May 9 - High School Plays

7:30 p.m. - South Huron DHS in Exeter performs its final showing of Our Town. Tickets are $7.
8:00 p.m. - North Middlesex DHS in Parkhill performs Grease! You’re the One that I Want. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students.

Shakespeare’s best known story back in Stratford

To readers of Live! On Stage!
Thanks for reading – I enjoy the feedback.
On a personal note: If you’re on any road trips this summer, stop at Port Hope, about an hour east of Toronto on Lake Ontario. Our son Thomas will be performing in the Port Hope Festival’s production of Anne of Green Gables at the Capitol Theatre, July 31 to August 24. He landed the part of Moody Spurgeon MacPherson, one of the Avonlea School boys. Rehearsals begin in mid-July and we’re looking forward to being there on opening night August 1. Check out www.capitoltheatre.com
All the best,
Mary

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Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Performed by Ben Carlson, Maria Ricossa, Scott Wentworth, Geraint Wyn Davies, James Blendick, Victor Ertmanis, Bruce Godfree, Adrienne Gould, Tom Rooney.
Directed by Adrian Noble
Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production
Festival Theatre, Stratford
April 23 to October 26, 2008

Live! On Stage!
By Mary Alderson

Shakespeare’s most quoted and most often performed tragedy, Hamlet, is back on stage in Stratford this summer. Renamed the Stratford “Shakespeare” Festival by new management, one might think that the Festival would put the emphasis on recreating a true Shakespearean/Elizabethan experience. But compared to the traditional version that was presented in 2000, this year’s production is modernized.
Costumes are Edwardian style – instead of ancient Denmark, it feels like an English parlour in the early 1900s. In fact, the suits and gowns look like they just stepped on the upper class section of the Titanic. Other little things remind the audience that they are not in ancient times – Hamlet’s famous play within a play is performed through a scrim in silhouette, using electric lights to make the shadows.
But more noticeably updated are the spoken words. Ben Carlson as Hamlet does not speak in the traditional Shakespearean iambic pentameter – the usual ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum rhythm. Somehow Carlson has made the lines sound like modern English, even though he is saying the Elizabethan words. He also glosses over the rhyming couplets at the ends of the scenes, making them sound like prose. The recent preview performance I attended was filled with high school students – I suspect their English teachers told them to watch for the rhyme to know when to applaud. As it was, they hesitated, then overreacted with wild cheers.
Young Prince Hamlet (Carlson) returns home only to find that something is rotten in Denmark. He’s terribly upset to learn that his father is dead and his uncle Claudius (Scott Wentworth) is now king and hastily married his mother, Gertrude (Maria Ricossa). (If you’re not familiar with Hamlet, and yet this storyline seems familiar, perhaps you know it from Disney’s The Lion King.) Hamlet immediately has his suspicions, but when the ghost of his father, Old Hamlet (James Blendick) appears, Hamlet heeds the ghost’s request to avenge his murder.
In order to find out what’s been going on, Hamlet pretends to be crazy. Shakespearean scholars sometimes argue whether Hamlet’s madness is feigned or real, but in this production, it seems to be faked. In fact, Carlson actually makes Hamlet funny while he’s feigning madness, adding levity and comic relief to this tragedy. Carlson plays the role less angrily than most. Many Hamlets are embittered and beleaguered, but when Carlson utters the famous “to be or not to be”, it’s impossible to think that he is at all serious about suicide. Even Paul Gross (of TV’s Due South and the movie Men with Brooms fame) played a more sober Hamlet at the Festival in 2000.
Hamlet realizes that someone is hiding behind a curtain, thinks it’s his opportunity to kill Claudius, but unfortunately stabs the Lord Chamberlain, Polonius (Geraint Wyn-Davies of TV’s 24). Wyn-Davies is not quite as annoying as the chatty Polonius should be. I think Shakespeare wanted Polonius to be a nosy gossip, so that the audience doesn’t feel bad when he dies. Wyn-Davies doesn’t make Polonius’ busybody nature apparent enough.
Unfortunately, Hamlet’s madness drives his girlfriend Ophelia (Adrienne Gould) mad and sadly, she commits suicide. Gould is a delightful Ophelia, a little perkier than others. She, too, has a couple of comedic moments.
Polonius’ son Laertes (Bruce Godfree) wants a duel with Hamlet when he learns his father is dead and poisons the tip of his sword. Eventually, all the key players are dead, and thus ends this great tragedy.
The set does not use the typical Shakespearean thrust stage and balcony, but it seems to work with the extended floor.
While most of the cast adapts to the modern cadence, Wentworth as Claudius prefers the traditional style of speaking. Not only is it difficult to understand him at times, but whenever he turns his back, it is also difficult to hear him.
The fun in seeing Hamlet is noticing all the everyday clichés in it. Amazing to think that those phrases you hear all the time, were actually coined and written in 1599.
Whether or not you like this production of Hamlet will depend on your tastes. If you are a Shakespearean purist, you may not enjoy the language, set and costumes. However, you believe that Shakespeare wrote for all times, then you’ll enjoy hearing the rhythm of the language made understandable today.
Hamlet continues at the Festival Theatre, Stratford until October 26. For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or check www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

