Senior Jazz, have a look at the info here about the CBC Challenge for which we’ve been working on Charolette Cardin’s Confetti – https://www.cbc.ca/music/events/canadian-music-class-challenge

For members of the DWP jazz program, there are a few great jazz concerts to check out at the end of October that you should be aware of:

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Chet Doxas with the Cap “A” Band @ the Blueshore at Capilano U

FRIDAY, OCT 24 @ 7:30pm – TICKETS – http://purchase.capilanou.ca (Student Code for cheap tickets is “jazz10”)

Capilano U’s Jazz Program has just announced 3 masterclasses for Saxes, Trumpets, and Trombones on October 25^th. Steve Kaldestad (sax) Brad Turner (trumpet) and Ellen Marple (trombone) have all been clinicians and/or adjudicators for us here at Poppy in past years. I’m unable to organize this as a school trip that weekend, but this is a great opportunity for the kids if they can make it. Info on the attached PDFs below

• Poster – Trombone Masterclass-1
• PDF TrumpetSax Summit Social Media Post 2025 – PNG[77]

The DW Poppy Family of Schools is proud to present

ESPRESSIVO: Summer Celebration

5:30pm, June 4, 2025

Whether this is their first year, or their seventh, we come together this evening to celebrate the work of 322 young musicians who have connected with others and built a community through their involvement in music. Thank you to all our principals, vice-principals and the Langley School District for supporting music in our schools. Thank you to all of the parents for supporting your children’s love of music, both through your encouragement at home and your direct involvement as chaperones, fundraisers, drivers and volunteers. Most importantly, thank you to all the students for choosing to spend your time and energy pursuing music, an art form that can do so much to bring us together as it has this evening. Congratulations to the graduating musicians of 2025 & enjoy the show!

Elementary Ensembles

Wix-Brown Elementary Band

Bandroom Boogie – Michael Sweeney

Brain Stew – Greenday, arr. Victor Lopez

Fort Langley Elementary Band

Sousa’s Cadets – Timothy Loest

Linus & Lucy – Vince Guaraldi, arr. Michael Sweeney

North Otter Elementary Band

Fire’s Edge – Ralph Ford

Feel It Still – Portugal, The Man, arr. Mike Kamuf

Elementary Honour Choir

Solfege Symphony – Cristi Cary Miller

We Are One – orig. by One Voice Children’s Choir

Coghlan Elementary Band

Rolling In the Deep – Adkins & Epworth, arr. Robert Longfield

High Hopes – Panic! At the Disco, arr. Doug Adams

Peterson Road Elementary Band

Penta – Larry Clark

Hand-Clap – Frederic et al., arr Vinson

“Massive” Band 

Star Wars – John Williams, arr. Carl Strommen

DW Poppy Ensembles

Senior Jazz Ensemble

The Chicken – Alfred James Ellis, arr. Kris Berg

Megalovania – Toby Fox, arr. Paul Murtha

Concert Band 9

The Greatest Show – Pasek, Paul & Lewis, arr. Paul Murtha

Blinding Lights – Tesfaye, et al., arr. Matt Conaway

Senior Choir

Drunken Sailor – Sea Shanty, arr. Robert Sund

Chosen Family – Rina Sayama & Elton John, arr. Roger Emerson

Concert Band 8 (CB)

The Avengers – Silvestri, arr. Robert Longfield

Sweet Caroline – Diamond, arr. Johnnie Vinson

Vox

I Wish You Love – Charles Trenet, arr. Kirby Shaw

Alright, Okay, You Win – arr. Steve Zegree

Concert Band 10 (JB)

Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns n’ Roses, arr. Paul Martha

Spider-man: No Way Home – Gicchino, arr. Michael Brown

Junior Jazz Ensemble

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Perry, Schon & Cain, arr. Paul Murtha

Birdland – Zawinul, arr. Michael Sweeney

Junior Choir

Kwela Kwela – South African traditional, arr. University of Pretoria Youth Choir

Beat It – Michael Jackson, arr. Mark Brymer

Mass Choir

Defying Gravity – from Wicked, arr. Roger Emerson

Senior Wind Ensemble

How to Train Your Dragon – Powell, arr. Sean O’Loughlin

80’s Spectacular – adapted by Jay Bocook

Massed Band

The Gathering of Eagles – Bob Baker, arr. by Robert Buckley

Take On Me – Waaktaar & Furuholmne, arr. Paul Murtha

Hi everyone! We’re really excited to get things rolling again for Poppy Musicians and those in our family of schools in a few weeks but if you’re looking at the site, lots of links are down while things get updated for this year. Check back once school starts to see all the info you’ll need for this year.

See you in a few weeks!

