Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 12/99) - By all accounts, it's amazing the 75 students from Toronto's Oakwood Collegiate high school got here at all.

But they did, and after borrowing an instrument or two from Sir John Franklin's music department, they put on a concert to remember.

Oakwood Collegiate music parent and organizer, Elizabeth MacCallum, said because of school strikes in Toronto, they've been unable to put a trip together for five years. The Oakwood Collegiate band is known for travelling all over the world and is widely recognized as one of the best public school orchestras in the country.

When an opportunity arose to take the band on a four-day trip, she got into high gear.

"The moral of schools in Toronto is dreadful, so we said we needed to take a trip. There were infinite reasons why we couldn't do it but the parents said we have to do something -- so we started checking out every lead," MacCallum said.

"When all those leads dried up, my husband, who had been here as a reporter with the Globe and Mail, suggested Yellowknife. We were really flying by the seat of our pants until three weeks ago."

They started actively fund-raising in January, but still hadn't found a destination. With the money they had from previous fund-raisers, combined with their latest efforts, they raised $83,000 for the trip.

MacCallum then made a cold call to Sir John Franklin principal, Mieke Cameron, who was immediately excited about the idea of a cultural exchange, and thanks to the generosity of Yellowknife parents, she found billets for all 75 of the students.

"When we were told they had a band of more than 70 accomplished musicians, it was one of those moments where I knew I could build interest in our district's music program," Cameron said.

"To me, that phone call from Toronto was a magical, wonderful interruption of my busy day."

Oakwood Collegiate is making plans to raise money for Sir John Franklin students to come to Toronto next year. Cameron is already looking at securing grants for the trip from the federal government. She said the excitement of planning the excursion has already infused spirit into their music program.

"It's the music that bonds these two groups and I'll say that this morning when I heard our music students practising, 25 in all, I've never heard them play with that kind of energy and confidence," Cameron said.

"I'm confident we'll get them to Toronto because we are surrounded by good people who care about our school."