May 6 - SHDHS presents Our Town; Port Franks meeting tonight

May 6 - 7 p.m. - Thedford arena - Lambton Shores is holding a revitalization meeting for Thedford, Arkona and Port Franks. Citizens are encouraged to attend this important meeting. For more details, visit the Lambton Shores website.
7:30 p.m. - SHDHS in Exeter presents Our Town, the Thornton Wilder play. Tickets are $7. For more information, visit the SHDHS website.

May 4 - Pinery Flea Market opens and Studio Tour continues

The Pinery Flea Market opens for the season today, Sunday, May 4 and runs every weekend until Thanksgiving. Also today, the Grand Bend Studio Tour continues from 12 to 4 p.m. at various sites around town. Get out and enjoy the spring weather!

May 3-4 - Grand Bend Studio Tour

The Grand Bend Studio Tour runs this weekend, featuring 25 artists at venues around town. For more details, visit the Grand Bend Studio Tour website. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3 and from 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday May 4.

May 6-9 - SHDHS presents Our Town; post-secondary grads give advice

Principal’s Page
By Jeff Reaburn

One of the events that we look forward to at this time of year is the annual school show, and it is rapidly approaching. This year’s production, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, will be performed from May 6 to 9 in our small gym. Director Beth Jantzi and her cast and crew have been rehearsing and preparing for months for this well known classic. The show begins at 7:30 each evening and tickets, which are only $7.00, can be purchased in the main office at the school. This will be an excellent opportunity to see and hear the dramatic talents of many fine young actors, and we encourage you to come out and show your support of our dramatic arts program.
The School Council’s final community forum of the year will take place on Monday, May 5. This one will be a departure from past forums in that it will take place in the afternoon and the audience will be students rather than parents. The topic this time is “What I Wish I’d Known,” and we have invited graduates who have gone on to college and university to come back and speak to South Huron students who will be heading to post-secondary education this fall. Our goal is to have the grads share their experiences and make our current students more aware of the challenges and opportunities they will face when they head off to college or university.
While we believe that we (the school and parents) do a pretty good job of preparing students for the post-secondary world, some lessons, both good and bad, can only be learned through experience. We also think that recent grads may have more credibility with our students than some of us who attended college or university many years ago. The goal of this session is to have the speakers share the lessons they have learned, to offer some tips and pointers, and perhaps help some of our present students avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that sometimes happen at college or university. If this proves to be a worthwhile forum, we may consider offering it every year.
The forum will be open to Grade 12 students who have applied to college or university and will take place in the cafeteria in last period on Monday, May 5. One of our speakers will be speaking to us via the Internet from Rotterdam, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we won’t have any technical difficulties. We encourage the students who will be attending this session to come prepared with any questions they may have about post-secondary education, whether they be about finances, independence, having a roommate, workload, or any other aspect of college or university life.
More information about this forum can be found on the SHDHS web-site at: http://www.shdhs.ca/.
This week we have also entered into the election campaign for next year’s Students’ Council. Campaigning will take place throughout this week, with the election on Friday, May 2. Congratulations to Leanne Hoffman, who was selected earlier this month as the Student Senator for SHDHS. She will be meeting regularly with senators from the other high schools in the Avon Maitland District School Board to discuss issues and provide the student voice to the trustees of the school board. Two of the senators were chosen last week as student trustees and they will sit with the elected trustees at regular school board meetings.
Finally, I would like to remind parents that the Semester Two Mid-Term Report Card was distributed in last period last Friday. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to ask your son or daughter about it. For this report students were required to complete a Response Form on which they were to comment on their academic progress this semester and on their goals for the year. This form must be signed by a parent and returned to the school to be placed in the students’ Ontario School Records. The deadline for this is Friday, May 9, and we would appreciate any assistance that parents may offer in getting this task completed.

