West Coast and “All that Jazz”

On Friday, May 2, the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Band travelled to the West Coast Jazz Festival located at the Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. The West Coast Jazz Festival Music Association is a regional festival qualifier for Musicfest Canada.  The Vocal Jazz Ensemble, consisting of five Brentwood a cappella singers, is led by Captain Kira C. They performed three numbers obtaining a “superior gold” standing. The mark, at which this was achieved was equivalent to a university aged choir. Esteemed adjudicators Phil Dwyer and Ken Lister invited “Tonic Fusion” to perform at the Nationals in Toronto in 2015. They are already attending the Nationals next week in Richmond, B.C. Our Jazz Band received an “excellent silver” ranking, doing so in spite of having no trombone section in the band. Their performance consisted of three numbers: Top Dog, Cantaloupe Island, and “Told Ya So”, featuring an impressive solo by Captain Sabrina W. The three soloists, Claire A, Liam L and Sabrina W, all received outstanding soloist awards. This group also heads off to Richmond next week for the Nationals. Both groups are directed by Phil Newns, our Head of Music.  Kira C, Mack ‘14 and Sabrina W, Mack ‘14