The Showcases 2022 concert series is back on the Tenth Street Campus in Nelson after a two-year pandemic hiatus. A mainstay in the college’s March calendar, students on the cusp of graduation bring half-hour long shows to the stage that are open to the music-lovers across the community. The three-week series features 14 talented performers—one or two per night—excited to showcase fervent skills.
“The students who are graduating this spring have shown admirable resilience over the last two years,” says Melody Diachun, the music program instructor helping put together the concert series. “The challenges of learning online in their first year and the uncertainty that continues to hamper the music industry has not been easy. This particular group of students has channeled the uneasiness we have all felt over the last two years into amazing creativity and skill development. While most of us were making sourdough, they were making music!”
Selkirk College Contemporary Music & Technology Program student Grace Clark is one of 14 talented performers who will lead their bands into the Showcase 2022 concert series at the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall on Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus. Seen here during a performance at the Selkirk College Virtual Gala 2021, Clark will wrap up the series on April 1.
The showcase concert series provides learners the opportunity to stage a live event from start to finish. Graduating students are required to put together band of classmates, rehearse, produce and present a final half-hour set. Covering the spectrum of genres from pop and rock to folk and jazz, students come to the stage with both originals and covers.
Taking place in the intimate Shambhala Music & Performance Hall venue, the shows are open to the public by donation. Each night features one or two different student bands who perform for thirty minutes each. The line-up for Showcase 2022 includes:
- March 11: Ethan Darlington (singer-songwriter/soft rock)
- March 17: Evans Daybell-Chambers (indie/folk) & Riota Isaacs (pop/rock)
- March 18: Duncan Shury (funk/blues) & Bella Cat (soul/R&B/pop)
- March 24: Jaiah Lotus (pop/punk) & Max Spielman (rock n’ roll)
- March 25: Em McArthur (funk/fusion/rock) & Juliana Kopp (rock/R&B/singer-songwriter)
- March 26: Steven Chen (post rock/electronic)
- March 31: Anand Nambiar (pop/rock) & Molly Jo McQuaid (indie)
- April 1: Jesse Carter (jazz/folk/electronic/rock) & Grace Clark (pop/indie)
With a faculty of remarkable musicians as mentors, the Contemporary Music & Technology Program is a unique two-year offering that has been preparing students for the commercial music and entertainment industry since 1989. The only program in Canada based on the Berklee College of Music (Boston) curriculum, students learn a diverse cross-section of musical styles.
Back After Two-Year Absence
With the semester-ending concert series forced to dim the lights due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the return to the stage is much anticipated.
“Music brings people together in so many ways and the live performance element has been badly missed,” says Diachun, a Juno Award nominated performer in her own right. “There is an excitement and enthusiasm among students that I haven’t experienced before. It’s going to be a really special series of performances.”
Music program students are able to specialize in specific instruments over the course of the two-year program and for Showcase 2022 they must pull together a band. Drummer Emma McArtuhur is one of the graduating students who will be lead her band onto the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall stage on March 25.
Doors open for Showcase 2022 concerts at 7 p.m. with performances starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is by donation and you should arrive early to guarantee a seat. Masks are optional for all audience members. Proof of vaccination is not required for this and other educational post-secondary events as per the orders of the Provincial Health Officer.