May 2008

May - Ongoing
Mid-May and early June - Forest Canada Day Idol Contest applications.
North Lambton Secondary School. Live out your idol dream! There are three age categories: 10-14, 15-18 and 19 and over. Judges will select top contestants from each category to sing on stage at Esli Dodge Conservation Area on July 1. Application forms are avail-able at Woods Pearson & Associ-ates, 40 King St. W., Forest or at www.lambtonshores.ca. More infor-mation is available from Don Pear-son, Catherine Minielly or Ruth Illman.

Friday, May 2
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

5 to 7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Meat draw

6 to 10 p.m. - Pine Dale Motor Inn
Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat to Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day! Come all weekend or just for a day! Door prizes and special registration gifts. Friday 6-10, Saturday 9-9, Sunday 9-3. Registration – Weekend $55 until April 15th/$65 after April 15th. One day only $25. Continental breakfast and lunches provided. Sponsored by Creative Memories. Register by contacting Lynn Wilbur at 238-2847 or ewilbur@uwo.ca. Special room rates – contact the Pine Dale directly.

Saturday, May 3
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. - Pine Dale Motor Inn
Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat to Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day! Come all weekend or just for a day! Door prizes and special registration gifts. Friday 6-10, Saturday 9-9, Sunday 9-3. Registration – Weekend $55 until April 15th/$65 after April 15th. One day only $25. Continental breakfast and lunches provided. Sponsored by Creative Memories. Register by contacting Lynn Wilbur at 238-2847 or ewilbur@uwo.ca. Special room rates – contact the Pine Dale directly.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - various locations
2nd Annual Grand Bend & Area Art Studio Tour. For more information, contact Glen Baillie at 519-238-1472 or visit the Tour website at www.grandbendstudiotour.com.

2 p.m. - Grog’s Restaurant
Hillbillies Meat Raffle

3 to 6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with The Persuaders

Sunday, May 4
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Pine Dale Motor Inn
Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat to Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day! Come all weekend or just for a day! Door prizes and special registration gifts. Friday 6-10, Saturday 9-9, Sunday 9-3. Registration – Weekend $55 until April 15th/$65 after April 15th. One day only $25. Continental breakfast and lunches provided. Sponsored by Creative Memories. Register by contacting Lynn Wilbur at 238-2847 or ewilbur@uwo.ca. Special room rates – contact the Pine Dale directly.

12 to 4 p.m. - various locations
2nd Annual Grand Bend & Area Art Studio Tour. For more information, contact Glen Baillie at 519-238-1472 or visit the Tour website at www.grandbendstudiotour.com.

Monday, May 5
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

6:30 p.m. - Grand Bend Youth Centre
Scrapbooking. $2. Bring your own supplies. Contact Kim Widdis: 519-238-6390.

Tuesday, May 6
7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Bingo

Wednesday, May 7
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

10 to 11:30 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Line Dancing

Friday, May 9
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

5 to 7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Meat draw

Saturday, May 10
3 to 6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Don Harvey

Monday, May 12
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

4 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Plant Sale. Grand Bend and Area Horticultural Society. Receive potted and labeled plants.

6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Plant Sale. Grand Bend and Area Horticultural Society. Silent Auction. Following the pattern of last year’s sale, there will be food and fellowship as well as excellent plants.

6:30 p.m. - Grand Bend Youth Centre
Scrapbooking. $2. Bring your own supplies. Contact Kim Widdis: 519-238-6390.