Tonight’s programs are online available at http://dwpoppymusic.com/program-fsc-2023

 

Thank you to everyone who came out last night. We have a great year ahead. Sorry for the bit of a list, but a few points and a call for help we wanted to make sure every parent is aware of:

1. Communication:
   1. Please be sure your child is in the ALL MUSIC STUDENTS Teams group as well as for each of their ensembles and be sure to check before leaving for early mornings in case we are ill and need to cancel
2. Parent Support – the kids need your help!
   1. We are looking for parents to coordinate a number of activities (ESPRESSIVOs, Festivals, Concert Door) and to help raise funds for student travel (Neufeld Farms, Purdy’s, Poinsettias and Coffee). We’ll show you how if you need, but the fundraisers cannot run without parent help, so if you (or you and a friend or two) are willing to coordinate an activity or fundraiser please let us know by filling out the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/EQjtRnUCQm
3. Actions you need to see/hear from your kids at home:
   1. Your kids need to be practicing at least a 3-4 times a week at home (and sorry, but at the beginning of each season, it won’t sound good if they are working on the stuff they should be 😊)
   2. They regularly need to be listening to the recordings of their music (usually posted to Teams) so they know what the “target” is
   3. They need to stay on top of any written work or recording assignments posted to TEAMS so they should be checking those classes regularly at home, in the learning commons or on a device
4. Off-Timetable Classes (Jazz Bands, Choirs and Senior Wind Ensemble)
   1. If your child is going to be late or absent, please email us directly – we don’t hear about absences for off-timetable classes from call-ins so please let us know so we know the kids are safe those morning,s especially for those who are driving themselves
5. Events
   1. Concerts, Festivals and other performances (other than tour) are course expectations.
   2. All dates are in the handbook that should have gone home and online at www.dwpoppymusic.com/handouts or www.dwpoppymusic.com/events
   3. If there are pre-existing conflicts or challenges come up during the year, please let us know right away so we can support everyone
6. Tours
   1. Junior Tour (8/9): UBC Residency (May 23-25)
      1. Info/pricing will be shared as soon as vendors lock spring prices but more details will be out soon
   2. Senior Tour (10-12): Montreal (Late April – 5 days)
      1. A separate email looking for interest in this trip is coming shortly before we move ahead

Thanks you all so much for your ongoign support of your child’s interest in music. If you’re able to help with one of our fundraisers, please let us know, and we look forward to seeing you at their first concert this year!

Just a reminder of the Music Parents’ meeting at 7:00-7:30pm in the band room on Tuesday, September 19 (after the Grade 8 Parent Night). We are still finalizing details but are announcing tentative tour plans for the year and are looking for help with fundraising and other activities so as teachers, we can focus on teaching your kids. Here is the sign-up to help wherever you can.

Parent Volunteer Sign-Up: https://forms.office.com/r/EQjtRnUCQm

Thank you so much and we look forward to a wonderful year with the kids!

We hope you all had a wonderful summer break and are very exited to welcome everyone back for the 2023/24 season of DW Poppy Music! We have a full performance calendar including our traditional fall and spring concerts, ESPRESSIVO, ESPRESSIVO: Summer Pops and the return of the Poppy Jazz Cafe. Students will also participate in a number of festivals, district events, the elementary honour band and honour choir, and Junior and Senior Music Tours!

STAYING IN TOUCH:  Students will review the DW Poppy Music Handbook online in the first few classes with all information about what we do here and the expectations for the performing ensembles. Hard copies will be available but all information will be posted here and in Teams. The site will also continue to be updated in the coming days and weeks as we get rolling, and will host regular resources and updates for parents and our community. For regular communication, students need to connect with us in Teams regularly  and parents/guardians should have emails up to date for notices, and for quick update. Anyone can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @dwpmusicdept for highlights through the year.

Band 8, 9 and 10 are asked to bring instruments to their first classes as we hope to play at least a little in our first classes. There will be a lunch-hour meeting on Friday, September 8 in the band room for all off-timetable classes (Choirs, Vocal Jazz, Jazz Bands and Senior Wind Ensemble) and those classes will begin the week of Monday, September 11.

• Off-Time Table Schedule for 2023/24
  • Junior Choir 8/9 and Senior Jazz Ensemble 10-12 – Monday/Thursday @ 7:15-8:45am
  • Senior Choir 10-12 and Junior Jazz Ensemble 8/9 – Tuesday/Friday @ 7:15-8:45am
  • Senior Wind Ensemble – Wednesday @ 7:15-8:45am and Monday/Friday @ Lunch
  • Senior Vocal Jazz – After-school – Tuesday & Thursday @ 3:15-4:30pm

We have our first Music Parents meeting the evening of Tuesday, September 19 at 7pm in the band room after the Grade 8 parent night. We’ll outline our plans for the year, how you can support your child’s progress and how you can get involved in making this a great year again for Poppy’s musicians.

Enjoy your last week of summer holidays and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone and beginning to make music next week!