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By rdnewsNOW Staff

May 2023

Didsbury High School band invited to nationals

Apr 26, 2023 | 3:34 PM

The Didsbury High School band has been invited to “MusicFest”, a national music festival.

Officials with Chinook’s Edge School Division say this came because of the band’s gold rating at a music festival at Acadia University earlier this month.

The band performed at four venues during its Maritimes tour, including some schools, and one adjudicated performance. Because the Didsbury band travelled during spring break, it was not able to take part in the Atlantic Festival of Music, which is happening this week.

Acadia University later offered to band director, Kirk Wassmer, to include the band’s individually adjudicated results in its music festival. Wassmer accepted, and didn’t tell band members until after their performance.

The DHS band was awarded a gold for its performance, and invited to nationals.

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One of the adjudicators, Dr. Tristan De Borba, wrote, “Congratulations on a truly exceptional performance! This is challenging music and you played it with precision, energy and enthusiasm. I really felt the music come to life in your performance. You went well beyond the right notes and rhythms.”

“The students were thrilled,” says Kirk Wassmer. “They were pretty proud of themselves, and so am I. They played very well. This is our first trip after the pandemic. To come back in this way was fantastic. This is a career highlight for me.”

Also, Wassmer notes band members aren’t just good musicians. He says, “I received a number of texts and emails from the people we met on our tour. They all shared that our students had great interactions, and were wonderful ambassadors of our school and community.”

The nationals are in May 2023, but the band can delay participation for one year to 2024.

The band members, the director, and administration are considering whether the band will participate in spring 2024.