Bandstand

It all began in the spring of 1948 when a small research group at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, announced the development of a new electronic device which they named the “transistor,” initially more of a laboratory curiosity than a practical component of any electronic device. I recall a telephone call five years later in 1953 from a friend. He was an engineer in a research organization in Toronto and had just obtained “management approval” to purchase two transistors to try them out. Over the next few years the transistor became the successor, in most applications, to its much larger power hungry predecessor, the vacuum tube, invented in 1906. It only took till 1956 for the three researchers at Bell Labs to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work.

Now, 69 years after that 1948 announcement, smart phones, home computers, flat-screen TVs, GPS units and other compact electronic systems are homes to countless millions of much smaller transistors. Cable and satellite TV as well as Internet are the norm in most homes in this country. We listen to music on all kinds of devices from large home audio systems to hand-held smart phones. But how has this impacted on the activities that go into making music, especially as a collective social endeavour?

Obviously we are able to research titles and composers to assist in programming, but we may also go to YouTube sites to hear and watch performances of music to determine their suitability for possible performance. It is now common practice with many bands to send email messages to band members with a list of works scheduled for a rehearsal and YouTube sites to visit to get familiar with the music prior to a rehearsal. Some groups also send out recordings of rehearsals for members to review and determine ways to improve.

In fact, I know of one music director (who shall remain nameless) who became sufficiently technically savvy and innovative to electronically monitor the playing accuracy of individual band members and record each individual’s errors. Each member was then presented a personal report with a rating of their errors per minute. I don’t know whether or not that is still happening, but I certainly would have no interest in joining such an ensemble.

The most interesting example of constructive use of this rapidly evolving technology that I have heard of includes long-distance instruction and practice over the Internet. It all began when a woman in Whitehorse in the Yukon decided that she would like to learn to play clarinet. Wynne Krangle was in Toronto visiting her mother and decided to drop in to the Long & McQuade store. After she purchased her clarinet, she asked if they could suggest a clarinet teacher to visit for introductory lessons before returning to Whitehorse.

They gave her the name and number of Michele Jacot, conductor of the Wychwood Clarinet Choir. The rest is history. Krangle emailed Jacot. They met by email, arranged to meet in person and managed to squeeze in two lessons before Krangle had to return to Whitehorse. As Jacot says “Wynne was quite the beginner.”

After she returned home they arranged to continue regular lessons using Skype and FaceTime as the primary means of communication until Krangle was able to visit Toronto again. As Jacot put it, “She certainly must have been highly motivated to faithfully practise regularly in her relative isolation.” There just aren’t that many playing opportunities for beginning amateur musicians in Whitehorse. On one of her visits to Toronto Krangle attended one of Jacot’s Wychwood Clarinet Choir concerts. It was then that Jacot suggested that she play every rehearsal. Yes, the idea was for Krangle to “virtually attend” Clarinet Choir rehearsals. She could sit at home in Whitehorse and observe the rehearsals in Toronto over the Internet. Progressing from that, the next step was to schedule a lesson every two weeks using FaceTime.

Last summer, Jacot suggested a challenge for Krangle. It was for her to learn all 11 pieces of music for the choir’s “Harvest Song” concert in Toronto in November. The idea was to use the scores and tapes from the weekly rehearsals and then come to Toronto to be part of at least two rehearsals and the performance. Krangle arranged to be in Toronto. She played in the final rehearsal before the concert and in the dress rehearsal. In her words, “I did just that and had an amazingly successful time integrating into the choir.” As for the future, she plans to be in Toronto and perform in the “Sounds of Spring” concert scheduled for May 28 at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels.

(While on the subject of the Wychwood Clarinet, like many other groups this sesquicentennial year, the choir is planning for a definite Canadian component for the spring concert. Composer-arranger Fen Watkin has written an arrangement for clarinet choir of selections from the musical Anne of Green Gables. The choir folks intend to add a visual component to their concert as well. They will be showing historical photographs of the Wychwood neighbourhood in Toronto where they perform. Hopefully, there will be pleasant surprises for the audience, not only regarding local history, but also of the history of the choir.)

A very different and very heartening example of the creative use of our rapidly evolving technology has just come to our attention. Many years ago, Jack Savage, a trombone player from Newmarket formed a swing band. Ever since he started the group his wife Joyce was their biggest fan. She never missed a rehearsal or performance. Even after her husband’s death in May 2016 she was still a devoted fan. However, her stars were not in alignment when she learned of a memorial concert for him scheduled for December 7 last year. She had broken her hip and was bedridden at Orchard Villa Long Term Care residence in Pickering. Her son Ken couldn’t see how he might get her to that concert, but was determined to find some solution for her to attend virtually. Then he learned of the Pickering library’s PPL Connect program. This is a part of their digital education program where free Wi-Fi hotspots are available for loan. Ken contacted Saul Perdomo of the library about the possibility of getting the concert to his mother’s bedside.

On the night of the concert at the Alexander Muir Senior’s Residence in Newmarket, Perdomo took an iPad tablet to the concert. At Joyce’s bedside he had located suitable computer equipment. During the concert there was Joyce, in her bed almost part of the action, and even able to interact with band members. This was the first request of its kind to the library. It not only let Joyce attend Jack’s memorial concert, but it also brought two retirement communities together. Sadly Joyce passed away a couple of months later on February 17 at age 89.

Coming Events

Not only is 2017 Canada’s sesquicentennial year, but it is also the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. While this was certainly not the only large-scale battle of World War I where Canadian troops fought, it is accorded a special recognition in Canada’s history because this was the first major battle where the entire Canadian force was under Canadian command. Several bands have already presented, or soon will present, some form of special Vimy concert. One of the most imaginative is that of the “100th Anniversary Vimy Trench Dinner and Band Concert” on the evening of April 4 at the Flato Markham Theatre. Organized by the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles Association, the concert is being advertised as “The Mayor’s Vimy Concert.”

The evening will begin at 5:30 with a sit-down dinner of typical foods of that era that would have been served to the men behind the lines. At 7:00 the audience will move into the theatre for the concert by two bands. The first band will be a composite group made up of members from the various regimental reserve bands of the Toronto Garrison. This band will be conducted by Lt. Nick Arrigo, director of music of the 7th Toronto Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery Band. This band will be joined by the Pipes and Drums of York Regional Police.

Periodically, throughout the concert, a narrator will read letters home from men at the front. The concept is very similar to that performed a few times in recent years by the Toronto New Horizons Band under Dan Kapp. In the New Horizons performances letters from Europe were actual letters home from a man who was later killed in action during WWII. Since this concert is about a battle 100 years ago, there would be little chance of finding suitable letters. For this Vimy concert, the letters will be historically accurate simulated accounts, carefully crafted by a history professor, from a soldier, here called George, his fiancée Sally and his grandson living in the present day. The letters will be read by actors as the band plays appropriate music softly in the background. Information and reservations are available at the Flato Markham Theatre box office: 905-305-7469.

Allan Calvert

It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of Allan Calvert. One of four children born in Ottawa from Irish immigrants who came from Belfast in the 1920s, he moved to Toronto with his mother and three siblings after his father died. At an early age he learned to play various brass instruments and in Salvation Army Bands. Later he became music director and conductor of the Evangel Temple Brass Band in Toronto. I first met Al when we were both on the executive of CBA, Ontario. Al was the very diligent treasurer of that organization for over 25 years.

Odds and Ends

Every once and a while someone will come up with a clever title for a piece of music which strikes a chord. The opening number in the latest concert of the Wychwood Clarinet Choir was H2Overture by Jerry Williams. Yes, it was a medley of over 30 themes with reference to water in their titles.

In the past, in this column, I have occasionally ranted about people with smart phones held up so that their bright images are in full view of the audience members behind them. So, it was time to take action. At the last two concerts attended, I took the risk of asking a few users to put their distracting devices away. Rather than any adverse reactions, I received apologies in all cases.

There’s nothing like authenticity when researching costumes for period productions. Being a longtime Gilbert and Sullivan aficionado, I was a bit perplexed to see an advertisement for this year’s Stratford Festival’s production of HMS Pinafore. There we see a man dressed as a sailor in the Royal Navy, but wearing the “Dixie cup” hat of the US Navy. Such integration!

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

In last month’s column I focused on concert planning and suggested repertoire for bands to consider to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial year. What a pleasant surprise to learn of the plans of a few groups which intend to incorporate some of those suggestions into their programs. One of my top preferences in last month’s column was Calixa Lavallée’s La Rose Nuptial (Bridal Rose). So, very encouraging for me was news from the Wychwood Clarinet Choir that they hope to have an arrangement of that work as part of the Canadian celebration in their May concert. Choir members, and skilled arrangers, Roy Greaves and Richard Moore are working on that. This year’s winter concert “Midwinter Sweets” will not be at their usual location, but at Knox United Church in Scarborough, on Sunday, March 5 at 7:30. The program will also feature Concert Piece No. 2 for Two Clarinets by Felix Mendelssohn arranged by Richard Moore and Roy Greaves, Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg arranged by Greaves, “Tonight” from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein arranged by Steve Macdonald and No More Blues by Antonio Carlos Jobim, arranged by Macdonald. As usual, artistic director and clarinet soloist Michele Jacot will be at the helm.

Concert Band Composition for Canada 150: I’ve also just heard about another very encouraging project to celebrate this special year. It is by local Toronto musicians Tom Fleming and Vern Kennedy. About six months ago Fleming approached Kennedy, a longtime Toronto musician and composer of over 60 band and vocal creations, to compose a concert-band work to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial. In Fleming’s words, “I had written a brief note meant to stir Vern’s creative juices and inspire and challenge him to write something patriotic and inspirational that spoke to Canada’s vast geography and diversity. Vern responded by completing a composition for band that does exactly that. It’s a six-movement suite that takes the listener on a musical journey across Canada, ending with a stirring tribute to the whole nation that includes optional vocals in both official languages.”

Kennedy’s musical experience includes appearances on many CBC television music shows and he was the composer of Run Terry Run for the Canadian Cancer Society and In Love with an Island the official song for PEI’s centennial.

