For the students of Belmont Secondary School, their winter concert means more to them than just a one-off performance.
Not only is it a celebration of their love for music after months of hard work, it’s also an opportunity for students to give back to the community.
Entry to the concert on Dec.12 is by donation to the Goldstream Food Bank. The school will also be collecting donations of non-perishable food for the local organization which has seen demand for services continue to rise in 2024.
“It’s nice to give back because the community do a lot for us in school,” said 16-year-old Nihitha Pottumutu. “So it's like a win-win situation.”
The opportunity to help is a full-circle moment for 17-year-old Bela Chavez, who says her family accessed support from the food bank for two months when they first moved to the area a year ago.
“It’s really impactful to me that we are supporting the food bank, because they helped us,” says the Grade 12 student. “And I feel like everything good that you do comes back to you.”
“It's so important that we work together and help the people around us,” adds 15-year-old Marie Roberts. “Because we never know what some people are going through. I feel it's so important not to judge.”
About the concert, the trio promise there is something to suit all music tastes.
“It's a winter concert, but it's not all Christmas music,” says Roberts, who sings and plays trombone. "It's very diverse.”
“It really shows all the different types of musicians we have at the school,” says singer, saxophonist and pianist, Chavez. “Because we all like different styles and we play in different styles.”
And Chavez is not wrong.
The concert will have an array of musical performances from the school choir, the senior and junior bands; music genres will range from R&B through to a selection of holiday classics.
There will also be a rather unusual performance of ’Son of Santa the Barbarian', which displays a darker side to the rosy-cheeked festive hero. The piece of music tells the story of a war between Santa and his son, using elements of more familiar holiday classics such as 'Jingle Bells'.
"It's pretty chaotic," says Roberts.
More accustomed to performing as part of a group, Pottumutu will be stepping outside of her comfort zone and will be performing solo for the first time at the winter concert.
“I'm pretty nervous,” says Pottumutu, who will be singing and playing guitar. “But I'm pretty excited because it's like a song that's really dear to my heart.”
She will be performing ‘A Velvet Ring’, a song by Big Thief, an American indie folk band.
“It's a song that I can listen over and over again to,” said Pottumutu. “It’s a really good song that has a really deep meaning.”
The concert is the result of hours of rehearsal before, during and after school, which began as soon as students returned from the summer break in September.
But the time and effort is well worth it, say the music-loving trio.
“The concert is where everything pays off,” says Pottumutu.
For Roberts, she believes the concert is an an opportunity for her and her fellow musicians to support each other and not be afraid of what other people think.
“It's really important that we have fun and really just get into the music that we're playing,” she says. “Music is what makes me happy and I feel like music should be something that makes everybody happy.”
“All the musicians are supporting you,” adds Chavez. “Our parents and friends will be there as well. The audience is very supportive … it just feels like a safe place to perform.”
“The music department is so supportive and loving, you can be friends with anybody,” said Roberts. "And music is so much fun."
Belmont's winter concert is on Thursday Dec. 12 at the school. Doors open at 6.30 p.m., the concert starts at 7 p.m.
