Vanier Collegiate’s 19th annual Prairie Christmas Concert will feature professional drummer Justin Hauck, an alumnus of the school’s music program who now performs with Regina-based Latin band Andino Suns.
The concert is Sunday, Dec. 8 at Hillcrest Apostolic Church beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and $25 for families. This includes cookies and drinks at the break.
The proceeds from the event will support Vanier’s music program.
Hauck will likely perform a drum solo during the concert, while he will also play the xylophone since he can play that instrument at an advanced level, explained Val McWilliams, Vanier’s band and choir teacher. Hauck will also be asked to get behind a drum kit and perform with the students.
The school usually attempts to find a guest artist from the community to perform with the students, she said. However, Vanier has never had a professional drummer take part before, so the school jumped at having Hauck, especially since he is a school grad and “a great guy all around.”
“It will be fun, just like old times,” she added.
All of the school’s music groups will take part, including band, concert choir, chamber choir, and the jazz band, McWilliams explained. About 70 students will participate in the annual concert, with some of them performing with more than one group.
The chamber choir will perform songs by Pentatonix, which is usually well received by students and parents alike. The large choir is expected to sing Christmas songs, including a medieval Gloria and a carol, along with non-Christmas songs that are sung in different languages.
Band students will perform several Christmas songs, including a medley of Joy to the World and another based on The Phantom of the Opera, which McWilliams noted is always powerful.
Many of these students are multi-talented since not only are they in band or choir — or both — but they also took part in the recent musical production of Sister Act, said McWilliams.
“They’re just a joy to work with because they want to learn (and) they want to improve their artistry in a variety of (disciplines),” she added. “I’m a very lucky woman to have them in my life.”
McWilliams has been the band and choir teacher for more than 25 years at Vanier Collegiate and was at the school when the band program started in 1994. She helped organize the first Prairie Christmas Concert in 2001, an event that was initially started to fundraise for a trip to Scotland and England to celebrate the first graduating class of the band program.
“We made a big, big deal of it and invited lots of people and it was wonderful. It’s just become a really strong tradition,” she said. “It’s a beautiful concert to showcase everything that these talented students are doing.”
Band and choir students have been to New York City, Ottawa and Halifax over the years, but there are no big trips planned soon. All the money raised from this concert will pay for the venue, while it will also be used for future trips, for educational purposes, and to keep the program running.
“We try to make it as interesting as possible,” McWilliams said about the concert. “It’s not too long. It’s a good showcase of students. It’s very Christmasy.”
Since Vanier is a Catholic high school, December will be a time when the school is celebrating Advent, she added. This means many of the songs performed will have a less secular tone to them and more of a religious vibe.
