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 2012 playlist

CD Cover

Pearson Singers

The Pearson Singers had a wonderfully successful year. In the two months leading up to Choral Celebration, they performed almost every two weeks! At Kiwanis, they won gold and were again asked to go on to the provincial finals. Their two Kiwanis pieces were very different selections. The first piece was written by Joan Szymko. She was working on a commission using the text “All shall be well” for choir and handbells. It was at this time that the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami hit Southeast Asia. One of the main thoughts that kept going through her mind was that there had been no warning. No sirens, no warning bells. The research for her commission said that church bells have been used throughout history to signal both moments of celebration and of warning. All of these thoughts made their way into her piece. “Vivos Voco, I call the living, I cry for the dying, I wail for the dead. All shall be well.” Grade 8 student Ellen Luo is playing the bells on keyboard and the singers in the solo group are Grade 7 students Kiersten Overton, Danie Dixon and Grade 8 student Isabella Wolder. This piece is called Vivos Voco.

Shosholoza is a Southern African folk song, traditionally sung by all-male workers, in a call and response style. A rough translation is given as follows:

Go forward on those mountains on the train from South Africa

Go forward, Go forward

You are running away on those mountains on the train from South Africa

This folk song regained popularity in 2009 when it was recorded for Clint Eastwood’s movie “Invictus”, and as well, in 2010, when it was sung by the South African soccer team as they came onto the field of play to open the FIFA World Cup.

On Sunday June 3rd the Pearson Singers were invited to sing as a part of the closing concert for Beal Secondary School’s 100^th Anniversary. They sang a number of pieces finishing with an arrangement of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror by London's own Steve Holowitz, and featuring Denise Pelley. The song brought the house down! We had a surprise in store for one of our grade 8 students. Here is how the piece was announced at Choral Celebration. “We are going to sing that piece for you now with our own Isabella Wolder doing the solo. To prepare for tonight, Isabella had a voice lesson with Denise at the beginning of the week. One of the highlights of the lesson was singing the piece as a duet with Denise. Wouldn’t it be great to have heard that performance! Isabella doesn’t know it, but you’re about to! Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Denise Pelley!” Isabella and Denise teamed up to present a spectacular version of Man in the Mirror with the Pearson Singers.

Grade 4's

The grade 4 classes of Mrs. Case and Mr. DaSilva were very excited to be a part of their very first Choral Celebration. Their first selection that evening was entitled Sing Your Song, written by Greg Gilpin. The text says: "No matter what the melody, . . . high or low, or in harmony, . . . sing your song." Though each of us is different and unique, this song encourages unity, especially through the power of music.

Their second selection was an arrangement of an American folk song with a text that celebrates the goodness and joy of happiness. It was written in 1968 by the folk-artist Donovan while traveling in India with the Beatles, one member of the Beach Boys and Mia Farrow. Donovan's goal when writing this song was to create a melody that all people could sing along to. He called it a circular song with simple, but profound words. Please enjoy Earlene Rentz's arrangement of Happiness Runs.

Grade 5's

The grade 5 classes of Mrs. Bailey and Ms. Bird joined forces to present their musical selections. Artza Alinu is an energetic Hebrew folk song which translates as follows: "We have gone up to our land. There we have plowed and sown, but we still have not reaped." This song was a favourite of the Israeli pioneers who returned to live in the land of Israel. As they planted crops and brought the land back to cultivation, they sang and danced in the hope that the land of Israel would be rebuilt. It is combined with "Toembai," another Israeli dance tune that is generally sung at celebrations.

Tuxedo Junction is a swing band standard that dates back to 1939. As recorded by the Glen Miller Orchestra that year, it rose to number one as the best selling record. Lyrics were added years later, and the vocal jazz group, Manhatten Transfer, revisited the song's popularity in 1975. Special thanks to Jon Cinquina on bass and Arie Field on drums. So sit back and relax, as the grade 5 students transport you to a blues club in Birmingham, Alabama where people go to dance the night away!

