The afternoon before Thanksgiving weekend, the students at St. John Bosco were introduced to an amazing group of very talented singers – Quintessential Vocal Ensemble. This international award-winning choir had come to visit our school to share their gift of music as part of their educational and community outreach program. The performance QVE gave was unlike anything our students had ever experienced; the joy and awe on the students’ faces was evident from the very first note sang by the choir. Students were completely engaged for the entire duration of the concert. They even got to hear their own music teacher sing a solo with the choir - a style of singing they don't often get to hear from Miss Murphy!

Some quotes from students include:
‘That was so awesome, Miss!’
‘We didn’t just like it, we LOVED it!’
‘That opera girl can sing really, really high!’

This was especially memorable for our students because QVE had them actively participating throughout the performance. For example, during “Twinkle Twinkle”, several students were invited to sit in front of each choral section (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) and to stand up when they heard their section singing the melody. Two of our very talented Grade 6 students were asked to join the choir’s performance of ‘Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ as beatboxers. One student was even given the privilege of conducting QVE for a well-known spiritual, ‘Battle of Jericho.’ Through this highly interactive performance by QVE, our students experienced the power of music and how singing with a choir can be ‘really cool.’