KINBURN – It was a night to witness young students learning about the joy of music; slightly more experienced music students show off their gold-level winning music chops; and the very experienced musicians of the Ottawa Valley Concert Band show everyone how it’s done.

The Stonecrest Elementary School spring concert was held last Thursday, April 25 (coverage delayed due to West Carleton Online flood coverage) and it was also a chance for West Carleton parents to have a night out, away from the worries of rising flood waters.

It’s been a big year for Stonecrest musicians who recently won gold at MusicFest. The spring concert was an opportunity to show off the great strides these young musicians have made over the year.

The school hosted a noon hour concert and an evening show as well. West Carleton Online was able to attend the 7 p.m. concert.

“The concert was an amazing culmination of the year’s work for the junior and senior bands,” Stonecrest music and arts teacher Nicole Vaillancourt-Hass told West Carleton Online following the concert. “We have had the Valley Concert Band join us for our Spring Concert since 2010 and it’s such a pleasure watching everyone perform together at the end of the concert in a joint band setting.  The combined band was nearly 100 performers strong and the sound was amazing.”

The junior band kicked off the show with performances of Let’s Go Band, Boogie Blues, Penguin Promenade, Windsong and Mamma Mia.

The senior band followed that up with their gold medal-winning performances of Summit March, As We Sleep, Dark Adventure, Spirit of the Wolf and Mission: Secret.

The Valley Concert Band brought the house down with Happy, Astronaut’s Playlist, Pop and Rock Legends: Stevie Wonder, Jitterbug! and The Blues Brothers Revue.

Following that, nearly 100 musicians from all three bands combined for an encore performance of Crazy Train and You Must Know.

It was the topper on a great year of music at Stonecrest.

“I am very proud of our accomplishments here at Stonecrest,” Vaillancourt-Hass said. “The senior band achieved gold standing again this year at MusicFest and I have a strong cohort of Grade 7s working hard in preparation so we can attend again next year. Thank you to our community for keeping our music program strong and flourishing.”

Vallaincourt-Hass and the Valley Concert Band’s Keith Estabrooks acted as conductors for the evening.