The annual Arts Week celebration at Trinity College School included two incredible nights of music showcasing our talented Senior School musicians. For some of our graduating musicians, these performances represented their last time sharing their talents with TCS audiences, and they certainly saved the best for last.
Jazz Night
Swing, blues, bebop, funk, Latin and more were presented during the annual Jazz Night on Monday, May 1st. Led by the Senior jazz band, Jazz@4, the evening was filled with great tunes, with an emphasis on jazz standards. Kicking the night off with Georgia on My Mind and Cry Me a River (with Mika Romao Vandepol on vocals), Jazz@4 had audiences under a spell. Throughout the evening, the band played charts from across the jazz spectrum – from the challenging Tank! to the expressive If I Could, the sentimental I’ve Got You Under My Skin (with Bria Chalovich on vocals) to the spicy Muy Caliente – highlighted by solos from several ensemble members and with professional musician Philippe Marsan joining the band on the School’s new drum set.
The evening also featured many superb solo jazz performances, including by individual members of Jazz@4: Wesley Hoo (alto sax; Take Five); Bria Chalovich (trumpet and vocals; I’ll Be Seeing You); Darren Du (electric guitar, Honeysuckle Rose); Sara Yang (piano, Misty); Beau Lee (alto sax, Billie’s Bounce); and Allen Tang (alto sax, Night and Day). Music students Connor Jamieson (clarinet, All Blues), Arden Collins (alto sax, Blues in Hoss Flat) and Kyra Fingas (flute, The Way You Look Tonight) also provided solo performances.
Our soloists were accompanied by a trio of professional musicians: Mr. Philippe Marsan (drums), Mr. Reuven Grajner (piano) and Grade 12 student Robin Xu (bass). The evening drew to a close with a finale by this trio, a treat for audiences as they moved through Mellow Dream, Recorda Me and All the Things You Are.
It was an unforgettable evening of music thanks to the efforts of Jazz@4 director, Ms. Nicola Lee, and student-musicians Allen Tang*, Wesley Hoo*, Lily Wright, Beau Lee, Bria Chalovich*, Michael Hassard, Josie Scott*, Jun Hong, Serar Omar, Oliver Gu, Darren Du, Robin Xu*, Charlotte Patterson and Sarah Yang*. A special note of congratulations to the graduating ensemble members (denoted with *), whose creative contributions and passion for music will be so missed.
Spring Concert
Just two nights later, our student-musicians were back on the stage of the Dick & Jane LeVan Theatre to present a packed set of pieces from across genres and around the world, during the annual Spring Concert. This celebration of music at TCS included performances by many of the Senior School ensembles, including Drumline, Trinity Winds, Trinity Strings and two rock bands. There were also performances by our Grade 10, 11 and 12 bands.
A surprise opening to the concert featured four alumni – Lewis Cirne ’89, Richard Hammond ’89, Paul Grabec ’89 P’21 and Russ Stedman ’89 – reforming their acapella singing group from their high school days to sing a few songs. Then, the TCS Drumline got audiences pumped up with a rousing opening number, before Trinity Winds took the stage.
Under the direction of Ms. Nicola Lee and Ms. Rachel Pearson, the wind ensemble honoured “May the Fourth” by playing music from Star Wars, followed by John Lennon’s Imagine and the 1980s hit Running Up That Hill. A subset of the ensemble completed a task begun back in 2019 when they performed Bach’s challenging fugue Contrapunctus IX, a piece they had been unable to perform live at the time due to the pandemic.
Trinity Winds and Trinity Strings members teamed up to perform music from the film Forrest Gump, with Wesley Hoo on piano, and then the strings played two Strauss polkas under the direction of Mr. Chip Mihailescu.
The Grade 11 Band’s upbeat Blue Mambo was punctuated by a sax solo from Arden Collins. A trio of students – Hannah Obomighie, Kennedy Adams and Greyson Rankin – added improvised solos to the Grade 10 Band’s performance of the jazz piece, Tastes Like Chicken. Special thanks to Robin Xu for sitting in on this number on bass guitar.
Several soloists and duets graced the stage throughout the concert, including Eric Jin and Sarah Inglis performing an arrangement of Thaïs: Méditation for piano and violin; Sarah Yang presenting two beautiful piano pieces by Chopin; Josie Scott and Mr. Jeff Biggar on guitar for a medley from the film La La Land; and Mr. Mihailescu and Carla Plenge on Johan Halvorsen’s arrangement for violin and viola of Handel’s Passacaglia in G Minor.
The Grade 12 Band took on a medley of songs by The Doors, before Mr. Joel Wesley presented and Darren Du played a special drum solo in appreciation of the TCS Parents’ Guild, which funded the purchase of a professional drum set for the School this year.
The night ended on a high note with performances by two rock bands that have worked with Mr. Biggar throughout the year. Last Minute (Barry Zhao, Alex Chin, Viana Biscoe and Jessica Bridges), brought the audience to cheers with their renditions of Backseat Lovers by Poolhouse and Amy Whinehouse’s You Know I’m No Good. Then Marco Polo (Allen Tang, Darren Du, Robin Xu, Aidan Reid, Barry Zhao and Phillip Whan Tong) closed out the show with a trio of songs that concluded with The End by the Beatles, featuring a video tribute to the graduating musicians and to Mr. Biggar. All of the music students will miss Mr. Biggar, who departs this June having taught music at TCS since 2010.
Thank you to the emcees of Jazz Night (Amelia Maggi and Kyra Fingas) and the Spring Concert (Ben Semmler and Bria Chalovich – especially for the Star Wars jokes!). And our gratitude to our guest performers for each concert; the facilities & IT services department, including our sound team (Mr. Christian McFadden and Mr. Joel Wesley); and the Student Arts Council.