Now that the work is ready for publication, Fleming has persuaded a local band to rehearse in private and record it for demo purposes. In addition, he has engaged a copywriter, an art director and an online direct marketing expert to develop a program to market these pieces to community concert bands and post-elementary school bands across the country, at his own expense. When the recording is complete the intention is to post excerpts of the music online and invite decision makers from bands and music schools across the country to listen to the music and hear for themselves that it is enjoyable listening and eminently playable by most bands.

All conched out! Another sesquicentennial event is the “Canada Celebrates 150” concert by the Navy Band of HMCS York at J. Clarke Richardson C.V.I. in Ajax on March 4. This will feature the York full concert band with a combined Richardson Collegiate and HMCS York jazz set sandwiched in the middle. The program will also have students from the school’s Vimy Ridge trip giving a presentation during the concert about their trip to the Vimy Ridge 100th anniversary commemoration ceremonies. This concert is not only a celebration of Canada 150, but is also a veterans appreciation concert. Admission is free for all veterans.

A special treat will be the opening played by the band’s conch group, the only small ensemble from the band in this concert. YES! You read that right. They will be playing on conch shells. Recently I had the pleasure of hearing them in a concert at the Naval Club of Toronto where several small ensembles from the band entertained club members and any members of the community who wished to attend. This small group had its beginning last year when they played a fanfare for the visit of an admiral. The group consists of five different-sized conch shells which produce different pitches when the players move their hands in and out of the open end. Moving the hand in lowers the pitch and moving it out raises the pitch. To make these shells playable the tip has to be cut off and then they are basically played by buzzing into them like a trumpet. This special ensemble of five band members now has a name. They call themselves the Band Shells.

The Band Shells are the brainchild of Leading Seaman James Chilton, who is known in civilian life as James Chilton PhD. He is the man who, last year, was featured at the Naval Club event playing the didgeridoo. At this year’s event it was a duet with didgeridoo and tuba. He also performed on an instrument of his own design. It is a sort of “sliding didgeridoo” which is really played more like a trombone. He calls this one a “didjeribone.” Another selection which he played was done with a collection of variously pitched jaw harps and a looping pedal so that he could play them all at once.

Then there was the trombone quartet which performed a number of traditional sea songs. In some quarters you might find people who look upon military reserve bands as amateurs. Not so here. In that group, all four trombonists have degrees in music including one doctorate and two master’s degrees. The fourth member is working on a master’s degree. As for a name, members of this trombone quartet haven’t yet decided. Some like to be called the Tromboats and others prefer the Seabones.

Plumbing Factory and Northdale: While on the subject of anniversaries and similar celebrations we have just learned, from the indefatigable “Dr. Hank,” Henry Meredith, that the Plumbing Factory Brass Band is planning an evening of “19th Century Brass Band Music” in April. Similarly, The Northdale Concert Band is planning well in advance for a Gala Concert and Banquet to celebrate their 50th anniversary during Canada’s special year. This won’t be until November 4, so we have lots of time to provide full details. As a teaser though, it is safe to say that the concert will feature Vanessa Fralick of the TSO performing two solo pieces on trombone. The band has also commissioned a special work by Gary Kulesha, in honour of their 50th year, to be performed in the same concert.

New Horizons: In last month’s column I mentioned that the North York New Horizons Band was being re-established, at Long & McQuade on Steeles Ave. just east of Keele St. We have now learned that the band is up and running under the direction of experienced music teacher Susan Baskin. Their branch of New Horizons is called: New Horizons Music North York, and they rehearse on Monday nights from 6:45 to 8:45 in the Long & McQuade, North York, Lesson Centre, at 2777 Steeles Ave. W. As is the case with all New Horizons bands NHM NY Concert Band welcomes all adult woodwind, brass and percussion players from beginners to advanced. They are especially interested in bass clarinets, saxophones, trombones, baritones/euphoniums and tubas. Remember the New Horizons slogan: “It’s never too late!” Their email is: nhmnorthyork@gmail.com.

Kiwanis Music Festival Toronto: It has been many years since I had any direct connection to the kind of music festival that was a part of my life while playing in boys’ bands many long years ago. It was time to see what they are like today. Where better to start than with the community bands? Unfortunately, the Columbus Concert Band and the Newmarket Citizens Band were the only two entries this year; still, that was better than last year when there were no community band entries. On the other hand, there were 150 school bands entered in that class. The Wind Symphony of Cardinal Carter Academy took top honours with a Platinum award of 96 percent. I dropped in on the performance of the Newmarket Citizens Band and had an opportunity to chat with the festival artistic director Giles Bryant and adjudicators Dennis Beck and Michel Fortin. After the band’s performance the adjudicators provided many constructive comments and each conducted sections of the music to suggest possible options for improvement. It was a very worthwhile evening, even for a spectator.

And speaking of concert bands, the Markham Concert Band will present their Symphonic Pops Favourites Sunday, March 5, at 2pm at the Flato Markham Theatre with a potpourri of familiar tunes. A special treat: the band will be joined by pianist Ellen Meyer in a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 with the full band accompanying.

Gilbert and Sullivan again: This has nothing to do with bands or band music, but once in a while I choose to digress a bit. For me, attending the annual Gilbert and Sullivan production by Saint Anne’s Music and Drama Society has been a longtime tradition. G&S has been in my blood since I was born. My parents met in a G&S production where my mother was “poor Little Buttercup.” For many years I played in the pit orchestra at Saint Anne’s. When I started, Roy Schatz was one of the leading figures in the production. His daughter Laura Schatz was a little toddler who had chances to walk across the stage. Some years later, as Laura grew up, she had singing parts. Fast forward to this year’s production of The Grand Duke. Roy was the Prince of Monte Carlo and Laura was the artistic director and the Baroness Von Krakenfeldt. To complete the cast Laura Schatz’s two teenaged children also sang in the production. What a family tradition with three generations on stage!

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

The year 2017 is upon us, and with it comes all of the hype that reminds us that this is Canada’s Sesquicentennial Year. Many say that it is Canada’s 150th birthday, while others remind us that there were only four provinces as signatories to the Constitution Act which announced Canadian Confederation in Charlottetown in 1867. The other six provinces plus the territories joined over the ensuing years. In any case, whether you are a supporter of the idea or not, most communities are planning on ceremonies. Many of these are to include parades with bands, not as easy as for the Centennial, fifty years ago. While there are many community bands across the country, few of them are marching bands. Similarly, most of the town bandstands or “kiosques de musique,” which were popular in the 19th century, have disappeared.

Speaking of the Centennial, while contemplating what I might usefully say here for community bands planning their works for this year, I thought of my own experiences 50 years ago during 1967, Canada’s Centennial Year. Truth be told, I was too busy that summer to learn or think much of what other musical groups might be doing. I just happened to be the officer in charge of a naval entertainment troupe consisting of a full band, a choir, a group of sailors in traditional garb dancing The Sailor’s Hornpipe and sundry other displays. During the months of July and August our troupe performed on 31 different occasions in Ontario, Quebec and upstate New York. I don’t anticipate anything on that scale for this year, but it seems that many groups are planning on some form of special recognition in their musical offerings.

Making My List: What form might that recognition take? I have heard of a few very tentative community plans for parades for July 1. As for concert programs, there seem to be at least four main themes emerging so far. One is to focus on works by contemporary Canadian composers, while another is to program works of any era by Canadian composers. A third concept is for works by any composers which, in some way or other, relate to Canada. The fourth idea is to feature the kind of music which might have been played by Canadian town bands of the 19th century, irrespective of the origins of the music. Personally, I don’t have a strong preference, but when thinking of what I might program, I came up with a few ideas.

Topping my list would be at least three works, by Canadians, written as part of the Centennial Project 50 years ago. These would be:

Newfoundland Rhapsody by Howard Cable. This is one composer who certainly needs no introduction here. It would be foolish to list all of Cable’s compositions which might qualify.

Suite on Canadian Folksongs by Morley Calvert, which includes She’s Like the Swallow. Among other musical accomplishments, Calvert founded McGill University’s Concert Band which he conducted for ten years. Calvert’s Thameside March could also be a candidate if one were able locate the music.

Century of Progress by Ron McAnespie. This latter work won the prize as the best march in the Centennial Project. After six years as a musician in the Canadian Navy, McAnespie obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music. Although lesser known than the others, he was very active in the Toronto musical scene for many years.

Other “musts” on my list of Canadian composers would be Calixa Lavallée, Charles O’Neill and André Jutras. Lavallée, composer of O Canada, is an obvious choice. There is a fine concert-band arrangement of his La rose nuptial (Bridal Rose) which is readily available. Jutras’ They Came Sailing is one which frequently appears in concerts by bands in this part of the world. O’Neill was the first director of Quebec’s Band of the Royal 22nd Regiment and held many other significant musical positions over the years. His Tout à Vous is a fine concert number, but he also wrote some worthy marches.

Other marches worth considering would be Vimy Ridge by Thomas Bidgood and Men of Dieppe by Stephen Michell. While Bidgood, the composer, was not a Canadian, this number celebrates a most notable Canadian victory 100 years ago. Michell, a former trombone player with the Royal Regiment of Canada, was taken prisoner at Puys during the Dieppe Raid. To add a bit of lighter air to a program, one might include Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag. There is no evidence of the origins of the title, but since the maple leaf is a significant Canadian symbol, this precursor of ragtime music could be used to light up any program.

Kudos to the Scarborough Phil: While one would not normally think of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra as being part of the Bandstand community, their latest venture certainly merits accolades. On February 4, in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday the SPO will launch A Canadian Panorama, its first commercial CD. The launch concert will feature music from the CD, a group of Canadian compositions that the SPO commissioned two years ago for a wind ensemble of 13 players. This group features two flutes (including a piccolo), two oboes (including an English horn), two clarinets (including a bass clarinet), two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet, one percussion player and a string bass. All told, seven of the pieces in this concert come from Canadian composers. While there will be some Mozart and Beethoven on the program, the emphasis will be on the Canadian works. These will include: Howard Cable’s McIntyre Ranch Country, based on Canadian cowboy folk songs from central Canada; Alex Eddington’s Saturday Night at Fort Chambly, based on French Canadian folksongs; Chris Meyer’s Fundy, a tone poem, inspired by the Bay of Fundy; and East Coast Celtic music and Jim McGrath’s Serenade for Solo Clarinet and Wind Ensemble. This CD launch concert will be at the Salvation Army Scarborough Citadel, 2021 Lawrence Ave. E.