Tuesday, May 13
7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Bingo

Wednesday, May 14
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

10 to 11:30 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Line Dancing

Friday, May 16
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

5 to 7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Meat draw

Saturday, May 17
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Pinery Provincial Park Store
Lakesmith Conservationists & Friends of the Pinery Park Fish Fry. Please call 519-243-1521 for details.

1 p.m. - Thedford Arena
Lawnmower Races. Thedford Spirit Club presents Spring Lawn-mower Race featuring the Western Ontario Outlaws along with local racers. For more information, call Rob at 519-296-4808.

2 p.m. - Grog’s Restaurant
Ausable Port Franks Optimist Meat Raffle

3 to 6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Ben Shane and Bobby K

Monday, May 19
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

6:30 p.m. - Grand Bend Youth Centre
Scrapbooking. $2. Bring your own supplies. Contact Kim Widdis: 519-238-6390.

Tuesday, May 20
Garden clean up. Grand Bend and Area Horticultural Society. Rain date May 21.

6 p.m. - Port Franks Community Centre
Port Franks Garden Club Plant Auc-tion. Silent and live auctions.

7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Bingo

Wednesday, May 21
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

10 to 11:30 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Line Dancing

Friday, May 23
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

5 to 7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Meat draw

Saturday, May 24
8 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Grand Bend and Area Horticultural Society Bus Tour. Wrightman Gardens (Kerwood), Cuddy Gardens (Strathroy), Dowding Water Garden (Mt. Brydges), buffet lunch at Wayside Dining Lounge (Talbotville), Canadale Nursery (St. Thomas), and return to Grand Bend between 5 and 6 p.m. Tickets $55; first come, first served. Reserve by contacting Eric Brown, 519-238-1583 or eandbbrown@hay.net. Cheques must be received by May 5 but will not be cashed until the bus is full and the trip is a definite go.

3 to 6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Bob Finlay

Monday, May 26
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

Tuesday, May 27
7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Bingo

Wednesday, May 28
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

10 to 11:30 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Line Dancing

Friday, May 30
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Exercise Club

5 to 7 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Meat draw

Saturday, May 31
3 to 6 p.m. - Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Jimmy Vail

Twist & Shout: The British Invasion ~ Nostalgia made for Baby-Boomers

Twist and Shout: The British Invasion
Performed by cast of 14
Written & Directed by Alex Mustakas
Grand Theatre Production
Grand Theatre, London
April 15 to May 11, 2008

