Islanders lucky enough to snag tickets to the sold-out GISS music show last Thursday night bore witness to a group of incredibly empowered youth creating fantastic music on the ArtSpring stage.

The highly entertaining evening featured 25 pieces of music from teacher Bruce Smith’s original compositions class, the junior and senior choirs, the junior jazz combo and senior jazz band.

Kicking off the musical mélange was the snazzy original number Shopping Cart Kings featuring Rudy Gummeson, Allie George and Caroline Sandl on vocals, Oscar Kempe on guitar and Toby Kitka, Adrian Rodig, Sandl and Kempe on beat box. The piece, boasting a sexy sound and some kickin’ beat boxing was perfect to open the show. Hawaiian Lullaby with Walker Tottman on ukulele and Joey Luna on guitar was another early standout, featuring skillful fingerwork and a truly lovely melody.

The evening continued, showcasing interesting combinations of instruments and sounds. In Saw VII, a cool piece with an Eastern European or Gypsy flavour, we had Kitka playing the saw, Rodig on violin, Sophia Lynn on bass clarinet, Anna Hoskins on trumpet, Tottman and George on congas and Geoff McFarlane on drums.

Putting an interesting spin on What a Wonderful World, Sam Rowlandson-O’Hara laid down some interesting hip-hop lyrics while Danielle Topaz and Rodig provided soulful back-up vocals. Brendan Grambow and Tottman offered up solid rhythm with their beat-boxing while McFarlane kept things steady on the bass. There was great enthusiasm in the junior jazz combo’s Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, which served up some serious funk along with notable trumpet, violin and guitar solos.

I enjoyed the dark, sultry and multi-ethnic sounds that pervaded many of the original composition pieces and the interesting ways in which the students played with harmony. Although the sound was at times small, the junior choir provided the audience with an intriguing choral version of Under Pressure. Ob-la-di rang out more clearly and offered up a beautiful blend of sound.

The senior jazz band created a smooth, soulful experience with some scatting thrown in to boot, and the piano, percussion, guitar and vocal solos induced some memorable moments. I especially enjoyed the original piece Driving, performed by Silken Conradi, Clay Upex, McFarlane and Kempe, which was full of engaging lyrics, beautiful piano melodies and some vocal harmonies that were very complementary.

The Story of the Splevelcrow was a piece as interesting as its title with Dorah Prieto adding an interesting layer of sound with her accordion and Topaz providing beautifully clear, haunting vocals. In many of the evening’s pieces Wesley Hardisty rocked the fiddle and I must say, watching this young man make music was an experience in itself — what a talent!

The senior choir was extremely delightful in Lukey’s Boat, a Newfoundland tune that highlighted the group’s pure tone and full sound. (Props to the choir’s two young men for providing clearly-heard vocals amongst a sea of higher voices.)

The second half of the program featured a number of young women who possess enviable vocal skill — Gummeson, George and Topaz were all standouts.

I felt that George, who has the ability to sing with two distinct styles, really shone when abandoning the high, breathy voice for the low, powerhouse vocals that prove she’s got some serious singing chops! Topaz has obviously been working on vocal techniques and the hard-work clearly is paying off.

The work of the technical crew is also to be commended — resetting in between all 25 numbers was a monumental feat and was handled swiftly and professionally.

One small critique I would offer is that in some pieces there could have been more clear enunciation in the vocals — it was at times difficult to hear the lyrics, which seemed to be playing second fiddle to fancy runs and vocal gymnastics. Although the vocals were exceptional, connecting with the lyrics might have given these tunes a bit more heart and authenticity.

Overall the show was a smash success and I was left in awe of the level of comfort these kids possess on stage and their amazing creativity in creating original compositions. How wonderful that these students get to perform on a real stage with professional equipment and a beautiful grand piano — so many high-school students never have such opportunities.

Here’s to hoping the GISS music kids continue to take advantage of the perks of growing up on such a supportive, artistically charged island and continue entertaining us and creating memorable music for years to come.