Plumbing Factory: While their next concert isn’t until April 19, Henry Meredith’s Plumbing Factory Brass Band, (PFBB), as usual, has a fascinating program in the works. In honour of Canada’s Sesquicentennial the program will consist entirely of 19th-century brass band music. While the program will include some traditional works such as Rossini’s Overture to La gazza ladra and Franz von Suppé’s Overture to the Beautiful Galatea, there will be a lot of light-hearted numbers rarely heard nowadays. These will include such gems as The Burlington Polka, The Helicon Schottische, the Stolen Kisses Galop and the Ontario Quick March. The program will also include Calixa Lavallée’s Tempo di Marcia from his comic opera The Indian Question.

In past columns I have mentioned Henry Meredith’s vast collection of brass instruments and his hope of establishing a museum where this collection could be properly displayed. Some months ago I decided to make a contribution to this collection. As a start, during the last concert of the PFBB, I donated two trombones and a French horn. Of the two trombones, one was the very first instrument which I owned. This Selmer Manhattan was a model that Henry had never heard of before. The other trombone was a silver model Whaley Royce, Toronto circa 1900. See photo.

Community Band Festival: Once again, it’s time for the York University Community Band Festival, but there will be significant changes from the format of previous years. There will be no workshops or keynote speaker as in the past. The conductors of each of the participating bands will rehearse one piece of music with the Massed Band. The concert will include performances by each band and then the Massed Band pieces will conclude the festival. It should be a challenging but enjoyable day of performing for all participants. That’s on Sunday, February 26, with the Massed Band rehearsal from 10am to 12pm and the concert from 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

New Horizons: As sure as spring will follow winter, with the new year come more members to the New Horizons bands. As a precursor to the new season, the Toronto NH bands held their first Holiday Potluck Dinner Party on Friday, January 13. As guests, we enjoyed a great evening of food, music and lots of humour. Membership in the Toronto New Horizons bands is now up to 260, with eight bands rehearsing over the course of a week. There isn’t space here to go into detail of their activities, but a visit to their website will provide lots of information. Go to newhorizonsbandtoronto.ca. They do have a band festival coming up on Saturday, January 28 at St. Simon-The-Apostle Anglican Church, Sherbourne and Bloor. The festival starts at about 1:30pm, with the Guelph new horizons band attending as a guest performance group.

In the Toronto area there is a new NH band forming in Richmond Hill at Cosmo Music. For information contact Doug Robertson, Director, New Horizons Band of York Region at 
nhbyrdicrector@gmail.com. We have just learned that the North York New Horizons Band is being re-established at Long & McQuade on Steeles Ave. just east of Keele St. Classes will begin on Monday, February 5, starting at 6:30 For more information, people can call Dan Kapp at 647–201–8780, or they can contact the Long & McQuade North York store and ask for someone in the band department.

Other band activities: News from the York Brass Band is encouraging. They are now sufficiently well established that they have a new logo and are planning on producing banners for their music stands. Anyone interested in playing in an all-brass band should drop in at a rehearsal. They rehearse on Wednesdays at 7:30pm at Chartwell Park Place Retirement Residence, 15055 Yonge St., Aurora.

QUICK PICKS

Feb 2: On the first Thursday of each month the Encore Symphonic Concert Band presents their monthly concert at Wilmar Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough.

Feb 2: At 7:30pm, to celebrate ten years of making music, the Milton Concert Band are inviting people to “Sit In & Play or Sit Down & Listen.” Woodwind, brass and percussion players are invited to sit in with the band and play along. Spectators are also welcome. That’s at Milton Baptist Church, 900 Nipissing Rd., Milton.

Feb 14: At 7:30pm, Silverthorn Symphonic Winds will present one of their 59-Minute Soirees. “A Valentines Soiree” will be at Wilmar Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough.

Feb18: At 8pm, the Milton Concert Band presents “Music Through the Decades” in MinMaxx Hall at at the Milton Centre for the Arts located at 1010 Main Street E., Milton.

Feb 25: At 7:30pm, Silverthorn Symphonic Winds will present “Musician’s Choice” with selections from Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Belgian composer Bert Appermont’s Saga Candida: 7 Impressions of a Witch Hunt; Wagner’s Overture to Rienzi, selections from Holst’s The Planets and other works. At Wilmar Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough.

Feb 26: At 3pm, the Stratford Concert Band will present “Remembering a Friend” with Edward Payne as guest commentator. Avondale United Church, 194 Avondale Ave., Stratford.

Mar 1: at 7pm, the Stratford Concert Band will present Bandarama 2017. Bands from area high schools will perform as guests. Northwestern Secondary School, 428 Forman Ave., Stratford.

Mar 5: At 3pm, Wellington Winds will present “In the European Tradition.” Works include Guilmant’s Morceau Symphonique for Trombone, First Movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 as well as works by Mendelssohn, Tull and Arnold. Rachel Thomas, trombone; Daniel Warren, conductor. Knox Presbyterian Church 50 Erb St. W., Waterloo.

Mar 5: At 7:30pm, the Wychwood Clarinet Choir; Michele Jacot, director will present their Spring Concert at a new location for this event, Knox United Church, Agincourt 2569 Midland Ave., Scarborough.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

With Canada’s sesquicentennial year only one month away, municipalities and organizations all over the country are searching their archives for records of significant events over the past 150 years which could stimulate community interest in this year of reflection and celebration. Unfortunately, in the band world, there are few bands whose history goes back even half that 150-year time span. One band which does have some good material in their archives is the Newmarket Citizens’ Band. In a recent exploration of the band’s archives, they found a photograph of the band taken in the year 1883. With the sesquicentennial year approaching, what better time to show off this picture, to show the citizens of the community that their band has been there to provide music for town events for all but five years of Confederation.

At an evening meeting of council, several members of the band, wearing their red blazers, arrived for the presentation. In the announcement of their deputation to council, the band pointed out that “Since 1872, the Newmarket Citizens’ Band has been an integral part of the cultural and social landscape of the town of Newmarket.” To commemorate the opening of the newly restored Old Town Hall they presented a large framed photograph of the town band taken in August 1883 just a few weeks after the original opening of the Old Town Hall on July 1, 1883.

The photo of the band was taken during the Firemen’s Excursion to Niagara Falls on the Civic Holiday, August 8, 1883. An article about the event, including this photo, was published in the Newmarket Era of the day. Approximately 250 residents travelled by train and then steamship to Niagara Falls and the band went along to provide entertainment. It is a prime example of the band’s long involvement in the social and cultural life of the town. The write-up of the trip mentioned that the band, reinforced by two gentlemen from Sharon and Bolton, “enlivened the trip by music on the fore deck; good music is never so pleasing as on the water.”

A formal public unveiling of the photo was scheduled to take place at the band’s “Simple Gifts” Concert at the Old Town Hall on Botsford Street, Friday, December 2, 2016. (On a personal note, some 35 years ago, I played there for a few years in monthly concerts of The Newmarket Jazz Appreciation Society, and our small Dixieland group was known as “The Botsford Street Ramblers.”)

Since it is rare to find this much information about a band’s activities almost 150 years ago, it is worth including here some of the historical information about the band recently presented to the Newmarket mayor and council. “The band formed in 1872 with roots going back to as early as 1843. Walter W. Roe, son of the town’s postmaster and fur trader, William Roe, circulated a petition among the local business community to raise funds. The 12 band members contributed $5 each and along with 69 other contributors raised the sum $319 to purchase instruments.”

To quote the petition: “Whereas we, the undersigned, think it a disgrace to the inhabitants of Newmarket that they should have, on all festive occasions, to send to the small villages of Aurora and Sharon for a band, we have determined, with the consent and assistance of our fellow-townsmen, to form one of our own.”

The timing of the recent presentation could not have been better from a number of perspectives. For one, the band delegation met with the mayor and council within a few days of the reopening of the beautifully restored Old Town Hall, which is now destined to be a prime performance venue. For another, it has only been a few weeks since the band was informed that they would now have an excellent permanent rehearsal home complete with storage in a large town recreation centre. Wandering from place to place for rehearsals has been the norm since their former rehearsal space was destroyed by arsonists many years ago. Last but not least, it just also happened a few days after the band paraded, as it has for years, in the town’s annual Santa Claus parade.

Just outside of the council chambers, in the lobby of the town hall, there is a large imposing mural depicting “The Newmarket Citizens’ Band gathered under the big elm in 1883.”

New Horizons. By now it should not be a surprise, but I just received a note about yet another New Horizons group that we had not previously heard from. Lynda Shewchuk, music director of Lakeshore New Horizons Bands in Bowmanville, tells us that the band is now in its sixth year. She says that the thriving group is “not very large” with only 60 members! They have a senior band, intermediate band and a beginners class. They also have a small jazz band. She states that “our members are very active and enthusiastic, with many playing in two or even three bands. Quite a few of our members play two different instruments, one in each concert band.”

Recent Events: In early November the Milton Concert Band lost one of its long time members, Rev. Christopher Snow. On November 6 “A Memorial Concert for Chris Snow” was presented to proclaim “A life celebrated through music.”

On November 20 the Wychwood Clarinet Choir concert continued to amaze with their unique arrangements of works for orchestra and concert band. This time it was the Holst Second Suite in F for concert band. In the early 1920s the leaders of Britain’s Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall lamented the lack of larger serious works for concert band. Until then, if bands wanted to play longer multi-movement works they had to rely on transcriptions of orchestral works. They commissioned Gustav Holst to write two suites for concert band. Since then these suites have been part of the concert band repertoire. This transcription maintained all of the highlights and nuances contained in the original. Local composer Fen Watkin also contributed a fine version of Villanesca, Spanish Dance No.4 by Granados. In a conversation after the concert, Watkin mentioned that, for sesquicentennial year 2017, he might like to write some arrangements of Canadian works. I did not mention it then, but I would like to suggest Calixa Lavallée’s La rose nuptiale.

