St. Anne Students Win Gold at MusicFest Canada
Story by Paula Just
Photography by Grant Bergeron
The recent gold medal win at MusicFest Canada proves that St. Anne Catholic High School isn’t just shaping brilliant minds for our society — it’s nurturing true musicians. The group of six students earned the event’s top prize after performing at York University in Toronto in the jazz combo category. During their audition, the combo performed three pieces for the judges and audience: “So What” by Miles Davis, “Georgia On My Mind” by Hoagy Carmichael and “Tenor Madness” by Sonny Rollins.
“The part that stood out the most for me was when we were already on stage,” recalled the tenor saxophonist, Matthew Verzosa and one of the members. “We had gone through the first two pieces, and the last piece that we played kind of changed the mood of the room. We felt that people were more excited. It was amazing.” And when it came time to find out they were the winners, the emotion was just as intense.
“It was such an exciting experience”, said trumpeter Luiz Felipe Correa. “It was something that we worked really hard to get to. And yeah, there were a couple of tears from some members when they announced our prize.”
Joining Luiz and Matthew in the combo are drummer Andrew Matchett, pianist Michael Bourdeau, upright bassist Julien Lewis and trumpeter Aiden Williams. Longtime friends and band members, they decided to enter the festival late last year. For those unfamiliar, MusicFest Canada is an annual celebration of student music that brings together thousands of musicians from across the country for a week-long event.
For 2025, the festival took place from May 12 to 17, with approximately 8,000 young participants. These performers, aged 12 to 25, were selected through affiliated regional festivals. Here, the MusicFest Windsor was held in March at the Capitol Theatre. After achieving a high enough score, the St. Anne High School students were invited to participate in the nationals.
The group, which chose the repertoire, organized the rehearsals and led the entire preparation themselves and practiced every day for weeks leading up to the presentation.
“We had a lot of practice time together, and it gave us the chance to try to build that chemistry between all of our playing. We concentrated on our pieces and we rehearsed pretty much every day during our lunch hour,” Luiz remembered. All members emphasized that their existing friendship and the support of music teacher Grant Bergeron, were key factors in their success and festival participation.
Grant has been teaching music for over 30 years and has been a faculty member at St. Anne since 2016. According to him, all the credit goes to the group, who showed great initiative and professionalism in every decision, choice and rehearsal leading up to the show.
“I was very impressed by the level of professionalism that I saw before and during their performance,” he said. “We have to remember that they’re still 16, 17 and 18-year-old students; they’re not seasoned professionals. So you have a certain level of expectation, but they exceeded it. It was great to see, for sure.”
The event’s value went beyond the gold medal; it offered them an invaluable experience. The opportunity allowed students to perform in front of renowned judges and hear other top-level bands from across the country.
“We had the chance to watch the other schools play as well, and it was just amazing. They were able to share their musical talents. It allowed us to learn from their experiences and how we can improve, as well,” Matthew reflected. Festival participants also get the chance to take part in a clinic with one of the judges, who provides practical feedback and guidance based on the execution.
Music programs at schools nationwide continue to thrive thanks to passionate educators and students who understand its power to inspire and connect. St. Anne’s is no different. Grant highlights how rewarding it is to see their genuine involvement with music, even when they receive no academic credit for it. Formal classes provide knowledge, but it is outside regular hours that many students truly shine by voluntarily participating in the band.
“They are not getting extra marks, they’re not getting community service awards, they’re doing it all because they want to be there. So it’s very rewarding for me to witness that,” he said.
Whether inside or outside of the classes, music remains a priority for them. For Luiz, it is a constant presence in his life: “At school, I’ve always been showing up to band rehearsals, taking other lessons, just trying to improve my musicianship. In my personal life, I have always enjoyed playing instruments and it is one of my hobbies. Whenever I’m bored, I go to my piano and try to learn something new. It has just been a big part of my life.” He also performs at his church and plans to stay involved with university bands.
Matthew also considers his musical journey an essential part of his life. “It is definitely something that I’d love to continue in the future, maybe not so much as a career. For me, music is a different language… It’s something that you can share in a community and with other musicians.”
For Grant, music transcends borders and connects people in a unique way. He fondly recalls a plaque that hung where he practiced as a child: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” This phrase has stayed with him throughout his life and remains central to his teaching philosophy.
“It’s wonderful to see how students, whether from Essex County or from other parts of the world, speak the same language. Luiz came from Brazil and Matthew has Filipino heritage in his family. Yet, they all understand each other through music. It’s just an amazing way to unite communities.”
Published in the Summer 2025 edition.
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