GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Caledonia Community Schools will honor former orchestra teacher David Sowerby during the middle school orchestra concert on May 10. Sowerby died on November 13, 2021.
The concert will be held at Duncan Lake Middle School. The theme will be “Inspired by Mr. Sowerby" and will include several special performances. Caledonia High School students have been invited to perform “Fantasia on an Original Theme” with the middle school orchestra.
“When we heard about Mr. Sowerby’s passing, we decided to do something that will keep his memory alive in our school,” said Landry Hammon and Hannah Bennet, eighth-grade orchestra students. “We were sad together, and I think we were able to manage our grief by using music as an outlet.”
“When David passed, I knew we needed to do something to honor his memory and contributions to our music program,” said Megan Anderson, interim Intermediate and Middle School orchestra director. “I wanted to let the students grieve his passing but also remember all the wonderful things about him. We discussed as a class what we should do and determined a musical tribute to David would be most fitting.”
Students and staff have also installed memory boards featuring photos and memories from students in his former orchestra classroom. It also features a drawing of Sowerby by Caledonia Community Schools art teacher Christine Cosgrove.
The Caledonia Middle School orchestra concert will be held at Duncan Lake Middle School on Tuesday, May 10 at 7 p.m.