Initiatives. Every once in a while, we hear of initiatives taken by bands to either help with their finances or otherwise enhance their relationship with their communities. In November, the Aurora Band held its annual holiday market where shoppers could find one-of-a-kind gifts from 38 unique local vendors. For their Canada 150 festivities, the band has commissioned a composition from professor Bill Thomas of York University. The band will give the premiere performance of this number at its concert on Canada Day, 2017.

On the fundraising front, the Strings Attached Orchestra has become a registered charity to provide some financial incentive for donors so that they may continue to bring music into the community.

Coming Events

Dec 5: Resa’s Pieces will present “A Tribute to the Beatles and Beach Boys,” 7:30pm at York Mills Collegiate.

Dec 6: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds present the next concert in their series, 59 Minute Soiree. These mini-concerts feature a variety of lighter music, perfect for unwinding after a day at work. At 7:30, Wilmar Heights Event Centre – Concert Hall.

Dec 9: The Aurora Community Band will present holiday entertainment like no other – its “Heroes and Monsters: A Holiday Concert” –  at 7:30, Trinity Anglican Church, 79 Victoria St., Aurora.

Dec 10: For their annual holiday concert, “The Bells of Christmas,” the Milton Concert Band will not only include the traditional musical favourites but will feature, as guests, Eden Bells A-Peel, a long-established handbell choir from Eden United Church in Mississauga. In Victorian times, it was very fashionable to go carol singing with small handbells to play the tune of the carol. Sometimes there would be no singing, just the music of the handbells. Handbell ringing is still popular today and if you have never heard a handbell choir, then this is a concert well worth a visit: 8pm Milton Centre for the Arts, 1010 Main St. East, Milton.

Dec 11: The Clarington Concert Band presents their “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” featuring singers Father Paul, Kelly Robertson and Lisa Heitzner, 2pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 127 Liberty St. South, Bowmanville.

Dec 11: The Strings Attached Orchestra presents their third annual “Friends and Family Holiday Concert,” 2pm at Congregation Ban’s Torah, 465 Patrician Ave., Toronto.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

This month’s story all started with a classified advertisement which I had placed in The WholeNote. I received a telephone call from a young man who expressed interest in an instrument which I had advertised for sale. Obviously he would want to try it out before deciding on whether it might be suitable for his needs or not. Where would be the best place for that? Either of our houses might have been possible, but they are a two-hour drive apart. Anyway, wouldn’t it be a better test if he could try it out while playing in his band? So off I went to my first ever rehearsal of the Burlington Teen Tour Band.

Dinner-hour traffic being what it is, I arrived late. The band’s rehearsal had started, but not indoors in their rehearsal hall. It was dark, but there was the band parading and playing on the roads adjacent to the Burlington Music Centre – well over 100 young musicians playing, without music, as they practised their marching drills. I have often said that I couldn’t play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star without the music in front of me, but there they were displaying a skill which I never learned.

While the band was practising their parade skills, I went into the music centre of the Burlington Department of Parks and Recreation. Yes, there was a fine rehearsal hall, but I was stunned by how many other rooms were dedicated to the band. There were offices for the music director and the music programs coordinator; there was a room where two volunteers were repairing uniforms; and another room with two others repairing band hats.

Rather than go on here, I would prefer to leave the topic of the Teen Tour Band for now, and return in another issue to talk at length about their many special events over the past ten decades and coming up in the near future. (As for the young man interested in my instrument, yes he liked it and is now the proud owner.)

Ensembles with a difference: Coming up on this month’s performance calendar are three ensembles noted for their excellent arrangements of music originally written for very different instrumentation. Unfortunately two of these concerts are on the same afternoon: November 20, we have performances by both the Wychwood Clarinet Choir and by Flute Street; then, on November 30, we have the Plumbing Factory Brass Band.

As their names imply they each have instrumentation restricted to a specific family of instruments. All are noted for innovative arrangements which interpret the music in ways that shed new light on the melodies.

The Wychwood Clarinet Choir will perform their fall concert, “Harvest Song,” at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. For me there are two numbers in particular on this program which I hope to hear. The first is the Overture to Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck arranged by Matt Johnston. The second is Gustav Holst’s great Second Suite for Military Band in F. This latter number, one of my favourites, is one of the standard works for concert band. If arrangers Richard Moore and Roy Greaves are up to their usual standard, this will be a memorable performance. The group’s artistic director and clarinet soloist is Michele Jacot.

Flute Street’s November 20 program at Christ Church Deer Park is suggestively named “An American on Flute Street” with works by Kelly Via, Russell Nadel, Melvin Lauf Jr., I. Page and Gershwin.

Whenever we receive news from the Plumbing Factory Brass Band we expect a broad mixture of clever programming, humour and, above all, first rate music. The first concert of their 22nd season, set for November 30, is no exception. The title, “He Said – She Said,” will, in musical terms, depict the wars of words and other battles between the sexes from time immemorial. Needless to say, it will purposely avoid any reference to the current events of our neighbours to the south.

In other words the band is setting the stage for differences of opinion. The opening fanfare will be Gounod’s Grand March from The Queen of Sheba. The Queen gets the first word, with her dazzling procession into the court of King Solomon, as portrayed by Handel’s non-stop music to depict the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Later, Leo Delibes also takes the feminine side with the lovely Flower Duet from his opera Lakmé, featuring in this case a soprano cornet and a flugelhorn, followed by the same composer’s more boisterous description of the Maids of Cadiz, narrated by a soprano cornet and a tuba!

The evening unfolds with too many great conflicts to mention here. Let’s just say that the women have the last word in a stirring finale provided by Wagner’s famous Ride of the Valkyries. But if you would like to listen to some rarely heard music for brass band, contrasting the tuneful and lyrical with the bombastic and exciting, then drive to London to hear these great musical dialogues.

It’s the Plumbing Factory Brass Band directed by Henry Meredith, Conductor on Wednesday evening, November 30, at 7:30 in Byron United Church, London.

My periodic rant! The phones might be smart; wish I could say the same for their owners! The prevalence of smart phones at concerts has become a serious annoyance for me. Most users don’t take voice calls, but their taking pictures can be very distracting. I like to watch as well as listen at a performance. I don’t want to see several bright screens obstructing my view. In a recent interview on radio, Renée Fleming and TSO conductor Peter Oundjian discussed this problem. She mentioned looking out at a sea of white objects aimed at her while she was singing.

While visiting a local band at a recent rehearsal, I noticed approximately 25 percent of band members were using them during rehearsal. The worst case which I ever witnessed was a few years ago during a concert. A French horn player in front of me during a few bars’ rest reached down and picked up her phone to check and/or send messages. My preferred rule would be simple. If any cell phone were to be visible in the audience during a performance, the user would be ejected immediately. No questions and no excuses.

New Horizons. The New Horizons movement is certainly thriving. When I tried to contact Dan Kapp, who is now devoting his full time to New Horizons, I couldn’t reach him for a week. He had been away in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at an NHB Camp. As for NHB Toronto, there are now eight groups with two beginner bands, two intermediate bands, two advanced bands, a jazz orchestra and a jazz woodwind choir. All groups are at maximum capacity – unless someone wants to join as a tuba player. Rehearsals are ongoing with classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Monday, Thursday and Saturday daytimes. As for concerts, the more advanced of these groups are now performing quite regularly.

The most notable that we have learned of so far will be on November 5 at Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay: “A Time to Remember,” a reflective concert on the war as seen through the experience one Canadian soldier during WWII. This concert has been performed twice in previous years in Toronto. Look for the NHB December performances in next month’s issue.

The New Horizons movement has expanded geographically again. For the past seven years the only New Horizons Bands in the GTA have been operating in downtown Toronto out of the Long and McQuade main location. It was time for expansion into the suburbs. Under the direction of Doug Robertson, who has been conducting some of the Toronto bands for the past four years, there are now York Region New Horizons groups. After their first “Petting Zoo” in early October two new bands began the following week in afternoon and evening rehearsals on Thursdays. They are rehearsing in the excellent facilities of Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill. If you have wanted to join a New Horizons Band but were deterred by the prospect of driving weekly into downtown Toronto, here’s another opportunity. Check out the New Horizons Band of York Region.

New Contacts. The Rouge River Winds is a new community concert band based in the east end of Scarborough. After having spent five years rehearsing at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus under the name “University of Toronto Scarborough Alumni and Community Concert Band,” the band decided that it was time for a bit of rebranding. They are now calling themselves the Rouge River Winds, and have settled into a new home at Woburn Collegiate Institute. With this new beginning comes a number of new goals. A primary aim is to become known for a high standard of musicianship and a significant connection with the community.

The Rouge River Winds is an auditioned ensemble, and their repertoire is carefully selected to engage their members. They rehearse Thursday evenings 7:30 to 9:30 at Woburn Collegiate Institute, 2222 Ellesmere Road, Scarborough. They are currently accepting new members on all instruments, but are in particular need of: oboe, bassoon, baritone sax, tuba and percussion. For details on membership and their audition process visit their website:
rougeriverwinds.com. Their next concert, “New Beginnings” will be Friday November 18, 7:30 at 2222 Ellesmere Road, Scarborough, featuring works by Canadian composers including Suite on Canadian Folk Songs by Morley Calvert and Lyric Essay by Don Coakley. We have far more information about the band than we can include in this issue. Wait for more details in future issues.

The Stratford Concert Band is another band that we have not heard from before. On November 6 at 3pm they will present “In Remembrance: Canadians in Conflict.” They will be joined by the Stratford Police Pipes and Drums Band at Avondale United Church, Stratford.

Another group new to us is the Toronto Winds. On November 17 they will present their first concert: “Inspire,” a program including Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro Overture; Dove’s Figures in the Garden; Beethoven’s Symphony No.1 in C (mvt.1); Gorb’s Symphony No.1 in C for 12 winds and double bass. Dylan Rook Maddix, a trumpet player, conducts at Array Space.

