William Aberhart Bands

About William Aberhart High School Bands:

The William Aberhart Symphonic Band consists of 85 grade 11 and 12 music students.  These students study instrumental music within their schedule at the school and rehearse as a full ensemble once a week after school.  This ensemble has enjoyed a long tradition of excellence, having won awards at major music festivals dating back as far as 1963.  The band has had several new pieces of music commissioned for it and has had the distinction of presenting a number of World Premiere Performances of these works and several North American Premiere performances of works from other countries.

The William Aberhart Wind Ensemble is an auditioned group of 45 musicians who also perform in the Symphonic Band. This ensemble is dedicated to performing the finest repertoire for wind ensemble as well as to chamber music. Each spring, the Wind Ensemble presents a concert consisting of 12 – 15 concerti, featuring members of the ensemble as soloists with the ensemble.

Both bands are very excited to be traveling to Spain this year. There, they will share performances with some fabulous ensembles as well as have the opportunity to visit many exciting cities, make new friends and enjoy learning about and experience the culture. It is wonderful to be able to return to many of the places the William Aberhart bands visited in 2011 and we are very grateful to our wonderful friends in the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Granada and Alicante and the villages of Agost and Rotova for their friendship and for their help in making our journey so special.

The repertoire this year has been chosen to represent our theme of Music Knows No Borders. Music has been carefully chosen to represent music from around the world. England, Scotland, Korea, Russia, Germany, Spain and, of course, Canada are represented.

In Spanish

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Repertoire list:

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About William Aberhart High School:

William Aberhart High School is a comprehensive high school for students from grade 10 through 12. The school is recognized as an official “International Spanish Academy” through a formal Program of Cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain, William Aberhart High School and the Calgary Board of Education. In addition to the Spanish Bilingual program, the school offers instruction through a French Immersion program as well as an English Language program.

Our role is to provide an environment which enables students to grow as caring, autonomous, lifelong learners, able and willing to participate effectively and responsibly in society.

The school was built in 1957 in northwest Calgary, near the University of Calgary.   The school has 54 classrooms, 2 gymnasia, a fully equipped Fitness Centre available for classes and students, a multi-media library resource centre and specialized areas for music, drama, dance and art. The student population is approximately 1550. It was named after former teacher and principal, William Aberhart. He was very influential in our province in the 1920’s and 30’s and in 1935 became the Premier of the Province of Alberta.

In Spanish

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About Kevin Willms:

Kevin Willms grew up in Calgary, Alberta Canada.  He received his Bachelor of Music and Teacher Certification from the University of Calgary. Mr. Willms has been teaching instrumental and choral music in Calgary twenty eight years. He has been teaching at William Aberhart high school since September, 2008 where he is currently the Learning Leader for Fine and Performing Arts.  His ensembles consistently perform at “Superior” levels and have received much recognition for their outstanding performances at local, national and international music festivals.

In addition to his duties at William Aberhart, he is the Artistic Director of the Westwinds Music Society, the largest adult community music organization in North America.  Mr. Willms is active as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator.  He is the jazz coordinator for the Alberta International Band Festival (Calgary) and President of the Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education (CADME).  Mr. Willms has received several nominations for the Pan Canadian Students’ Choice Awards as well as the “Alberta Excellence in Teaching Awards”. On February 25, 2003, Premier Ralph Klein presented Mr. Willms with the Tommy Banks Award, recognizing his long-term contribution to music education in Alberta. He was named “Educator of the Year” by the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation (2006) and received the Elkhorn Award as “Band Director of the Year” (2006) from the Alberta Band Association. In November 2013, the North American Bandmasters Fraternity, Phi Beta Mu awarded the David Peterkin Memorial Award in recognition of his contributions to band education and band music.

Mr. Willms is proud of the many former students who have gone on to successful careers as musicians and music educators.  He is equally proud that large numbers of students have developed a love of music and continue to participate in community bands and choirs long after graduation from high school.

In Spanish