GCVI has record year at MusicFest Canada National competition

May 17, 2021

GUELPH, Ontario – Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute’s Music Program had a record year during the 2021 MusicFest Canada National competition.

MusicFest Canada’s National competition brings together school groups from across the country. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the national competition moved to an online format where Canadian schools could submit video projects with students playing and singing from home or they could live stream a performance with performers set apart a safe distance, if they are in a province that allowed for that.

In the 48 previous years of MusicFest Canada’s National Competition, GCVI has won a total of three national Gold medals (2013, 2016 and 2018). This year alone, GCVI was awarded three more.

According to GCVI teacher Dan Austin, “In a year that seemed lost at times, these students lifted their game to a whole new level.”

As part of the virtual competition, each group from GCVI submitted multiple pre-recorded videos.

The GCVI Gael Force Stage band was awarded the Silver medal, making this the 11^th consecutive National Silver awarded to the stage band. The pieces they submitted included, Man in The Mirror (featuring guest saxophonist Phil Dwyer) by Michael Jackson, On the Sunny Side of The Street (featuring guest vibraphonist Dan McCarthy) by Jimmy McHugh and Skyfall by Adele.

Winning Gold medals were the GCVI Sr. Symphonic Band, the GCVI Chamber Choir and the GCVI String Ensemble.

The pieces submitted by each of the Gold medal winning groups included:

GCVI Sr Symphonic Band: Grasp the Dream by Brad Chiechomski, River Poem by Tyler S. Grant and Song of Hope by Pete Meechan.
GCVI Chamber Choir: Helpless by Lin Manuel-Miranda, Cold Isn’t Permanent by Corey Payette and Dreams by Pentatonix.
GCVI String Ensemble: Canon in D by Pachelbel and Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar.

Since the festival was done entirely virtually this year, it will be available to stream the week of May 24, 2021. To view GCVI’s streams, tune in May 24 at 7:00 p.m. and May 25 at 7:00 p.m.

For the full streaming schedule or to view GCVI’s performances when they are available, visit: https://musicfest.ca/festival/calendar/

Congratulations to all of the GCVI medalists, this is truly a great accomplishment.