In the first week of June each year all of the students of Lester B Pearson School for the Arts gather to present what we call, "Choral Celebration". These concert have been going on for as long as Pearson has been an arts school. They are a highlight of the school year, and truly show the musical progression of the students as they move from grade 4 to grade 8. We hope that you enjoy the music that we have prepared for you!

You can go to the playlist or choose individual songs below.

• Choral Celebration 1999 playlist

CD Cover

Script from Choral Celebration 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls; welcome to Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts Choral Celebration 1999. This evening will present for you some of the vocal music that the students have been working on throughout the year. Tonight’s concert is being recorded and will be made into CD which you can order after the concert at the desk just over to my left. Now it’s my understanding that this is no ordinary CD. There is also a surprise, which for now I will leave until a little later. As you heard from the warmup a few minutes ago the students are ready sing for you, so without further adieu we will get started.

Pearson Singers

First on the programme is The Pearson Singers who just this last weekend finished a tour to Owen Sound and St. Mary’s to perform with the Georgian Bay Children’s Choir and the Stonetown Choral Society. They will perform three songs. The first is Niška Banja (Neesh-ka Bahn-yah). It is a folk song of Yukoslavia, sung in Sebian. The trans lation is “Let’s go to the baths of Nis where we shall kiss, kiss, kiss.”

The second song will be more familiar to most people as a poem. This is the poem of Wynken, Blynken and Nod, who sail off together down a river on a voyage that eventually leads them to sleep.

The last song in the Pearson Singers set is a piece from the east coast made popular by the Rankin Family. It has been arranged for Choir and soloist and will feature Grade 7 student Leanne MacLachlan. And now, the Pearson Singers.

Grade 4's

The grade 4 classes of Ms. Gullen and Mr. DaSilva have had a great start to their vocal career at Pearson. Throughout the year, the grade four students have been working diligently on vocal skills such as correct vowel and consonant production , breath control and blend. As well ,their ability to maintain an independent part and to sing in harmony has improved over the terms.

Tonight, they would like to present for you two selections. Nature’s Lullaby, written by Don Besig and Nancy Price, is a two-part song with a beautiful text that describes our environment. It is based on the famous “Lullaby” theme by Johannes Brahms.

In t he second song , the composers Lois Brownsey and Marti Lunn ask us to listen carefully , for all around the world, “ Freedom is calling us all!”

Grade 5's

Ms. Bird’s and Mrs. Woytowicz’s grade five classes will be joining their voices tonight to present a set of songs entitled Reflections of a Lad at Sea .The first song in the set captures the spirit of a proud sailor. This lad tells us of his pride in being the captain’s mate and he assures us that “sailing on a ship is where he’ll always be, for a sailor’s life is fine!”

In the second song, which features soloists Kate Bryant and Oriol Madrenas, we hear of a sailor’s dream to sail to places never seen in search of new adventure. After he has had his chance to roam to far-away places, the sailor realizes that he misses home and travels back to Scarlettetown.

The last song in this set recounts the story of an eeire and mysterious sighting of a Ghost Ship sailing west on the open sea.

Grade 6's

The grade six classes of Mr. Isaacs and Mr. Saynor will be the next to combine vocal forces. Their first selection, entitled One World, has a text with an important message ; it reminds the listener that “we have one world, one place that we call home”and we all need to take care of that place we share and “let it thrive, let it shine and let it grow”.

Dodili is a spirited Israeli song that is sung in Hebrew. It is a love song which comes from the Old Testament book Song of Solomon. This song will feature some duets and solos. The first verse will be sung by Jocelyn Howard and Katie Harvey, the second verse is a solo by Andrew Potruff , and the third verse is a duet by Emily Poirier and Rachel Wharton.

Grade 7's

The grade 7 students have not only worked hard on the continued development of their voices, but they have also been studying medieval and renaissance music. Their first piece is in polyphonic style, which was typical of renaissance music. Listen for individual parts and how each weaves through the song at some point becoming the dominant voice. This piece feature three soloists: Laura Coatsworth, Melanie Dick, and Leanne MacLachlan.

The grade 7's second piece is an arrangement of three Russian folk songs : “The Birch Tree”, “Kalinka”(Ka-ling-ka), and “Toom Balalaika” (Toom Bal-a-like-a). The arrangement moves back and forth between the three songs ending in a rousing Russian dance style. Ladies and Gentlemen, the grade 7's.

Grade 8's

The grade 8's have a piece that will be familiar to most people, a medley from Les Misérables. Soloist for this piece are Julia Buchanan and Nikki Griffin. The grade 8's.

Whole School

To finish our concert this evening ,we will join all the voices of our students from Pearson to perform a gospel song written by Walter Hawkins and arranged by Martin Sirvatka. Please sit back and enjoy our 1999 Choral Celebration finale Goin’ Up A Yonder.