Bravo to SAC musicians for their CISMF performance

Congratulations to 32 St. Andrew’s student musicians who participated in the Conference of Independent Schools Music Festival (CISMF) on April 13 at a sold-out Roy Thomson Hall.

Our musicians were among the 1,300 who successfully auditioned for a chance to perform at the 37^th annual CISMF, a celebration of music representing 39 of the 44 CIS Ontario member schools.

Schools wishing to participate submit an audition recording in the fall for the honour of performing. Those selected must collaborate in advance over the course of several rigorous rehearsal days. St. Andrew’s College was one of the schools used as a rehearsal site, and our students were joined by 600 visiting student musicians from across Ontario to practice in our world-class facilities on Thursday and Friday.

According to SAC Head of Music, Dan Horner, the two days leading up to the festival were gruelling.

“Our students rehearsed for five hours a day on Thursday and Friday; they all got on the bus at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday to get to the first rehearsal at Roy Thomson Hall. That was a long day, but everyone was on time and ready to play,” he said.

Dan reported it was one of the best CIS music festivals in recent years, and the level of musicianship was at an all-time high.

“Playing on a stage like Roy Thomson is a privilege,” Dan told our boys as they headed to the downtown Toronto venue early Saturday morning. He reported that despite the rigorous rehearsals and the early start to the day, the SAC students displayed their talent at this musical showcase. Also chosen to perform were four students from St. Anne’s School: Rebecca DiCarlo, Noelle Simpson, Sunny Sun, and Abby Wang.       
              

Congratulations to the five SAC Jazz Band members who performed brilliantly as part of the CISMF All-Star Jazz Band. Willer Wang - Alto 1, Harrison Chen - Alto 2, Stephen Yoon - Trumpet 3, Eli Chin - Trombone 1, and Marcus Fong – Bass were part of the showcase of musical talent on display.

“They all did a stellar job,” enthused Garry Page, Co-Director of the CISMF Jazz Band and CISMF Jazz Coordinator for this year’s festival.

The Jazz Band performed two pieces, O.W. and RU Chicken?

“I am so proud of them. They are super representatives for St. Andrew’s College,” Garry said.

The non-competitive celebration of music features choirs and bands – jazz, symphonic, concert, and more – all culminating in a mass finale.

These students performed at CISMF 2024:

Daniel Chen

Stephen Luan

Tristan Simpson

Ethan Tang

Alex Teng

Peter Zhang

Ashton Zhu

Harrison Chen

Eli Chin

Marcus Fong

Willer Wang

Stephen Yoon

Zafir Abdulla   

Nicholas Chan

Sihan Guo      

Ethan Meretsky         

Jordan Sanderson     

Terry Wang    

Eric Wang      

Clayton Yang  

Ijaaz Abdulla   

Young Chen   

Joseph Fiallo  

Juho Jang      

Jay Lee          

Terry Li           

Jonathan Rim 

Noah Studin   

Ben Wang      

Richard Yang 

David Yang     

James Zhou