NEWS photo Terry Peters HANDSWORTH BAND joins the big brass with its recent invitation to com- pete in an international band competition in Hawaii this coming spring. What a Thrill! FUN AND EXCITEMENT FOR EVERY SKILL ON THE HILL. TRY OUR K2’s — THEN BUY YOUR OWN — CANADA'S NATIONAL TEAM DID! America’s Top Performers ® SOPEN_ DAILY} DESTINATION SKI RENTALS 1160 Marine Dr., North Vancouver 984-4394 984-71 91 19 - Friday, November 7, Digging into Munchies PAGE 21 fa goes international ~ WHEN INSTRUCTOR Bob Rebagliati took over as head of the Handsworth Senior Secondary Schoo! band 10 years ago, the music program was dwindling. But hard work and determina- tion have corabined for a now award-winning program. And the school’s senior concert band will be jetting to Hawaii next year fora week-long stint at an international festival. When the senior concert band won a gold medal in May in a na- tional competition at Expo, that opened the way for an invitation to the Pacific Basin Band Festival scheduled for March, 1987. “The notoriety of that ac- complishment made us a prime candidate to be asked,’’ Rebagliati says of the invitation-only festival. For the 45-member concert band, the festival marks the first time the group has been invited to represent Canada in an_ interna- tional event. ‘*That’s an honor of course,’’ explains Rebagliati, who is known as Reb to his students. Handsworth students will be playing next to student musicians from Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. ‘‘It's going to be a tremen- Presents SKI * See the latest in ski equipment x* The newest fashions for the slopes * And experience Warren Miller’s film “SNOW UNDER” Western Airlines The only wav to the Grou Mountain BARR Reporter dous cultural experience,’’ he says. Seventeen-year-old saxophone player Mark Hewett agrees. ‘‘I’m looking forward to it,’’ says Hewett, wha has been blowing his alto sax for over six years. “IT hope we can do really well.’’ Tuba player Danna Johnson, also 17, laughingly anticipates the hardest part of the trip to Hawaii will be lugging her 45-pound in- strument through the airport, rather than the extra practising she will have to do before she goes. But she adds: ‘‘We’re planning on putting in a lot of hours to get to our best.”” As it is now, the concert band has a scheduled three hours a week of practice time, which Rebagliati says is insufficient. ‘So we do some out-of-school rehearsal time,”’ he explains. For percussionist Kelly Kavanagh, 17, the trip is a once- in-a-lifetime chance to represent INTHECITY her country on the international stage. ‘‘How often do you get to represent Canada?”’ she asks. Kavanagh ended up playing per- cussion — drums, xylophone, tim- pani and so on — by chance. A broken arm meant the then Grade 8 student could not hold her flute. “Reb said, ‘Why don’t you play percussion?’ so 1 did,’’ she remembers. All three students point out that the festival schedule will leave them with little time for tanning or surfing. ‘‘But I’m sure we'll be able to get out at night,’’ Hewett says wishfully. - The March 1987 tour date comes just at the beginning of the students’ third term, so the festival will not interfere with the year-end exam schedule. “It’s a good time for them to be away if they're going to be away,”’ says Rebagliati, who is encourag- ing the students to work ahead be- fore they Icave. As for the future of the concert band, it is onward and upward. “The future is to keep striving for excellence,’’ Rebagliati says. ‘‘It’s really not how many prizes we can bring back — it’s how well we can do.” LUEST ’86 Saturday November 8th, noon-6:00 p.m. * Be one of the first 40 peopie to register at the Sport Tours exhibit and be eligible for the kick-off weekend at Blackcombe from $69, includes 2 nights accommodation and transportation from Vancouver. * Tickets available at the door. $3.00 per person ($2.00 donated to the Disabled Skiers Association of B.C.) 984-0611 \7 ES. Si Sy