Other Band Happenings. Unfortunately, space limitations won’t permit providing full details here, but please check out the following concerts in the Listings section:

Nov 3: Encore Symphonic Concert Band;

Nov 6: Weston Silver Band;

Nov 19 and Dec 4: Barrie Concert Band;

Nov 26: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds;

Dec 2: Newmarket Citizens Band;

Dec 4: Caledon Concert Band.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

New Horizons. For the past several years this column, in the October issue, has reported on the progress of established New Horizons bands and the establishment of new beginners’ bands. This year the news is even better. As mentioned here some months ago, a documentary on the establishment and growth of New Horizons bands in Toronto was featured on TVO. At the time we all wondered how this might stimulate interest in prospective members; then came the annual Instrument Exploration Workshop.

I was unable to attend the event this year, but I hear it was a bigger success than ever. In the words of director Dan Kapp: “As for the past week, a whirlwind of happy ‘kids,’ it was busy, exciting and full of happy reunions as folks came back to band class.” It wasn’t just a reunion for past members though. New Horizons Toronto now has 90 new members. Of those, 80 are beginners in two classes. This year there were three couples who joined together, two siblings of existing members and a few friends of other members who joined.

Being a low brass player myself, I have often lamented the lesser interest in the lower instruments. For many starting out on a new instrument there seems to be a certain snobbery in that they consider that the instruments which usually get the melody are in some way superior. My standard response is to suggest that they look at all of the great cathedrals in Europe and show me one where the construction began with the steeple. None! None would exist if they did not have a firm solid foundation. In any band the tuba is that foundation. Without the tuba the structure would be flimsy and incomplete.

So I am happy to report that, finally, after seven years, there is to be a new tuba player in the Toronto New Horizons bands! A woman who attended the instrument exploration evening was concerned about her carpal tunnel syndrome. She asked for a suggestion and at the same time asked what the group needed. Kapp suggested the tuba. Once she gave it a try, she fell for it and immediately took the mouthpiece home to practice.

Beginning this year there are a few new membership policies. The most innovative is “One fee, play in as many bands as you wish.” Also, they now have had a few members at the advanced and intermediate level sign up for beginner classes on a second instrument. Another change is that, for the first time in their short history, they have had to cap classes for the remainder of the year for all woodwind, and high brass. They still have spots open for French horn, trombone, euphonium, and of course, tuba.

Finally, in previous years the band has produced a very special Remembrance Day program with a narrative based on letters from a soldier who was killed during World War II. They will be performing this concert, “A Time To Remember, “ in Lindsay this year. The show is being billed as “A moment to reflect on war and its costs through word, music and images.” More on the date and time when we have details.

Time for tubas. Having been involved with low brass instruments most of my life, my ears perked up recently when I heard the unfamiliar term “Tubatorium” on the radio while driving. (I have no recollection of the actual program I was listening to, but I was determined to find out about the Tubatorium. With the help of Mr. Google and other friends I began my exploration. Was this a dealer who sold tubas or a place to learn to play the instrument? No! This is a tunnel under some railway lines in Nashville Tennessee. A man named Joe Hunter, who plays electric bass in a couple of local Nashville groups, had routinely been frustrated while stuck in long traffic jams while driving through this tunnel at rush hours. One of the websites I visited shows Hunter, a young man with shoulder length blond hair, playing a sousaphone beside all of the cars inside the crowded tunnel. With his right hand playing the instrument and the left one holding a container for donations from motorists stuck in the traffic of the tunnel, Hunter plays selections from his repertoire. It’s not unusual to find buskers in unusual locations, but this was a new one. For many Nashville motorists the Thompson Lane Tunnel has been renamed the Tubatorium. If you’re interested in seeing this on the internet, the words “sousaphone in tunnel” yield several results.

Low brass. Quite by accident, while looking for Tubatorium information, I stumbled upon a fascinating website dedicated to low brass instruments. Hosted by Sean Chisham, this website, chisham.com, contains a wealth of information for any brass instrument player, not just for those interested in the tuba. Right off, after you look at the options on the opening TubeNet page, one of the first sections that you will see is a set of complete fingering charts for B-flat, E-flat, C and F tubas.

For many years when anyone spoke of symphony tuba players, the pre-eminent name was Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony. This website contains an immense amount of information from Jacobs who was considered the master of instruction for low brass instruments. Such topics as “Warming up,” “Play by sound not feel” and “Imitate others” are there complete with the sounds of Jacobs demonstrating. The most impressive component of this site is that of a complete 1973 masterclass conducted by Jacobs. Also on the site is extensive information on many famous musicians and their recordings

One final gem on the subject of tubas is the recent release in January of a new Concerto in B-flat Major by American composer Daniel Simpson. I have not had a chance to hear this work yet, but I have been told that the Finale: Tango movement is particularly impressive. Hopefully there will be more to report in a future issue.

CBA-Ontario Community Band Weekend. It’s that time of year again when the Canadian Band Association, Ontario Chapter, will be holding another of their Community Band Weekends. This one will be hosted by the East York Concert Band from Saturday, October 22, at 8am until Sunday, October 23, at 5pm. With a Social Meet and Greet scheduled for Friday October 21 starting at 7:30, this event accords an excellent opportunity to experience a weekend of music making with like-minded individuals who share a passion for wind band music. It all takes place at the Royal Canadian Legion, Brigadier O. M. Martin Branch 345, 81 Peard Rd., Toronto. If you are a band member, this is a chance to meet with members of other bands and share ideas as well as rehearse and perform new music with guest conductors from across the province.

Aurora Community Band. In the last issue of this column I challenged band members to send us information on their bands and their activities. Fortunately one band member responded immediately to tell us about her band. Here’s what Connie Learn, one of the band’s directors, had to say: “The Aurora Community Band is now entering its sixth season of ‘creating beautiful concert band music with and for the citizens of Aurora.’ With musical director Gord Shephard at the helm, the band’s membership continues to increase and we’re looking forward with enthusiasm to this year’s activities. The band rehearses in Brevik Hall at the Aurora Cultural Centre, 22 Church St., Aurora, on Sunday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. We would like to invite you to attend one of the band’s rehearsals and experience the exuberance of this lively group of musicians. Brevik Hall is on the second floor of the Cultural Centre but there is an elevator for assistance, especially if you choose to bring your tuba!” For Canada 150 festivities, the band has commissioned a composition from professor Bill Thomas of York University. The band will have the premiere performance of this number at its concert on Canada Day 2017. We’ll have more on this band’s activities in coming issues.

The Originals Band. We recently had a request from Ian Miles, a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Concert Band, Branch 344, for any information on the history of that band. Many years ago, when Legion Branch 344 was located on Elm Street in downtown Toronto there was an active band. After the branch’s move to their present location on Lakeshore Blvd., many of us lost contact with that band. In its early years the band was known as The Originals. In his message Ian states: “The RCLCB has rebuilt itself over the last year, and is doing quite well, but only two long-serving members (ten-plus years) are still with us, and what is missing is a historical perspective of the band.” I personally remember well attending a farewell party for the conductor, Scotty Wilson, who was leaving to move back to Scotland. If any readers have any information on the history of this band, please contact us.

Band happenings. As reported on previous occasions the Newmarket Citizens Band spent years hoping for a new home after theirs was destroyed by fire. Over those years they had hoped to find a new home upon completion of the restoration of the old town hall. However, the restoration process took much longer than expected and finally about a month ago the band moved into its new home elsewhere. The irony of the situation is that, barely a few weeks after moving into this new home, they were invited to play at the opening ceremonies of the now-restored town hall.

Oct 11: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds will present their “59 Minute Soiree” at Wilmar Heights Centre, Scarborough. Refreshments, conversation with the musicians and open rehearsal to follow.

Oct 16: Markham Concert Band will present “Road Trip!” In honour of their recent journey to Markham’s sister city Cary, North Carolina, they will present a tribute to great Canadian and American music: Broadway, jazz, marches and more. The concert will feature vocalists Solveig Barber and Bill Mighton.

Oct 18: The Barrie Concert Band will present “Veterans Salute,” a musical tribute to the veterans and service men and women in the Canadian Forces. The concert, at the Army Navy and Air Force Club, will include military-related themes and will feature the Base Borden Brass and Reed Band as guests.

Oct 23: Wellington Winds present “Moving Masterpieces for Winds”: Four Last Songs, Allerseelen, Der Rosenkavalier and other works by Richard Strauss; Amy E.W. Prince, soprano; Daniel Warren, conductor. At Knox Presbyterian Church, Waterloo. The concert will be repeated Oct 30 at Grandview Baptist Church, Kitchener.

Oct 28: The Etobicoke Community Concert Band will present “Aaarrr Matey,” music of sailors, pirates and adventurers at Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium.

Oct 29: The “Festival of Remembrance Concert” commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Ontario Regiment begins at 2pm.at The Embassy Church, 416 Taunton Road, Oshawa. Bands will include the Pipes and Drums of Branch 43 Royal Canadian Legion, the Oshawa Civic Band, and the Band of HMCS York.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

It’s time for the September column already. Normally, at this time of year, I would try to focus on coming events. However, if there are interesting events in the band world coming in September, nobody has told us about them! There are a few anniversaries to comment on, though, starting with my own!

With this issue I am starting my 11th season writing this Bandstand column. It seems like just a few weeks ago when I sat with David Perlman discussing that first column for September 2006. On looking over that first column one event stands out. It was the announcement that: “As part of the opening ceremonies for the new Rose Theatre Brampton, on Sunday September 10, 2006 at 8pm The City of Brampton Concert Band will present 'A Tribute to Howard Cable.' As Guest Conductor, Dr. Howard Cable OC will conduct a new work commissioned for the occasion.”

Nine years and 11 months later, the major event in our band world one month ago was a “Howard Cable Memorial Celebration.” Toronto’s St. James Cathedral was packed to hear tributes from family members and many who had worked with Cable over his long, illustrious career. Some came from as far away as Halifax to participate in the tribute. A 50-member Howard Cable Tribute Band, composed of professional and semi-professional musicians performed a number of Cable’s compositions for band. Many then gathered at the nearby Moss Park Armoury for a reception.

