Lakeland College donated this double bass and a grand piano to the music department at Lloydminster Comprehensive High School. Joining the celebration are (from left) Trisha Rawlake, superintendent at LPSD, Alice Wainwright-Stewart, president of Lakeland College, students Kady Voss and Macie Jacovson, Comp principal Dwayne Marciniw and Comp music director Stephen Davis. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
When Lloydminster Comprehensive High School music director, Stephen Davis, caught wind Lakeland College was looking to donate some instruments, he scooped up what was available.
Davis and his students met last Friday to thank Lakeland’s president Alice Wainwright-Stewart for contributing a grand piano, a double bass and a drum kit and talk about what this adds to the program.
“It gives us a new opportunity, we have two double bass instruments, so now we can fit two double bass players in our concert band,” said Davis.
“The grand piano has been working really well for our jazz ensemble and for the students competing in the Kiwanis music festival so they can practise.”
He says the drum kit is perfect for the garage band class and has a double kick, which lets them play a bunch of new songs they weren’t able to before.
The instruments for the Comp were among four pianos and other band equipment Lakeland gifted to the Lloydminster Public School Division as equipment from their defunct community music program.
Wainwright-Stewart explained the program ended during the pandemic and they were left with a lot of musical instruments.
“We tried to make sure the community needs were met by donating to other schools,” she said.
Kady Voss, who plays the double bass, had to pinch herself to fully believe the donation was real.
“It was pretty crazy because I didn’t think the school would ever put money into that stuff and then I found out they didn’t put money into the stuff —instead it was donated, which was really nice,” she said with a laugh.
The teen says she plays bass in the school concert and jazz band and gave the new instrument her endorsement.
“It’s in great shape and it sounds better than the other one,” she said.
Davis says the Comp lucked out with the donation, given the demand for the program.
“Every year, the program seems to be getting bigger and bigger and we have to bring in more and more gear to accommodate it,” he said.
“Hopefully, soon, we’ll be well-equipped to handle any scenario.”
Davis says the new instruments give students more opportunities to follow their passion for music.
“It’s kind of their whole life. I know it was for mine when I was in high school,” he said.
“There’s many students who come here every lunch period and after school to hang out and play music together. To be able to offer programming where we get to play songs they enjoy is super awesome.”
Voss, who is in Grade 12, says she plans to go into sciences when she graduates, but have a minor in jazz to follow her love of playing the bass.
“I think it would be fun,” she said.
The arrival of a grand piano put Grade 11 music student Macie Jacovson over the moon.
“It means so much to me because part of the reason I had to switch schools from Holy Rosary was for the band program, and I was a little bit upset because Holy Rosary had a little bit of a better piano than the Comp did,’” she said while preparing to play a song on the keyboard.
“But now that we have this grand piano, I find myself in here so many more hours a day and I’m always constantly playing the piano.”
Jacovson says she’s been playing for about eight years and writes her own music and competes in the Kiwanis music festival.
The teen also says it’s even better knowing the piano is a Yamaha.
“It’s my dream piano. I hope to buy one for myself when I’m older,” she said.