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

If you were glued to the family TV set on that fateful night in February 1964, and watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show as they flickered across a snowy black and white screen, then you’ll love Twist and Shout: The British Invasion now playing at London’s Grand Theatre.
This show is aimed at the demographics of our times. Statistics tell us that the baby-boomer population is now in the 45 to 55 age range. If the theatre’s goal is to put “bums in seats”, then it makes perfect sense to put on a show that will appeal to the bulk of the population.
Twist and Shout: The British Invasion will not only attract the populace, but it is a crowd pleaser, as well. In fact, you’d better order your tickets early, as it’s sure to sell out.
The show was conceived and written by Alex Mustakas, the artistic director of Drayton Entertainment. It debuted three years ago at Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend. Mustakas designed it to take baby boomers on a nostalgia trip and show them a good time. And he succeeded – it quickly sold out at the various Drayton Entertainment venues.
In some areas, the Grand has improved on Mustaka’s success – flashier costumes with all the bright colours and sparkles of the sixties. But they were also careful to hang on to what made the show so good: they kept the two key voices. Danny Williams and Christine Glen were the show stoppers three years ago, and clearly demonstrated they still hold that position in the Grand’s version.
The audience is taken back to a mid-sixties TV studio, complete with microphones on booms and old TV cameras. Two high large-screen televisions show the action on stage in living black and white. Watchers are treated to some 1960’s commercials – a Heinz pickle ad is particularly entertaining.
A five-piece band under musical director Mike Lerner plays in a loft above the stage, recreating the early rock and roll sounds. A cast of 14 fills the various roles as required, transporting us back to those heady days.
Mustakas, with the help of his historical consultant Michael Bignell, has done excellent work in pulling together a wide variety from those British Invasion years. They educate as well as entertain – trivia concerning the different acts flashes on the TV screens. For example, did you know that Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits was a child star on the British soap Coronation Street?
As well as the Beatles and all their familiar tunes, we see Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over), The Searchers (Needles and Pins), Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (Game of Love), Donavon (Mellow Yellow – and he still appears to be suffering from that early drug bust), Gerry and the Pacemakers (Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying), Freddy and Dreamers (I’m Telling You Now), Swinging Blue Jeans (Hippy Hippy Shake), Spencer Davis Group (Gimme Some Lovin’), Herman’s Hermits (Henry the Eighth sing along version), The Hollies (Carrie Anne, Bus Stop, ) and more groups with many more familiar songs.
I admit that I didn’t know all the groups – and even when I knew some of the bands, I didn’t know that they were part of the British Invasion. Frankly, I was surprised (and embarrassed) to learn that many groups I thought were American were indeed British. But I did know every song, and I loved them all.
And while all the early rock groups are covered, there is good representation of the female singers: Lulu with To Sir, With Love, Petula Clark’s Downtown and I Know a Place, Mary Hopkins, (Those Were the Days), and the late great Dusty Springfield with fantastic songs like You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me and You Don’t Own Me.
The showstopper is Danny Williams, first when he sings The Animals’ House of the Rising Sun, then Procul Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale, and also He Ain’t Heavy; He’s my Brother, which is better than the original. Next he brings the house down when he does his Mick Jagger imitation for Honky Tonk Woman, Let’s Spend the Night Together and Satisfaction.
Similarly, Christine Glen’s powerful voice rocks the house with Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man.
The musical numbers are interspersed with Robin Ward as TV host Roy Solomon telling background stories on the various singers. Ward gives a decent Ed Sullivan impression.
Also remarkable are the dancers – Dance captain Michelle DiGioacchino is outstanding, as is Michel LeFleche. Kudos to choreographer Gino Berti who intersperses some Fosse moves with the sixties dance.
After a long winter, this show is guaranteed to put you in the mood for some hot summer weather. This is good entertainment from a talented cast of strong singers and dancers with amazing energy.
Twist and Shout: The British Invasion continues at the Grand Theatre in London until May 11. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

Blues take Dashwood teen to Ottawa

MusicFest chooses Carly Schroeder as one of the best music students in Canada; three SHDHS bands competing nationally