Grade 6's

Next on the program were the grade 6 classes of Miss Chesnut and Mr. Wasse. Their first selection that evening was Song For A Russian Child, written by Andrea Klouse. This contemporary ballad places the universal wish for peace in the hands of our children. The important message delivered in the text says: "I will reach my hands across the sea, for children there are just like you and me."

Their second piece was an African playground song from the country of Ghana. Sansa Kroma is a popular children's game quite similar to the traditional game "duck, duck, goose". In this version, a young chick is chased around by a hawk (sansa) but the chick is saved and protected by her friends. The words translate: "Sansa the hawk! You are an orphan, and so you snatch up baby chicks". Thank you to Amelia Waud for joining us on the djembe.

Grade 7's

Ms. Ainslie and Mrs. DePace's grade 7 classes took the stage next. In vocal music one of the units that we study is the Renaissance. At Choral Celebration the grade 7's presented a piece that they had worked on from this era. One technique that was used during this time is antiphonal singing, which moves back and forth between a small and large group of singers. Our small group featured six students. They are Sophie Emberley-Korkmaz, Laura VanPuymbroeck, Emma VanDerkuyl, Madeline Bennett, Jake Desando, and Soo Wan Choi. They were joined by Danielle Nelson and Maia Dobie on percussion to present Jacob Arcadelt's, Open Your Eyes.

The grade 7's second piece was a wonderfully energetic Spanish composition by Jay Althouse. As the song states, "I feel the rhythm of life in music . . . I feel the rhythm of life around me!" The percussion section for this piece was Parker Sweet-Bouley, Nohemi Lopez Taylor, Kiersten Overton, Danielle Nelson and Amelia Waud. Please enjoy Oye la Musica.

Grade 8's

The two pieces that Mr. Cairns and Mr. Malik classes performed both received gold awards at Kiwanis. The first piece was a Baroque composition by Antonio Vivaldi. It is the "Gloria" movement from a larger work also entitled Gloria. This performance featured a string quartet comprised of Anna Olchowec, Yilin Huang, Daewoon Kim and Karly Hlynialuk. Please enjoy, Gloria.

The grade 8's second piece was a medley of songs from one of the most popular Broadway composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Andrew Lloyd Webber. His musicals are some of the most popular music on the stage today. You will hear a medley of three selections, "Phantom of the Opera" from the Phantom of the Opera, "Memory" from Cats, and "Go Go Go Joseph" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Twelve

Twelve had a very successful year. They too received gold in Kiwanis. Their performance was a selection of pieces from the musical Rent. The medley starts with "Seasons of Love". Soloists are Isabella Wolder, Nic Noguera, and Olenka Bak. Next Nic sang "One Song Glory". Heather Bryson and Isabella Wolder sang together for "Take Me or Leave Me" and then Isabelle Nagel, with Emma Ruddock, sang "I'll Cover You". The entire ensemble returned for the final piece, the title track, "Rent", which featured Ethan Keyes and John Osterberg.

Whole School

his Choral Celebration was another special night as we celebrated the work of one of our teachers who retired at the end of the year, Ms. Ainslie. Ms. Ainslie was there at the beginning, when Pearson became a school for the arts. She had seen a lot of changes in that time and was ready for a change herself. She will be deeply missed. Two students from Ms. Ainslie's current homeroom class, Danie Dixon and Nohemi Lopez Tayor, started us out. They were joined by the whole school as we all acknowledged how she has changed all of us. Written by Stephen Schwartz, from the musical Wicked, this is, For Good.

Our final selection featured all of the Pearson students singing a song that celebrates the diversity of languages, cultures and spirits in our country. Song for Canada, written by Paul Halley, is an expression of hope and optimism based on those things that Canadians hold in common - the beauty of our land and oceans, and the magnificence and peace contained therein.