Every year, Richmond Music School principal Patricia Rolston sits back in awe of her students’ at their annual Concerto Concert and thinks “it can’t get any better.”
Every subsequent concerto, however, the young musicians prove Rolston wrong.
This Saturday, March 3, the students will set out to show their principal once more that new heights are being reached when around 90 perform at the school on Steveston Highway, just south of No. 3 Road.
“The discipline in the students and the level they perform at is incredible,” said Rolston.
“This is not just another recital. It blows me away every year. Without this event, I’m not sure they would be as inspired as they are; it keeps their passion burning.”
As well as the students on violins, cellos, pianos, flute and more, there will be a children’s choir, along with a professional orchestra under the direction of Allen Stiles.
And they will be complemented by a guitar concerto from one of the school’s teachers, Kyle Hawkes, a native of Steveston and McMath secondary grad, who’ll perform the Concerto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo, made popular by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 50s.
Giving a nod to the amount of work and preparation put into the concerto by all concerned, Rolston likened it to “climbing a mountain with a 10-ton sack on our back.”
“We keep going and going, though, and, eventually, we make it to the top. And when we do, we sit back and realize we’ve made it, it’s a great feeling.”
Call 604-272-5227 for tickets.