Story and photo by Casey Lessard

Grade 12 student Carly Schroeder is representing South Huron District High School and her hometown of Dashwood when she heads to Ottawa next month (May 12-18) to perform in the MusicFest Canada national concert band. But her parents won’t be there to see it.
“We’re feeling really bad about that,” says mom Brenda Schroeder. Before they knew Carly was accepted into the band as an alto saxophonist, Brenda and Steve had booked a trip to visit Carly’s brother, an RCMP officer in B.C. “We leave on Thursday and she performs on Friday. The timing’s all bad, so we’re hoping there will be CDs or DVDs that record the event. When it comes to your kids, you like to see them in such situations.”
You can’t blame the Schroeders for making plans; her selection to be part of the band was certainly a surprise to Carly.
“I didn’t expect to get chosen,” she says. “It was a little overwhelming at first. I was like, Are you sure?”
An email mix-up didn’t help. After sending the first confirmation message, something confusing happened.
“They sent me a second one that was addressed to Ryan someone. I emailed them back and a couple of weeks later, they sent me another email to say yes, that I was in. It was kind of a long process.”
That process began when music teacher Isaac Moore helped her record a CD of work learned during lessons with Ryan Fraser of London.
“The pieces I played were not your typical alto saxophone songs,” Carly notes. “The first song I played had this growling part to it, and it was really fun. I wasn’t sure what they’d think about it. Then there was another second movement to it that was more typical.”
The judges must have been impressed, says MusicFest Canada executive director Jim Howard.
“It’s very difficult to get into the saxophone section because Dr. Jeremy Brown (the head of music at the University of Calgary) is a world-renowned saxophone player,” he told the Strip from Calgary. “She must be very, very good to get in there.”
“This is kind of the ultimate honour band,” he adds, noting the band consists of 55-60 students from across the country. “It’s an amazing experience. We run it like a camp as opposed to running it like a touring band. Yamaha provides clinics to sectionals with them during the week. They get access to the MusicFest Canada master classes, and they get to play music they’re normally not going to get to play. They’re playing such a high level of music, even university bands aren’t tackling the repertoire these kids are going to play.”
University scouts will be at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to hear Carly and the rest of the band play, bringing with them $100,000 in scholarships to attract the best to their schools.
The band will practice for nine hours a day for four days, and then perform twice as a group. Howard estimates about 2500 students will jam the hall to see them perform. A big event for a small-town teen who became attracted to the saxophone as a student with Exeter’s Lori Erb.
“My parents put me in Music for Young Children when I was six,” Carly says. “That was piano, and I picked up the saxophone in high school. I loved jazz and blues, and I played my first blues song on the piano. That’s when I decided I wanted to play saxophone.”
“At about Grade 3 piano, she was wavering and wasn’t enjoying it,” Brenda adds, “and Lori had the insight to let her have a whole year of playing blues and jazz, staying away from the conservatory pieces. That was a real turning point for her.”
Besides jazz and blues, Carly loves classic rock, favouring the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Classical music can be heard when she’s studying. And there will be many more years of that. She’s planning on becoming a high school music teacher.
“Music has always been a huge part of my life,” she says. “I don’t see my life without it. Seeing this high school music department, it’s awesome how it brings people together.”
Bringing people together is what the music department does best, and three of its ensembles are heading to Ottawa with Carly. The senior concert band, wind ensemble and percussion ensemble excelled at the regional MusicFest in London last month, with the percussion ensemble earning the coveted gold status.
“It’s nice to be recognized for the hard work we do here,” says teacher Isaac Moore. “The national thing is pretty special because it means some of the best bands in the country come from right here in Exeter, Ontario.”
The music department’s annual Cabaret will showcase some of the work being performed at the nationals. The Cabaret happens Saturday, April 19 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 20 at 2 p.m. All of the department’s bands will be featured.

Julianna Zahn is walking for dad

Twelve-year-old Julianna Zahn is walking from London to Windsor April 24-26 as a tribute to her late father’s long struggle with liver disease. A father to Julianna and Kevin, and husband to Anita, Mike Zahn died August 29, 2007 after three failed liver transplants. He was ill all of Julianna’s life.

As told to Casey Lessard

He always joked with us, no matter how sick he was. He always had a good sense of humour, and I really loved that about him.
Even when he felt terrible, he always smiled at us and wanted hugs. He loved music so much and whenever he felt bad, he picked up a guitar and played. He loved animals, just like I do.
My whole life I had to watch my dad suffer. Doing this walk makes me feel that I am helping him because I always had to sit there and watch him suffer, and I couldn’t do anything. We had rough moments when he was really sick and he couldn’t take it. But we’d tell him that we loved him and a big smile would come across his face.
I always remember when he went away in the ambulances. You’d hear the sirens and see them coming in and getting him. And I remember him struggling to get up the stairs, because his bedroom was up there and that’s where he wanted to be.
I want people to know everything about transplants. The waiting, the stress. It’s not just surgery and pain. You have to go through all of this depression, and transplants are really difficult. Some people do well after transplants, but a lot of people are not so fortunate. The heart, the liver and the lung are the worst. Canada has one of the lowest rates of organ donation among Western countries. There aren’t enough donors. People need to sign their donor cards.
While I’m doing the walk, there will be people walking with me who have had transplants. It’s going to feel like he’s walking with me in a way. I know if he were here he would encourage me.
I know I’ll always have my mom to turn to because she knows what I’m going through; her dad died when she was my age. When other girls get to turn to their dads, I get to turn to my mom. I really am going to miss having my dad around to talk to and having a dad. That’s really going to be hard for me when I get married because before he died, the doctor asked him what inspired him to have the third transplant, and he said, “Because I have a daughter to walk down the aisle.”
Sponsor sheets are available at Westland Greenhouses, Country Corners gas station, Movie Gallery, Sobey’s, Twigs flower shop, New Orleans Pizza, Re/Max Doug Pedlar, The Fitness Centre, and Grand Bend Heating Plus.

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