Caledon band's quest for the gold

When the 44 members of the Caledon Concert Band travel to Ottawa next spring, they hope it won't just be Canadian athletes focused on gold in 2008.

The community-based concert band will vie for the gold award with other top school and community bands from across the country, as they perform and compete at the 2008 MusicFest Canada National Finals. The festival will be held at the National Arts Center in the nation's capital, and nearly 9,000 participants are expected from all across Canada.

Last February, the band took the top prize at the Ontario Band Association festival in Richmond Hill, with the adjudicators unanimously awarding a gold standard. This earned an invitation to the finals both in 2007 and in 2008. Unfortunately, a lack of funds prevented the trip to Burnaby, British Columbia, the site of the finals this year, so the band has had to focus on next spring instead.

Attendance at the MusicFest finals is by invitation only. This is the second time the band has been invited to compete against the best bands from schools and communities across Canada. In 2006 the band scored silver awards in performance and a gold standard in sightreading.

The band's conductor, Rob Kinnear, is pleased with both the band's performance and the invitation to compete.

"It's an opportunity not only to play, but to hear the best of the best perform, and to learn from them," Kinnear said. "It's inspiring and an chance to show the very best we can do."

The band's members are all volunteers from the Caledon area and neighbouring regions. The musicians range in age from high school students to retirees. Some have been playing music all their lives, and others have just begun their musical education. The band has been playing together since 1974, and rehearses Wednesday evenings in Caledon East.

Watch for upcoming events and fund-raising concerts.