Maple Ridge cadet to perform in concert celebrating Commonwealth

A Maple Ridge air cadet will be performing with cadets from around the world to celebrate Commonwealth Day.

Flight Sergeant Samantha Laverton of 583 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in Maple Ridge will be performing in The Commonwealth Day Cadet Band Concert, a virtual event that will bring together youth from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

Laverton, who plays the flute, is one of just fourteen cadets representing Canada and was chosen for this unique opportunity based on her excellence in music in the cadet program.

The 17-year-old had to record herself performing her part in three pieces of music – a traditional hymn called The Crown that Fadeth Not, musician Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass and March of the Cobblers by Bob Barratt.

Each video recording will be edited together to produce the final version.

Laverton, who has been in the cadets since 2015, has been playing the flute for around seven years and has been performing in the band of her cadet squadron for the past six years. She initially picked up the flute because her mother thought it was a “gorgeous” instrument.

Now Laverton loves the flute and the way it sounds.

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“This is brand new to me,” said Laverton of the Commonwealth concert.

“I’m very excited. I think it’s super cool that despite COVID and all the challenges right now, we’re still being presented with such cool opportunities,” said the flutist.

Laverton has been practising for the past two weeks for the concert.

“I think it’s been driving my mom a bit nuts, despite what she might say,” chuckled Laverton.

Capt. Cheryl Major, public affairs officer with the Regional Cadet Support Unit in Victoria is proud of the confident, self-sufficient leaders that the cadet program nurtures and develops. Cadets form lasting friendships and are engaged in their communities, explained Major, while the program itself promotes physical fitness, healthy living, and it fosters an interest in the activities of the Canadian Armed Forces.

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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the cadet program has continued to engage youth in a variety of ways, including virtual music training and testing, continued Major.

“The cadets are taught by professional musicians and educators, so as they progress through the levels the theory and musicianship skills become more advanced,” noted Major, adding that the cadet participants for this concert were chosen based on their music level qualifications.

The concert will be available to view on the British Columbia Cadets Facebook page at 4 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 8.