ways to Keep the Music Going

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Ensembles Find Creative Ways to Keep the Music Going
Posted on 06/25/2021
Lisgar Collegiate Institute Ensembles Find Creative Ways to Keep the Music Going

Lisgar Collegiate Institute’s student musicians ended the school year on a high note, with innovative virtual performances and their first in-person practice since March 2020.


This June, after public health guidelines permitted small outdoor gatherings, the school’s Flute Ensemble met at Brantwood Park for a long-awaited rehearsal. The 9 student ensemble members stayed physically distanced and wore masks as they rehearsed together with their teacher, Ms. Sommers. 


They played a beautiful new piece entitled “Where the Rivers Meet,” commissioned from Toronto-based composer Cait Nishimura. The commission was funded by scholarships that the ensemble had received last year, when they won several awards for their virtual performance at the 2020 Kiwanis Music Festival.


The students played “Where the Rivers Meet” at the shores of the Rideau River, reflecting on the idea of water as a metaphor for resilience. They recorded a virtual performance at their homes, accompanied by artwork from Ms. Sheri Grant-Perra's grade 11/12 art class. Watch the video below:




This performance is the latest example of how Lisgar Collegiate Institute has kept the music going in a very unusual school year.


Earlier this year, the school’s Online Symphonic Børkestra (Band + Orchestra) released a modern twist on Leroy Anderson’s 1950 composition “The Typewriter.” Led by teachers Ms. Somers and Ms. Frampton, the grade 9 and 10 musicians recorded each track at home and compiled them into a virtual-meeting-inspired video for their final assignment. The video featured cameo appearances from Mayor Jim Watson, NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley, along with numerous Lisgar staff (and their pets!). Check out their creative performance:




Bravo to all the student musicians and staff members at Lisgar Collegiate Institute involved in these amazing examples of our OCDSB Culture of Innovation!
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