More than 2,000 middle and secondary students in the Tri-Cities will perform at the Rocky Point Park bandshell in Port Moody this weekend.
But those in the audience on Saturday will be not only hear great concert and string music from the school bands, they'll also be asked to show their support for music education.
Kathy Fester, music director at Heritage Woods secondary in PoMo and president of the Coquitlam Music Teachers' Association, told The Tri-City News that buttons with the slogan "Music+U=Success" will be handed out along with flyers to rally the public and parents to save music programs in SD43, which is now looking at operational cuts to balance the books.
The board of education is facing a $13.4-million shortfall.
Fester said decisions are now happening on how SD43 music classes will be affected in the next academic year for students in kindergarten to Grade 12.
"We want to be proactive and send a message to administrators to make the right choices," she said. "Music education opens doors for students and allows them to be whole learners.
"It creates success in life," Fester said.
For the 6th annual district band and string festival of music on May 24, a total of 15 schools from SD43 will be represented. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the PCT Performance Stage at Rocky Point Park.
The Port Moody Community Band is also scheduled to perform at the festival.
