Two Fort St. John students selected again for honour band

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Two students from a Fort St. John school have been selected again to participate at a country-wide honour band. 

Bianca Richter and Nisab Neupane, students of Bert Bowes Middle School, have been selected for the 2026 MusicFest Canada’s Soho Sound Canadian Junior Honour Band (SSCJHB). 

The full roster for 2026 has not yet been released, but in 2025, Neupane was one of four trombonists selected across Canada while Richter, who is from Charlie Lake, was one of 14 flutists.

According to MusicFest Canada website, the ‘virtual’ SSCJHB is an honour group for students in grades six to nine. 

The SSCJHB will partner with university music educators from across the country in the virtual preparation and presentation of concert band works. 

MusicFest Canada has a history dating back to 1972 and was founded as the Canadian Stage Band Festival, which brings students and educators together to celebrate excellence in musical performance. 

Sabrina Angelique Brooks, band program coordinator, told Energeticcity.ca it was a “huge honour” to have the kids selected again.   

Last year, the band selected only 55 students nationally with 14 of them from B.C. 

“That’s a big deal. With Nisab in particular, they only took four trombone players in all of Canada and he was one of four,” she said. “You can just do the math. How many small towns and cities are there in all of Canada? How many middle schools? So out of hundreds of thousands of kids, our kids were selected.” 

She added: “They get together, have rehearsals where they learn, they have clinicians and workshops with the top musicians in Canada and then they record for a final concert together.” 

Neupane is excited to be a part of the band this year as well. 

He said: “Honestly, it’s the people, I might get psyched about the parts of the music but I’m mostly excited to see what different types of people are there [from] across Canada.” 

In preparation for the band, Neupane said: “I’m mostly trying to practice books that make you better at trombone. 

“So when the music papers show up, I can easily practice them…read and play them better than I played last year.”

The experience will end with the international release of a “professionally mastered” performance that is compiled using student recordings with the support of the Coalition for Music Education on Monday, May 4th, 2026.