Kids rock! John Barsby Secondary School students take to the stage
Aryiah Mileer (middle), as well as twin brothers Charlie (right) and Willem (left) White, came down to CHLY to talk about their upcoming show and the program. (Lauryn Mackenzie /CHLY 101.7fm)
Students from John Barsby Secondary School’s School of Rock program are gearing up to hit the stage this Friday.
Showcasing talent from the program, students grade eight to twelve will perform at Vancouver Island University’s Malaspina Theatre.
Aryiah Mileer, as well as twin brothers Charlie and Willem White, came down to CHLY to talk about their upcoming show and the program.
The trio are all in grade nine. Mileer and Willem both play guitar and Charlie plays bass.
Mileer, who’s favourite song to perform is Black by Pearl Jam, said they started in the School of Rock program at the start of grade nine in September.
“I love music, and I always have loved music. [The program] was an extracurricular and something for me to do outside of school,” Mileer said. “I really enjoy playing the guitar, and have been playing the guitar since the beginning of grade eight.”
Unlike other high school concert bands, the School of Rock focuses on rock music.
Charlie’s favourite song they perform is In Bloom by Nirvana, and a lot of their inspiration comes from new and older bands.
“So my favourite band is called Pierce the Veil, and their bassist is really good,” Charlie said. “He's awesome.”
Willem is newer to the School of Rock program, only starting two months ago, but is very excited to be joining the group.
“I've been playing guitar since December 2024 and I always thought music was really cool too,” Willem said.
Willem said their favourite songs to perform are In Bloom by Nirvana and One Way or Another by Blondie.
With their upcoming show on Friday, Charlie said they have been practicing hard and are excited to bring the songs to life.
“I'm feeling pretty excited,” Charlie said. “I've performed kind of a lot now and this will be my first time performing at the Malaspina Theater.”
When asked if any of them get stage fright when performing, Mileer said, with all the practice they have been doing, that’s not something they worry about.
“It really helps when your songs are down and you are confident. If you really are relaxed and in the mood,” Mileer said. “You want to be really tight with your songs before you get on stage, so that you're not afraid of messing up.”
Russ Der is the director of the School of Rock at John Barsby Secondary School. He has been running the music program since 1988, first running the music department as a traditional concert and jazz band program.
For years students would learn how to play traditional wind and brass band instruments and perform more classical style music.
But when the COVID-19 Pandemic started, safety was a concern, he no longer felt it was in the best interest for students to continue playing with wind instruments.
After a bit of trial and error, Der started focusing on teaching students guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums. Shortly after that, the School of Rock was born.
“We started performing at our school and then at other schools, and we moved into the community. We played shows at the Queen’s, we played at the Globe. We played at many club events, and we've also traveled abroad,” Der said. “We've made it up all the way up to Edmonton and Calgary, and every place that we've played the kids have been really, really impressive, and we are continuing that now.”
Der said while the music program starts in grade eight, where students will learn the basics of playing string and percussion. Once students get into grade nine, they play with students from grade nine through twelve. In those classes they focus on learning and performing specific songs.
As well, Der offers an extracurricular program where students can also learn and perform together.
“Our extracurricular group is made up of students, well, now grade eight, but it was nine to 12, and the experience ranges from five years to just like Willem, a couple of weeks. It's really exciting to see,” Der said.
The extracurricular group meets twice a week before the school day starts.
Der said since the change in the music program, he has seen more interest in students wanting to take part.
“The relevance of the music is a lot more inspiring to them. No disrespect to classical music and show tunes and all that kind of stuff, but when you're just starting out, it's kind of hard to grasp that when you haven't heard it yourself,” he said. “I think, and I know that this is a pattern when I talk about all the instrumental programs, especially around the island, that the numbers are down. In my opinion, it's based on what these young people are listening to.”
Der said since the switch, he no longer has to harp on the students to practice because they are more motivated to learn and practice their songs.
While the music needs to be appropriate for a school environment, Der often allows the students to pick the song they learn.
Some of these songs have been Buddy Holly by Weezer, Learn to Fly by the Foo Fighters, and Sunshine of Your Love by Cream.
The year before COVID-19, Der said they had about 60 students in the whole music program. This year they have over 180.
“That's what's so inspiring, is that you build a bit of a legacy, and students in elementary schools see what's going on, and they go, ‘I want to be part of that,’” he said.
As someone who was inspired to become a music teacher from his own experience in high school band, Der said watching his students grow is one of his biggest rewards.
“Watching these kids be successful is probably one of my biggest rewards and main reason that I've become a music teacher,” he said. “Just to see how they start right from the beginning, not really knowing too much, and watch them as they progress.”
He said the extracurricular group has been working hard to get ready for the show on Friday.
Tickets for the School of Rock’s show on Friday February 6th can be bought at John Barsby’s front desk. Tickets are $20 or $15 for John Barsby and Vancouver Island University students.
The door opens at the Malaspina Theatre at 6:30, with the show starting at 7 p.m.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.