Banff International Festival
of School Orchestras and Bands

St. Joseph's College,
Gregory Terrace,
Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia.

Some Background to our Trip

Eighty Terrace musicians accompanied by a number of staff and a handful of parents will leave Australia on Monday 29 March to participate in an exciting, world-class event which will undoubtedly be a memorable experience in their musical careers. The commitment of the College and its staff to the development of young musical talent and belief in the educational value of artistic growth is commendable.

This wonderful musical experience will be held in Banff in the Province of Alberta in Canada. Situated to the east of Calgary which is east of Vancouver, Banff is well known the world over for many things but particularly for the magnificent National Park which is found there. It is situated in the Rocky Mountains and is very close to a most picturesque lake called Lake Louise. If you can recall seeing the film Dr Zhivago a railway station featured prominently in that film. That was the railway station situated right beside Lake Louise. I visited Banff at Christmas time 1980. I was impressed with the beauty of the place at Christmastime when the snow was feet deep. We will be there in April and that will be spring-time which runs from mid-March to mid-May. Alberta is the sunniest province in Canada - even on the coldest days of winter, bright sunshine sparkles off the snow. The days will be warm and the evenings cool. We shall be using sun screen and sun glasses. Most of the snow will have disappeared except for the higher altitudes where spring skiing may be experienced. Alberta is a comparatively dry province. Even on the hottest day of summer, one will never be oppressed by the humidity. When rain or snow comes, it usually doesn't last long, and travel is rarely interrupted.

Banff is noted as being the home of culture in Canada - there is each year an important Arts Festival; a string quartet festival was held in August 1998, together with a large TV Festival and the Banff Lake Louise Cowboy Jubilee.

Our visit to Banff has been organised so that boys travelling will not miss too much school. I would go so far as to say that three weeks of travel for boys this age would be more valuable than three months of school. I hope you understand what I am saying by that last remark.

The Principal of St Joseph's College visited the Banff Centre and was very impressed and it was only after the Artistic Director heard a taped audition of our music that an invitation to attend was extended to the College.

The boys will come under the direction of noted clinicians, conductors and will rub shoulders with some of the best young musicians in the world. Four schools from the United States, two schools from England, two from New Zealand, Gorokan High School Wind Ensemble from Australia and St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace will bring extraordinary musical talent to this festival. Terrace will have the greatest number of participants as we are taking the members of an orchestra and a symphonic wind ensemble. This festival that is held regularly in Banff is one of the most prestigious music festivals and it is certainly a great honour to be invited to participate.

We see great value in participating in this Banff experience for a number of reasons not the least of which are:-

1. Our musicians will have the opportunity to work with conductors and clinicians who enjoy international reputations.
2. They will perform with other students, many of them elite, from around the world. Merely mixing with them on a social basis let alone the musical aspect ` makes an experience of this nature something that is very worth-while.
3. The opportunity to visit other countries is very educational; it tends to make one much more tolerant of other races and countries. In this particular trip we would be seeing Canada and some parts of the United States of America. Travel tends to develop confidence, to lift self-esteem and in many cases it helps in the formation of friendships that may last as long as life itself. We hope to visit world famous "fun parks" such as Disneyland and Universal Studios.
4. We would hope as a result of this trip to develop links with a school in the US - Palm Springs.
5. Medical Cover, Insurance and Supervision will all be adequately covered.

This will be an experience that the boys of Terrace will cherish and remember forever.

Brother Ted Walker
Cultural Director.

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