“Community bands are so rare these days and we have one that is alive and well and playing at a very high calibre.”
Prince Albert Concert Band Director Kayleigh Skomorowski spends her free time paddling the waters and hiking the trails of Prince Albert National Park with her husband.
Brock Skomorowski, a local pianist, is joining the Concert Band for their fall performance called ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ on Sunday.
The pieces they’ll be playing are entirely inspired by nature—combining Kayleigh’s love for the earth and classical music.
“(Prince Albert residents spend) almost more time, if you will, kind of slamming where we live as opposed to really celebrating it,” she said.
“This was my, I guess, attempt or try at just giving people not only the art to focus on because we do have a wonderful, vibrant arts community, but then also using music to point towards the beauty that surrounds our community.”
The Concert Band and Brock Skomorowski will be playing a movement together from Cait Nishimura’s Lake Superior Suite. The movement is called Pancake Bay.
“It’s really looking at that beauty of the stillness of water and something I think we can all relate to around here,” said Kayleigh.
Brock with also be doing his own set of music.
“A lot of our stuff is very reflective, I guess is the word I would use for most of it. There are a few pieces that have a little bit more energy,” Kayleigh explained, adding that one piece is inspired by wild horses.
This is the first of four concerts the band will perform for the season. They rehearse once a week starting at the beginning of September.
Kayleigh said it’s exciting to see the band’s improvement as each rehearsal passes.
“We take all of summer off apart from each other and many of us apart from our instruments, so there’s a bit of that getting acquainted with how we do our job as individuals and then how it all fits together, so September is always kind of an interesting period of growth,” she said.
She encourages the public to attend the concert and celebrate the city’s talent.
“We have a large group of people in the city that haven’t really taken the opportunity to tap in to our local groups. Between us and the Prince Albert Children’s Choir, the Prince Albert Concert Choir, Watsonaires, the Prince Albert String Orchestra, we have such vibrant community ensembles,” said Kayleigh.
“Community bands are so rare these days and we have one that is alive and well and playing at a very high calibre.”
‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ takes place at the Calvary United Church on Sunday starting at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation at the door.
