WELCOME TO THE
HOLY CROSS
MUSIC PROGRAM!
Concert Band
Senior Wind Ensemble
The Senior Wind Ensemble consists of students from Grades 10 to 12, where they continue to advance their music skills from their junior years. Through the years, these senior musicians have continued to fuel their passion for music within the friendships they have made and the goals they have achieved. This passion is displayed from annually performing at the Kiwanis festival to astounding music trips in different parts of the world. The senior concert band proceeds to practice for performances and personal growth every other day in their class schedule.
Grade 8 Band and Junior Wind Ensemble
The Grade 8 band and Junior Wind Ensemble are the junior concert bands of the school, where they begin to establish the basis of their musical abilities. The Grade 8 band allows for students to find new friendships within the music department, growing together on their high school journeys as young musicians. The Grade 9's of Junior Wind Ensemble further the connections between music and each other, as they all strive to expand their talent of music in classes and performances. These two junior groups practice every other day in their class schedule.
SWE 2019 -
Contraption”
Junior Wind Ensemble - “All for One and One For All”
SWE 2022 - “Inflection Point”
SWE 2018 - “Flight of Valor”
SWE 2022 - “Intrinsic Light”
SWE 2022 - “Heaven’s Light”
CONCERT CHOIR
Senior Concert Choir (ViBE)
ViBE is the name of the Senior Concert Choir which is composed of students from grades 10 to 12. These students will continue to improve in their musicianship and hone their talents by coming together to practice early in the mornings before school starts. Through their commitment and hard work, ViBE has created a legacy and a reputation that truly showcases passion, artistry, and a sense of community. These students work hard both in and out of school—individually and with others. They all aim to give a high-level performance that each and every singer can be proud of at music festivals or music trips in and around the country or across the globe.
Junior Concert Choir (Tonic!)
TONIC, our Junior Concert Choir, is made up of both grade 8 and grade 9 students and is a starting point to their musical journey as they begin to immerse themselves into the world of choral music. As a group of students, it allows for connections to be made with more students beyond just grade level classmates; it introduces the friends and community that each student will support and be supported by for the rest of their high school years. Students are introduced to others who not only share similar interests and passions, but those who can share their experiences as members of both the Junior Concert Choir and as students of Holy Cross.
ViBE 2019 - ”The Road Home”
ViBE 2017 - “Baba Yetu”
ViBE 2020 - “Precious Lord”
ViBE 2022 - “O Kaana Kameme”
Instrumental Jazz Program
For students who are looking to expand their knowledge and musical skill, our jazz bands provide the opportunity to improve musicianship both as an individual and as an ensemble. Here, the concept and techniques of improvisation are introduced, and the student is able to immerse themselves in both the technical and artistic aspects of jazz as they can learn more about the genre’s diversity. In the previous years, the Holy Cross Music Program has offered two junior (Grades 8-11) and a senior (Grades 10-12) jazz band, allowing for different levels of jazz musicians to play varying difficulties of repertoire. Both bands have performed at several events, such as Music Night, Mardi Gras Jazz Night, and festivals such as the Surrey Jazz Festival. Currently our jazz bands are mixed due to our scheduling, composed of students from grades 9 to 12.
Holy Cross' jazz band program consists of three jazz bands that practice twice a week. These bands are:
Jazz Do It (Grade 8/Beginner Jazz)
Simply Jazz (Grade 9-10/Intermediate Jazz)
Jazz One (Grade 10-12/Senior Jazz)
The jazz band performs in two major jazz events each year: the Surrey Jazz Festival, and Holy Cross' Mardi Gras event.
The instrumentation in these bands are:
Wind Instruments
Alto Sax
Tenor Sax
Bari Sax
Trumpet
Trombone
Rhythm Section
Piano
Guitar
Bass (Acoustic and Electric)
Drums
Jazz One 2018 - “There Will Never Be Another You”
Jazz Student Takeover 2022
Jazz One 2017 Slideshow
Vocal Jazz
Here at Holy Cross we have two vocal jazz ensembles:
Ave 88 (Senior Vocal Jazz)
160th Street (Junior Vocal Jazz)
Avenue 88
Avenue 88 is the name of our senior vocal jazz choir. This vocal jazz ensemble is a course that students take for credits and a mark. Currently, we have members ranging from grades 10 to 12, but we have had members from grades as far back as grade 8. These students are extremely dedicated students, willing to tackle complex jazz standards as well as more modern jazz. Avenue 88 meets in the mornings before school and in the afternoon after classes to develop their jazz skills and spend some much needed socialization time with a small group of people. These passionate students work hard to bring jazz to the wider school community and give performances that each singer is proud to present to audiences beyond the school, taking their talents to different music festivals and on various music trips.
