Monthly Archives: April 2017

Eagle Regiment, Concert Band, and Jazz Ensemble Perform in England

Posted on by
1

By Ken Hoffman

Over Easter break, Chaminade’s West Hills Instrumental Music Department participated in the Harrogate International Youth Festival of Music and Performing Arts, which offers young musicians a unique opportunity to meet and perform with other ensembles from around the world. Each year, in celebration of Easter week, the town of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire England, hosts bands, choirs, dance troupes and ensembles of youth performers from many different countries. This year, Chaminade’s Eagle Regiment, Concert Band, and Jazz Ensemble represented the United States.

Massed Band, composed of more than 350 musicians, at the Royal Hall Harrogate – photo by Paul Chilopoulos

On the first day of their trip, Chaminade students practiced their ability to “adapt and change” when they discovered that their rental percussion instruments had broken heads. Of course, that didn’t slow them down. After a brief rehearsal, the students did some sightseeing in the city of York, where they walked around the medieval city walls built in the first century.

Chaminade’s first performance featured Eagle Regiment in the Parade of Nations through the historic spa town of Harrogate. The opening concert followed in the Royal Hall Harrogate. Built in 1903, this historic venue offered a breathtaking Edwardian setting, where Chaminade’s Concert Band made its festival debut. The evening ended with the Massed Band, composed of more than 350 musicians from the UK, USA, Canada, Russia and Thailand/China all performing together.

Eagle Regiment at Fountains Abbey- photo by Suzanne Dumas

On Easter Sunday, the Eagles attended Mass at St. John Fisher, a Catholic high school in Harrogate. That afternoon, Eagle Regiment performed at Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage site, one of England’s largest and best-preserved Cistercian monastery ruins. In the evening, the Jazz Ensemble brought the house down at the annual Jazz Night, held in the famous Old Swan Hotel, from Agatha Christie lore. Space was at a premium in that venue, so the rest of the participants attended an open mic night at a nearby hotel, with Maya Angulo ’17 rocking the house with some Slam Poetry.

Jazz Ensemble at the Old Swan Hotel – photo by Paul Chilopoulos

Ripley Castle - photo by Suzanne Dumas

Concert Band at Ripley Castle – photo by Suzanne Dumas

Monday, the Concert Band gave a magnificent performance at Ripley Castle, an estate just outside of Harrogate. That evening, the Eagle musicians had their first chance to hear some of the other performers, most notably a choir from Finland and a Russian violin ensemble.

Chaminade’s Concert band saved the best for last. On the final day of the festival at Birstwith’s St. James Church, they performed Psalm 42, an English folk song arranged by Samuel Hazo, bringing the audience to tears as the final note of the trumpet solo receded and the full band joined in. Later the Eagles attended a concert in the Ripon Cathedral, which dates back to the seventh century.

Before coming home, Chaminade students had a chance to do some sightseeing in London and catch a comedy show at the Criterion Theatre at Piccadilly Circus.

Concert Band at St James Church, Birstwith – photo by Paul Chilopoulos

Two Seniors Sign National Letters of Intent

Posted on by
Reply

Alec Aronson ’17 and Jack Cheney ’17 signed their National Letters of Intent today. Aronson will play golf for Hofstra University, and Cheney will wrestle for Purdue University.

Holy Week Message from Bro. Adam Becerra

Posted on by
Reply

Dear Chaminade Family,

Throughout our Lenten season, our Chaminade community has been celebrating God’s amazing grace. God’s grace is the very essence of who we are and how we are called to manifest His presence in our everyday life.

Beginning with Palm Sunday, we have now entered into the holiest times of our Catholic tradition: Holy Week. This is a time in which we reflect upon and enter deeper into the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ: his life, death, and resurrection. Every Christian is called to contemplate upon this mystery to seek ways in which to follow Jesus and live out His amazing grace that comes with the gift of salvation.

The Marianist Three O’clock prayer that we pray everyday reminds us that we stand with Mary at the foot of Jesus’ cross, ready to receive the gift of His very own self, and manifest His love throughout the world in which we live in. This is the gift of being at a Marianist school. We encounter the love of Jesus Christ who offered Himself for us on the cross and resurrected to a new life that would bring us love, faith, hope, and joy. It is also through this encounter that we gather together with our brothers and sisters of other religious faith traditions to celebrate and recognize God’s infinite love in each other.

I pray that each of you may experience the love and joy that comes with Jesus’ resurrection as you rejuvenate your life and bring hope to others. May God’s blessings be upon each of you and your families as you celebrate the gift of God’s amazing grace!

In Christ,
Bro. Adam  Becerra, fsp, M.Th.
Director of Mission Integration & Ministry

Bro. Skip Continues to Inspire Chaminade Students to Serve

Posted on by
Reply

After Bro. Skip’s passing in December 2016, several students proposed putting together a Chaminade service project to keep his memory alive. The inaugural event took place on a Saturday in March, and more than 100 students and faculty from both campuses served three organizations, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, MEND, and Heal the Bay.

The day started in Campus Ministry (West Hills), and the group joined in prayer before leaving on buses to their destinations. The Student Council sponsored bus sponsored headed to the Food Bank, the largest in the United States serving several millions of people each year. Students helped by sorting donated foods and checking expiration dates and quality of canned foods before sending them down a conveyor belt for packaging. By the day’s end, they sorted 29,737 pounds of food!

MEND Poverty volunteers cooked meals and worked in the organization’s mailroom. Their work doubled as a cooking lesson, and they had an opportunity to taste the food MEND clients would be served the next day. This bus was sponsored by Chaminade’s Caring Hearts and Homeless Hearts Clubs.

The Key Club and Environmental Eagles Clubs joined forces to sponsor the third bus, which took Chaminade students and faculty to participate in Heal the Bay activities. With more than 1,000 other volunteers, including Chaminade’s middle school students, the group worked to keep Southern California’s beaches clean.

Chaminade Service Day happened thanks to the efforts and commitment of Keegan Coppola ’17, Nick Sederlin ’17,  Monty Balleweg ’17, Cristian Puente-Ortiz ’17, Tina Najm ’17, Erin Fabian ’17, Tina Pan ’17, and Alec Simoni ’18. High School Principal, Bro. Tom Fahy; Director of Campus Ministry, Shawna Sedik; and Director of Student Activites, Julie La Belle helped the students to determine how the day would unfold. The students each took ownership of a specific project, promoted Service Day, led ice breakers on the bus, and served as group leads at each service site on the day of the event.

Each service group had an amazing experience and impacted their local communities through a few hours of service. Campus Ministry and Student Activities hope to continue to offer Chaminade Service Day, work more with the middle school, and double the number of students who will go out and keep Brother Skip’s legacy alive.

Funds raised during Chaminade Gala’s fund-a-need on April 8 will establish the Bro. Skip Matthews Apostolic Works Endowment. This endowment will help fund projects like Chaminade Service Day, which will ultimately enhance one of the most important parts of the educational experience at Chaminade – Apostolic Works.