Music

Perth County Song Contest

Grades 7-12, Perth residents were invited to write a song and/or create a documentary on the theme “Back Home”: exploring the spirit and value of community, the environment and local heroes.

The song contest required students to speak to the theme in 3 minutes 

Six winners were chosen from entries received from students from across the county. The Judges included David Prosser, Director of Communications for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Rick Fox, Director of Music for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Barry Payne, Stratford, Ontario songwriter, whose band String Bone, is receiving international, critical acclaim for its latest CD, nadir

Song Winners

• A Place Called Home | Poppy Kipfer - Grade 8 Montessori
  
• Back Home | Jennifer Oesch - Grade 11, Northwestern Secondary School
  
• Remember Me Forever now titled One More Time | Luc Fisher, Tyler Zybura, Amy Schell - Grade 11, Northwestern Secondary School
  
• Magic of Youth | Sam Kochany - Grade 12, Central Secondary School
  
• Havin' an Avon Kinda Day | Abigail Winter-Culliford, Sadie Culliford, Gary Winter (family entry) - Grade 8, Downie Public School
  
• Home on Your Side | Kirstie Carter - Grade 10, Central Secondary School
  

All songs created during this competition process
are licensed under Creative Commons

Additionally, students participated in song writing workshops. Workshops were an experience independent of the competition (not a requirement to compete.)

Song writing workshops took place over a two to three hour time slot. The students listened to examples of styles, themes, forms, and rhyme schemes, analyzing for meaning and structure. The group then, collaboratively, picked their own theme. They worked together through a process creating lyrics, picking a style, a form and a tune.

Negotiation, compromise and time pressure in the context of creativity and a thematic goal makes for an engaging and challenging experience. The product of this intense, compact experience was then recorded "as is", in the classroom.

For samples of the workshop songs, visit 

http://www.hermione-presents.com/back home song workshops.htm