On May 1, three Senior School jazz ensembles represented St. Michaels University School at the West Coast Jazz Festival in Nanaimo, a regional festival affiliated with MusicFest Canada. The SMUS Senior Jazz Band, R&B Band and Jazz Combo left campus at 6:00 am for what would be a 12-hour day of performances, workshops and competition.
The three ensembles performed a varied repertoire spanning swing classics like “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and “Angel Eyes” to Stevie Wonder's R&B hit “Superstition”. All three earned Gold and secured invitations to MusicFest Canada Nationals in 2027.
Throughout the day, students also took part in workshops led by some of Western Canada's leading jazz educators.
Individual awards were presented to several SMUS musicians:
Most Outstanding Senior Jazz Vocalist: Georgia James '25 Most Outstanding Senior Tenor Sax Player: Luka Pittman '25 Runner Up, Outstanding Senior Piano Player: Michael Carpiano '26
Honourable mentions were awarded to Jehiel McCoy '26 (vocals), Kayler Kim '25 (vocals), Brenton Hsu '26 (guitar) and Kathryn Chen '29 (drums), who performed in all nine pieces across the ensembles' sets. Solo recognition certificates went to Paul Holland '28 (trombone) and Niccola Tollkin '28 (trumpet).
For Senior School Band Teacher and Head of Music Ian Farish '89, the day reflected something larger than the results.
"It takes a huge commitment to play in our jazz program. Rehearsals happen before school at 7:30 am, and that is never an easy time for kids and teachers. West Coast Jazz Festival, too, comes at a busy time of year. It is the last day of term 5, it is AP season, kids have competing sports commitments, and Grade 9s and 10s have out trips too. Nothing is easy about it, and not everyone was able to join us. In spite of a couple of key players missing, the band played great, and overall it has been a super year. We have a great time together playing great music, and the result is good vibes, good music, and good fun for everyone. It's not about the awards, it's about the process, and I'm proud of all the kids. I'm looking forward to our final performance at SMUS on June 3!"
The 30 musicians who performed at West Coast Jazz Festival returned to SMUS on May 14 for the Yamaha True North Jazz Clinic, a morning festival performance featuring master educator Jonathan Bell from Calgary, Alberta.
Those same musicians will return to the stage for Jazz Night: Shadow and Swing at SMUS, Wednesday, June 3 at 7:00 pm in the SMUS Chapel.