Newmarket’s Good News: It’s always a pleasure to report on good news, and that certainly came to the Newmarket Citizens Band recently. Eleven years ago their longtime home at the Lions Club was destroyed by fire. The work of arsonists destroyed the building. However, much of the band’s library, stored in steel filing cabinets, survived along with some instruments and archival material. After 11 years as nomads rehearsing in a number of school music rooms, various clubhouses and church facilities they now have a true home. In early August the band held its first rehearsal in their room in Newmarket’s Ray Twinney recreation complex. They now have an excellent large rehearsal space complete with private storage for music and instruments immediately adjacent. At the first rehearsal in their new home, band members surveyed a few items which survived the fire that are now looking for homes. A very smoky bass drum with the band’s still visible art work may very well have become a coffee table since time of writing this!

Two WU-linked anniversaries: On the anniversary front there are two quite different ones to report on. However, they both have at least some of their roots stemming from the Western University. The first of these groups is Brassroots, a ten-member brass ensemble from London, Ontario. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary with the release of a CD titled Passion for Brass which is reviewed elsewhere in this issue. All members, except one, are WU graduates and all except one are music educators.

The other anniversary is that of Steffan Brunette who is retiring after 25 years as conductor of the Uxbridge Community Concert Band (UCCB). In the first summer after his graduation from high school, he wanted to continue with a band but couldn’t find one near home so he started this band. As a music student at WU he revived the band each summer. When he graduated and became a high school music teacher in the area, he kept the band running each summer.

When the band was first formed it served as a means for members to continue playing during the summer when school bands do not operate. Now, with many members returning year after year, members are no longer primarily students on their summer break. Now, members range from teenagers to a good many retirees.

Each year, after their final concert, band members vote on one selection from the season’s repertoire to be included in the next year’s programming. That, in turn, leads to the choice of the next season’s theme. The number chosen from last year was the music from the Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Hence, the theme for this season was to be music associated in one way or another with the sea. With a bit of a play on words the band then went “Sailing the High C’s” this summer. From Handel’s Water Music, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Songs, H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance to the Petty Harbour Bait Skiff, it was all about sailing musically. To bring the audiences into the present, the concerts featured a fine new work, By the River, composed by band member Kristie Hunter.

To celebrate their conductor’s 25 years of dedication, the band had a great BBQ and pool party after their concert in Palmer Park in Port Perry. Some band members even dressed as pirates with colourful artificial tattoos and even a parrot on the shoulder. Now that Brunette is retiring from the band at least for one season, members of the band are forming a “What do we do now?” committee.

New Horizons: Over the past six years there have been numerous mentions in this column of the growth of the New Horizons Band movement in our area. A few months ago we mentioned the airing on TVO of a documentary on the development and growth of the Toronto New Horizons Bands. Dan Kapp, director of the Toronto NH bands has just informed me that, as a direct result of that program, there are already 36 confirmed registrations for the next new band to start in September. There were also dozens of phone and email inquiries which will certainly lead to more new members joining. For anyone interested, the New Horizons Bands will have their annual “Instrument Exploration Workshop” at the Long & McQuade Bloor St. store Friday, September 9 at 7pm.

To the museum: On a number of occasions in the past I have also written about the great collection of vintage brass instruments amassed by Professor Henry Meredith at the Western University and the hope for the establishment of a proper museum to house and display this collection. On looking over my own collection of instruments which haven’t been played in years, I have decided that some of these deserve to be in that collection. As soon as we can arrange it, two trombones will be moving to their new home. The first is a Toronto-made Whaley Royce instrument dating back to the early 1900s. The other is my very first trombone. This Manhattan model by Selmer is the one which I played in a boys’ band all through university and six nights a week at a dance pavilion. There hasn’t been a sound from it in over 60 years. It deserves a decent retirement.

Community Bands: Periodically, in this column we ask that our community bands let us know what they are doing. In the past few months, since the last issue of The WholeNote, we have not heard a word from any band about their activities. Community bands should do more to promote themselves. Otherwise, how do we know what you are doing? Please keep us informed.

Anthem Butchery Cup: A few months ago we established the Anthem Butchery Cup (ABC) (a handsome Spode Thundermug)to award those people who choose to display their talents (or lack thereof) by modifying our national anthem to suit their particular level of musical talent. In the past it has always been a solo performer who has distorted the melody. A few weeks ago at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game a new benchmark was established. One member of a quartet of tenors, without telling the others, decided to substantially change the lyrics of Canada’s national anthem. Remigio Pereira stunned his three cohorts and his audience with his new words. The last we heard, the four Tenors had morphed into the three Tenors. Mr. Pereira succeeds Nellie Furtado as ABC title holder.

Roland Hill: We were sad to learn of the passing of Roland Hill just shy of his 74th birthday, on July 2, 2016. He had served for 32 years as music director of the Whitby Brass Band until 2012. He will be missed.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

People’s given names saddle them with epithets that tend to remain with them throughout their lives. The name Jack, for example, endows or burdens me with more than my share. A few of the more obvious:  Jack be nimble, Jack Sprat could eat no fat, Jack was every inch a sailor, Jackass, and Jack of all trades, but master of none. The last of these, “Jack of all trades,” particularly rankles when I hear it applied to musicians willing (and able) to switch from their usual instrument to another to fill in for some other missing instrument in a band. (The disdainful critics are, generally, those who would not be able to do so.)

A more complimentary term than “Jack of all trades” might be “A man of many hats.” I can’t think of anyone in the music world more deserving of that title, sometimes quite literally, than Henry Meredith of Western University (Doctor Hank as he is affectionately known) who displays his amazing array of talents with the aid of his Plumbing Factory Brass Band (PFBB). I had the pleasure of attending their most recent concert in London where, demonstrating several of the many period instruments from his vast collection, he donned the style of hats that might have been worn by musicians of the period.

This concert was a perfect example of what I have often described, and encouraged, as “Music Education as Entertainment.” The title of the concert was “Meet the Plumbers,” but would have more accurately described the scope of the concert if the title had been expanded to include “and Meet Their Instruments.” After the opening number, performed by the entire band, the audience was introduced to all of the members of the family of modern brass instruments and many of their predecessors including parforce horns, valveless trumpets, saxhorns, and the ancient cornett. In many of these smaller ensemble numbers all the musicians wore hats of many eras from Doctor Hank’s colourful hat collection.

The concert’s grand finale began with the introduction of the vuvuzela which could be described as a type of primitive klaxon. Its modern offspring, the plastic vuvuzela, came into prominence (notoriety is perhaps a better word) a few years ago when thousands of them were sounded during football matches at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In 1930 composer Henry Fillmore wrote The Klaxon March where he introduced the sound of early car horns into the work. At this concert, a few members of the audience were given vuvuzelas to produce the appropriate sound and then cued by Meredith whenever the music called for the klaxon. I can proudly report that this Jack of all trades added to my repertoire by displaying my musical skills on a bright green plastic vuvuzela.

Doctor Hank is truly “a man of many hats,” and he displayed his many talents as conductor, instrumentalist, curator and entertainer, simultaneously educating and entertaining his audience. After enjoying works of four centuries spanning the era from Samuel Scheidt in the early 17th century to Henry Mancini and Paul McCartney, we all had learned as we listened. We went home with memories of a great concert and some newly gained knowledge of some of the many aspects of music.

Wychwood Clarinet Choir: The next major event on our musical calendar was the “Sounds of Spring” concert of the Wychwood Clarinet Choir. This was a very special concert dedicated to the memory of Howard Cable, who had been their composer and conductor laureate in recent years until his passing in March. In addition to the performance of two of Cable’s works from the 1960s there was a special tribute section in the printed program with photographs with choir members in recent years. During the intermission Bobby Herriot, trumpeter, conductor, composer and long-time friend of Cable spoke about their friendship and working relationship over the years. Cable’s two daughters and one son were in attendance and, after the concert, spoke of a few initiatives under discussion to recognize their father in one of Toronto’s parks. (We were also treated to a fine arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile from the String Quartet Opus 11 by Cable’s friend, distinguished arranger and musical director Fen Watkin who was also in attendance.)

As for the repertoire, there were two standouts for me. The first of these was a novelty number, with a very catchy melody, named Immer Kleiner by 19th-century composer Adolf Schreiner and transcribed by George S. Howard. For those not proficient in German, the title means “Always Smaller” and that is exactly what happened to Michele Jacot’s clarinet. After a brief interlude, she stopped, removed the bell of her clarinet and then continued playing. After another melodic interlude, she stopped again and removed the lower joint which is the bottom half of the keys of the instrument.Then on with the next section of the music with only the upper joint keys, then without the barrel until she was left with only the mouthpiece. It was all very melodic, well performed and hilarious to witness.

The second standout was a transcription of Gustav Holst’s First Suite in E-Flat for band. Many years ago I read, in a scholarly publication, that this composition and Holst’s Second Suite in F had been written as commissions from the Royal Military School Music, Kneller Hall. It was reported that directors of the school lamented the fact that almost all serious concert works played by British military bands were transcriptions of orchestral music. In a recent check of possible sources, I have not been able to verify that. However, I was able to confirm that this suite was premiered at the Royal Military School Music in 1920. This acceptance that the military band was a serious form of ensemble prompted other composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gordon Jacob, to write serious band music.

A Special High School: It isn’t often that I report on high school band concerts, but I must make an exception this month. For a number of reasons the music department of Dr. Norman Bethune C. I. deserves special mention. Among many other selections in their “Spring Music Night” were a new composition and a fine transcription. In honour of the school’s founding principal, Robert Thomson, whose school nickname (presumably affectionately) is “Thor,” the school commissioned J. Scott Irvine to write a suitable composition. So it was that the school’s wind ensemble gave the world premiere performance of Irvine’s stirring Mjolnir, The Hammer of Thor. Another outstanding number by the Wind Ensemble was a transcription of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “The Titan.” This arrangement by the school’s director of music, Paul Sylvester, was part of his master’s thesis.

