Dawn Potvin, It Dawned on Me.
There is a musical treasure nestled within the walls of Twain Sullivan Elementary school, and it’s time that he receives a shout out.
Mr. Dave Conway has been teaching and awakening the musical genius in kids for years now, and it is quite remarkable to see. He works tirelessly to write songs and get the kids to engage enough to write their own music, with outstanding results.
When you can take a bunch of too cool grade sevens and have them up on a stage singing their hearts out and playing actual real instruments that aren’t hooked up to a video game, I think that’s quite a feat.
This past winter he collaborated with a large group of students on a wonderful Christmas song set to a Rolling Stones tune, and it made it on YouTube as well as being played on CBC Radio to rave reviews.
I just can’t get over how he can ignite such creativity and talent that is within these kids, and truly make them feel a passion for music. Obviously it is his passion to share with others, and his dedication not only to music but to these kids is unwavering, and he instills in them an extremely hard working work ethic that at that age is no easy task.
This past weekend saw the big Midsummer Festival in Smithers which of course he took an active part in, hauling his Twain Sullivan kids out there to perform after much rehearsing and anticipation. His songs are always crowd favourites, that he can take a tune and put his own local and age appropriate spin on with amazing results.
I witnessed two years in a row at Carol Fest that his songs would (pardon the pun) strike a chord within the audience and they would cheer the loudest for his music, absolutely delighted at the product he can put out with those kids. Being a bit of a music fan myself, I’m loving watching my own kids get engaged in the music genres and have an interest, which I have to attribute all the credit to wonderful Mr. Conway.