Colborne Jazz Band is rolling

The kids in the Colborne Public School Red Hot Jazz Band have the beat. From left, Rylan Newport, Drew O’Gorman, Justice Fritz, Isaac Hall and Cory Fryer show off their skills on the bass drums.


The 21-member Colborne Public School Red Hot Jazz Band is filling some important playing dates.

The Kiwanis Music Festival was in early in April. Their biggest gig of the season is a three-day trip to Montreal where they will see the sights of the city and participate in its rhythm festival

May will be a busy month. Belleville is the first stop, where they will compete in the Quinte Rotary Music Festival in the first week.

In February they travelled to Toronto to the Next Generation Jazz Festival, the qualifying competition for the countrywide Musicfest competition. Their current repertoire consists of four pieces, three of which were new to the kids this year.

Many of the grade fives and sixes who joined the band this year were non players when they started. Very few kids in the community have a music background.

The grade 5-8 band practises before school twice a week under the direction of teacher/conductor Chad Morford.

The school also boasts its own 17-member drum line.