A New Band: For my third concert in four days I was thrust into a different role. I was not in the audience this time but playing in the first formal concert of the fledgling York Region Brass. Yes, we did have to have a couple of ringers to fill in, but all went well. One of these ringers brought a very special surprise for me. Jonas Feldman reminded me that I had been his teacher many years ago. As is customary, teachers and students usually lose contact after the students move on. However, every once in a while our paths have crossed, and in this instance we were sitting beside each other for the band’s end-of-concert photograph. In the interim since we first met, Jonas just happened to have earned bachelor and master’s degrees in music. Another surprise: although I had been rehearsing with the group for several weeks, I had no idea that there was a composer in our midst. Then we played the new Lavender March by euphonium player Eugene Belianski. If you play a brass instrument and live within driving distance of Newmarket, the York Region Brass would love to hear from you. Their email is pnhussey@rogers.com.

Elsewhere: As mentioned last month, the Uxbridge Community Concert Band has just started another season. They would love to hear from potential members. If you would like to try a new band for the summer months, contact the band at uccb@powergate.ca or visit their website at uccb2016.webs.com.

By the time that this issue is published the Toronto New Horizons Bands will have wound up their sixth season with a concert by 195-plus members in six bands plus a jazz orchestra. Rather than take time off, NHB Director Dan Kapp has announced that he will be offering what he calls “a jump-start camp” for people returning to playing after not having played for a while. There will be experienced staff for daily workshops, band classes, interest sessions and ensembles. This will all take place at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre at Bloor and Spadina from July 18 to 22. Their website is mnjcc.org/camps. And a reminder: as mentioned in last month’s issue the documentary film about these New Horizons Toronto bands will be aired on TVO, June 8 at 9pm. After that it will be streamed on the TVO website.

Coming events

Getting June off to a flying start, on Sunday, June 5 we have no fewer than four concerts by community instrumental groups, two of which will be performing with choral groups:

At 3pm the Newmarket Citizens’ Band will be performing in their “Spring Fling Concert” with the Upper Canada Chordsmen Chorus at Trinity United Church, Newmarket.

At 7pm the Strings Attached Orchestra, with music director Ricardo Giorgi will present their “2016 Friends & Family Year End Concert” at Tribute Communities Recital Hall, York University. This will be another concert with an interesting adaptation. The Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets will be performed but with two violins playing the solo trumpet parts. As mentioned earlier, this seems to be the season for original compositions and this concert will be featuring two. The first, with the whimsical title, Overture for a Puppet Show, is by Ric Giorgi himself. The other, Cassiopeia by 16-year-old Adam Adle, is the winner of the orchestra’s Young Composers Initiative 2016.

Also at 7pm the Northdale Concert Band will be joined by the choirs of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Grace Church on-the-Hill and Christ Church Deer Park for “Last Night of the Proms,” an evening full of British pageantry fit for royalty at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.

At 8pm Resa’s String Ensemble will hold their spring concert at Crescent School.

Finally, on Tuesday June 7 at 8pm, Resa’s Pieces Concert Band will perform their spring concert at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Jack (of all trades) MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

After a seemingly endless wait, spring has finally arrived, and with it a virtual explosion of band activity. Not only are there more spring concerts than usual to announce, but there are some anniversaries and even one unusual debut. Another most welcome sign is the number of messages from readers telling us about their bands’ activities.

Anniversaries: The first of the anniversaries that came to our attention was that of the Uxbridge Community Concert Band which is celebrating its 25th season. The UCCB is unique in that it is a summertime only band. Originally established to provide a band where students could remain proficient during the summer vacation period, now, 25 years later, band membership encompasses a spectrum from high school students to retirees in their 80s. They have two concerts scheduled for August. New members are always welcome and are urged to contact the band at uccb@powergate.ca or visit their website at uccb2016.webs.com.

At the end of each concert season UCCB band members are asked to vote on a selection from that season which they would like to have included in the repertoire for the following season. The music to Pirates of the Caribbean was the popular choice for this year. With that as a starting point, music director Steffan Brunette has come up with an imaginative theme for the 2016 season. The band will be “Sailing the High C’s.” As of this writing Brunette is still accepting suggestions from band members. Suggestions submitted so far include selections from the Sea and Sinbad’s Ship from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Handel’s Water Music Suite, Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore and others.

Messages: The first of our messages was from Brenda Leuschen Farkas. When she lived in Toronto, she played in the New Horizons (Intermediate) Band, Toronto, under the direction of Rob Mee. When she and her husband moved to their new home on a lake near Port Loring, Ontario, the hunt for a place to play was a priority. Soon she found the No Strings Attached Community Band in Sudbury. While it’s an hour’s drive to get to the rehearsals, she says that it’s worth it. Recently, the band was awarded a high silver at the Northern Ontario Music Festival and received an invitation to compete at the Nationals in Ottawa. Directed by its founder, Sandra McMillan, the band will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a concert titled “15 Years of Music.” The concert will be held on Sunday, May 29 at 2pm at Cambrian College Auditorium, Sudbury. For more information see
nostringsattachedband.org

Another welcome letter recently received was from Theresa MacDonald, manager of the Weston Silver Band. As a member of Weston Silver Band, and frequent assistant with Hannaford Youth, she is a fountain of knowledge on the Brass Band movement in North America. In her message she pointed out “a bit of an oversight” in last month’s column regarding participation in NABBA competitions over the years.

Here is what she had to say: “Canadian bands have not [recently]participated in NABBA until we [Weston Silver Band] returned to the Championships in 2014 after an 18-year hiatus. We have just returned from the North American Brass Band Championships (April 2, 2016) with a second place finish in First Section (1.5 points off the winning band). We are and remain the only Canadian Brass Band at the Championships…We are currently ranked as one of the top ten brass bands in North America.”

New Horizons on Film: A few days ago we had the pleasure of attending a “pre-screening” of a new documentary film about the Toronto New Horizons Band. Directed by Sarah Keenlyside with executive producer Howard Fraiberg of Proximity Films, The Beat Goes On portrays the establishment and development of the Toronto New Horizons Band. The premiere on TVO is scheduled for June 8 at 9pm. After that date it will be possible to stream it from the TVO website.

While on the subject of Toronto New Horizons, their end-of-season concert is scheduled for May 27 at 7:30. As in past years this will be at St. Michael’s College Arts Centre, 1515 Bathurst Street, north of St. Clair Ave. It seems like only yesterday when I first heard of the prospect for such a group. Now it’s the end of their sixth year.

Dan Kapp: Last month I mentioned that Dan Kapp had resigned from his position in the Long and McQuade band department to devote more time to New Horizons activities. They have started to increase already. He will be running a beginner adult full-day band camp this summer from July 18 to 22, at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre as part of their Summer Institute for Creative Adults (SICA) program. It will be for adults who want to start playing again. In other words, participants will have to have some background in reading music. The New Horizons Band of Toronto Summer Band (Dan’s regular guys and gals) will be featured guests in an evening concert on July 21 at the Al Green Theatre (within the MNjcc) as part of the camp.

If all of that wasn’t enough to keep a retiree busy, Dan was recently invited to conduct at a two-day international music festival in Panama City. He was selected to conduct a 78-member Honour Band of students from grades 7 to 9 as one part of the festival. It’s an annual event sponsored by the International School of Panama. There will be international schools from five other Central American countries as well as schools from Panama represented at the festival. This festival is the only time many of the students get to perform in a large ensemble.

Silverthorn: Back to those messages about upcoming events. Word from Heather Engli is that the Silverthorn Symphonic Winds will be ending their season with a concert, May 28, appropriately titled “Sounds of Spring.” To whet the appetite of potential attendees they have scheduled a combination of some outstanding wind band repertoire along with some easy listening, fun stuff: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ English Folk Song Suite, Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy and Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide along with such lighter fare as selections from Ain’t Misbehavin’, Big Band Salute and A Leroy Anderson Portrait. It is a program with wide appeal. It all takes place at the Wilmar Heights Event Centre.

And a deep debut: June 5, Flute Street will present their spring concert featuring the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D and a Sinfonia for Nine Piccolos. The highlight for me will be the debut that I alluded to earlier. A few months ago we had introduced to a Toronto audience for the first time a sub contrabass flute belonging to a guest performer from Australia. That instrument so fascinated Flute Street member Jeff Densham that he was determined to have one for himself. Yes, he purchased such an instrument, and it will have its Canadian debut at this concert in a duet for contrabass and sub contrabass flutes.

More Events by date

May 7 the York University Community Band Festival returns with a variety of attractions for band members. It all starts at 12:45 with registration in York U’s Accolade East Building. There is a massed band session in the early afternoon followed by workshops on Brazilian drumming, brass performance, woodwind tips and a jazz ensemble. This is followed by a reception with keynote speaker, Canadian composer Donald Coakley. The evening features a massed band concert where Coakley will conduct a number of his compositions.

May 8 at 2pm, the Markham Concert Band will present “Sneak Peek: Murder at the Markham Theatre,” a fun-filled afternoon, as band member Heather Wardell spins a tale of dastardly deeds unfolding before your eyes at the Markham Theatre. Great music melds with intrigue in the search for the Markham Theatre murderer. Between each piece of music more information will be provided about motive and opportunity for the suspects and at the end of the show the murderer will be revealed.

May 15 at 2pm, the Caledon Concert Band will present “Heroes from Fantasy and History,” including Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek Into Darkness and Pirates of the Caribbean.

May 15 at 3:30pm, the Wychwood Clarinet Choir (led by artistic director and clarinet soloist Michele Jacot) offers “Sounds of Spring” at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. This concert will feature McIntyre Ranch and other works by composer and conductor laureate Howard Cable and Immer Kleiner by Adolf Schreiner. The one work that I am looking forward to is Gustav Holst’s First Suite in E Flat as arranged by Matt Johnston. In the past I have been amazed at how well this group interprets such large works for full concert band with only the resources of the family of clarinets.

Also in the Listings

May 27: Etobicoke Community Concert Band. “Summer Prelude: Memories of the ‘Summer of Love’ at Woodstock,” featuring big band and Latin music. Works by Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and others.

May 28:The North York Concert Band presents “Dancing and Romancing,” a composite of swing tunes, Latin music, show tunes and other music at the Al Green Theatre.

May 29: Mississauga Pops Concert Band presents “First in Films” with selections from The Lion King, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The Phantom of the Opera and other works; Joseph Resendes, conductor.

May 29: North Toronto Community Band presents “Spring Rhythms,” with Keli Schmidt, mallets percussion, Cindy Sloane, vocals, Danny Wilks, conductor.

Sunday June 5 at 3pm, the Newmarket Citizens’ Band will present their “Spring Fling Concert” with special guests the Upper Canada Chordsmen Chorus, at Trinity United Church, 461 Park Ave, Newmarket.

June 7: Resa’s Pieces Concert Band’s “17th Gala Concert,” will range from Gustav Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets to Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Local trumpeter and composer Vern Kennedy’s Chandler Point Suite will add a local flavour. The band will be joined for part of the program by Resa’s Pieces Singers and Resa’s Pieces String Ensemble; Resa Kochberg, conductor.

Howard Cable

Word is spreading through the music world of the passing of Howard Cable. Canadian music has lost a great composer and conductor. Much has been written in the media already, and next month The WholeNote will include a feature story about him.

For myself, in addition to playing much of his music over the years, more recently, I had begun talking with him about a special project. For some time I have wanted to write something about the process of music composition by looking into a specific work, following the processes and persons involved from the original concept to first performance of the piece. A couple of years ago I broached the idea to Howard after a concert of the Wychwood Clarinet Choir (with whom he had also developed a special relationship in recent years).

In my mind I envisioned some town band commissioning him to compose a concert overture to commemorate an anniversary of the band. We would then discuss the many steps involved as the ideas went from the composer’s brain to printed page and on to a public performance. We had agreed on a tentative format and, always ready to look ahead, Howard suggested that we get down to it this spring. Alas, it will not happen in quite that way now.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

Last month, you may recall, the Canadian Band Association, Ontario had just held its first "Community Brass Band" weekend, which got me going in this space, on the subject of the characteristics of the brass band, the British Brass Band Style, Company Bands and Brass Band Contests.

There’s a whole other story to tell about how brass bands in the British tradition, sometimes sponsored by employers, began to be established on this side of the Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But first let’s look at an upcoming event which encapsulates not only what the brass band community is all about but also how far the brass band genre has come.

Hannaford Street Silver Band’s Festival of Brass: Just as there are few, if any, professional concert bands in Canada there are few professional brass bands. The notable exception is the Hannaford Street Silver Band, established some 30 years ago by a group of Toronto professional musicians who wanted to give the full virtuosic range of brass band idiom a voice and showcase in Toronto. Their concerts have consequently explored a much wider range of music than would usually have been considered part of the brass band repertoire. A recent example: with guest artist Fergus McWilliam, they presented the Strauss Horn Concerto No.1 this past February 21. Here was a top musician from the Berlin Philharmonic performing with a brass band on the only major brass instrument that is not part of the usual brass band instrumentation. Also note, the HSSB commitment to broadening the repertoire has gone beyond  rearranging standard repertoire into a vigorous commitment to commissioning new Canadian works.

Another important outgrowth of the HSSB’s activities has been their youth program. In 1999 they launched the Hannaford Street Youth Band under the direction of Anita McAlister. In 2005, another youth band was created for beginning brass players known as the Hannaford Junior Band. Soon a third, intermediate, band known as the Hannaford Community Youth Band was also formed. All three bands, under the same director, provide musical growth opportunities for young musicians ranging in age from 11 to the early 20s.

So, for devotees of the Hannafords and brass band fans in general, the HSSB’s annual Festival of Brass (this year on the weekend of April 15 to 17) is a must. This festival will be packed with almost every form of brass music. Friday evening will feature “Rising Stars” where the finalists of the Hannaford Youth Solo Competition will be judged on their performances by Alain Trudel and Stéphane Beaulac. The winner will perform with the Hannaford Band in the Sunday afternoon concert. Saturday will be devoted to a master class in the morning followed by a series of performances by “Festival of Brass” participating bands. On Sunday there will be an open dress rehearsal in the morning and the “Entre Amis” concert in the afternoon. This year, Stéphane Beaulac, formerly principal trumpet with Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, now with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will be the featured soloist. He will perform Canadian composer Johnny Cowell’s Concerto in E Minor with the band, under the direction of another Hannaford distinguished visitor, Alain Trudel.

Crossing the Atlantic: Now back to our previous topic. Certainly the geography of Canada, with large distances between communities, made some aspects of the British Brass Band tradition, such as regular contests, impractical. On the other hand, relative isolation and lack of other recreational opportunity may have assisted with other aspects, such as the company band. Certainly, into the 20th century there were still a few distinguished company bands around, including the Taylor Safe Works Band, the Heintzman Piano Company Band, where the famous Herbert L. Clarke was featured, and the Anglo-Canadian Leather Company Band in Huntsville, Ontario where Clarke was the conductor from 1918 to 1923. Originally trained on the viola, Clarke was smitten by the cornet and began practising on his brother’s instrument. He then joined the band of the Queen’s Own Rifles in 1882 at age 14, in order to obtain his own government-issue cornet on which to practise.

Few, if any, company bands are still operating in Canada. There are still a number of Salvation Army bands, but the total number of British-style brass bands probably does not exceed 30. Most of these are in Ontario, operate as recreational or “community” bands and have long histories going back over a century in some cases. The most well-known include the Oshawa Civic Band, the Whitby Brass Band, the Weston Silver Band and the Metropolitan Silver Band of Toronto. Professor Henry Meredith’s Plumbing Factory Brass Band in London is one which has risen in stature in recent years.

South of the border: About the same time brass bands were springing up in Canada similar bands were forming in the US, principally in the New England States. It wasn’t long, though, before brass bands caught the attention of one John Sullivan Dwight in Boston. Ordained as a minister in 1840, Dwight had abandoned the ministry and developed a deep interest in music, in particular that of Beethoven. By the 1850s music was becoming a big business in America and Dwight was soon to become the country’s first music critic, launching frequent tirades against the popular music of the day, particularly the brass band. In one memorable instance he wrote: “All at once the idea of a Brass Band shot forth: and from this prolific germ sprang up a multitude of its kind in every part of the land, like the crop of iron men from the infernal seed of the dragon’s teeth.”

NABBA: Dwight notwithstanding, by 1983 the desire for some form of umbrella organization to coordinate the activities of bands and to further the brass band movement had resulted in the establishment of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) with stated aims to “Foster, promote and otherwise encourage the establishment, growth and development of amateur and professional British-type brass bands throughout the United States and Canada.”

Cautionary note: if you decide to ask Mr. Google for information on this organization, type in the full name, not NABBA, or you will learn more than you ever wanted to know about the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association. (Unless of course you are a tuba player and need some muscle toning.)

While some Canadian bands have participated in NABBA competitions over the years, the most recent highlight was in the summer of 2014 when the North American Brass Band Summer School (NABBSS) was first held in Halifax as an integral component of the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. We were participants in that first school and in the tattoo. We would not have missed it for the world. The 2015 event was equally successful and enrollments are well on the way for this coming summer.

Other Brass Band news from the GTA: I was very surprised and pleased recently to receive a copy of a new history of the Metropolitan Silver Band. As the title says, it covers “80 Years of Music-Making at Metropolitan United Church.” This history was written by the band’s longest-serving member, Ken Allen, who has been in the band for 71 of those 80 years, 43 of them as its manager. He was fortunate in having access to meticulously maintained records over the years by a fellow band member.

Elsewhere I have mentioned, on various occasions, those revolutionary times when a female musician was “permitted” to join a band. For the MSB, this occurred in January 1981, when Bill Martyn, a member of the cornet section and a high school English teacher, invited one of his students to join the band. Now, 35 years later, Michele McCall is still in the band and has been the band’s manager since 2005, when she took over from Ken Allen. Another milestone was in 2002 when the band appointed its first woman conductor. Fran Harvey is still the conductor after 14 years at the helm. The history includes a good selection of pictures, all with dates and identification of all band members. As I scanned these pictures, lo and behold, there I was during those years when I was a band member in the 1970s and 1980s. Late last year the band released a new CD to celebrate its 80-year association with Metropolitan United Church. Titled Amazing Grace-A Gospel Celebration, it is a compilation of  traditional hymns including one selection, My Lord What a Morning, featuring a solo by none other than 71-year veteran Ken Allen.

Salvation Army bands have long been a mainstay of the brass band movement, so it was good to hear of an SA concert coming up later in the month. Featured will be the Ontario Central East Divisional Singing Company (Junior Choir) conducted by Elizabeth Colley, Divisional Young Peoples’ Band – Blood and Fire Brass under bandleader Bob Gray, and Divisional Reservists’ Band – Heritage Brass also led by bandmaster Gray. The concert will take place Saturday, April 23 at 7pm, in the Agincourt Community Church of The Salvation Army, 3080 Birchmount Rd, Toronto. A freewill offering will be received during the concert.

Startups are always a good sign of the resurgence of interest in  brass band music, and here’s another one. They are inviting other brass players to join them. They rehearse Wednesday evenings in Newmarket and would particularly welcome cornet and tuba players. If you play a brass instrument, and are interested in exploring that genre, contact Peter Hussey by email at pnhussey@rogers.com.

New Horizons: From time to time I have reported on the activities of the many New Horizons groups since their introduction into Canada about six years ago. The number of groups in Toronto alone has grown to the extent that the original conductor, Dan Kapp, has relinquished his duties at the Long & McQuade main store to channel all of his energies into the many New Horizons groups. With the title of creative director, Dan will oversee the operations of all Toronto bands, as well as conduct two or more. While on the subject of New Horizons, a few days ago I learned of a New Horizons group now thriving in Sudbury. Where will the next NH group spring up?

Obituary: Unfortunately I must report on the passing of Alex MacDonald a long-serving member of the Metropolitan Silver Band. I first met Alex when he and I were living in the same residence at university many years ago. We played together in the U of T Varsity band. On one occasion Alex startled us all. We were rehearsing Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, but we didn’t have anyone to play the piccolo part. Alex tucked his euphonium under his arm and pulled a slide whistle from his inner pocket. Suddenly we had a piccolo.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.