QuoDLIBET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14Kristine Bogyo's "Kompanions"Kristine Bogyo, who died tragically young last April, left an enduringlegacy, not just in the Mooredale Concerts series that shefounded and organized for eighteen seasons and in the MoordaleYouth Orchestras, which have given and continue to give opportunitiesto young musicians, but also in the people whose talent sheencouraged and nurtured. Some of these, including three prominentCanadian violinists, Erika Raum, Olivier Thouin and Scott St.John along with violist Sharon Wei, and St. Lawrence Quartetcellist, Chris Costanza (not a Mooredale alumnus) will performmasterworks for string quintet by Mozart and Louis Spohr. Theprogram will also include Enticementfor Two Violas, writtenespecially for the occasion, for Scott St. John and his fiancee,Sharon Wei, by Kristine's widower, Anton Kuerti , on March 29and 30. The concert is called Kristine's Kompanions because theperformers were favourite performing partners of Kristine's.Judy LomanAnother musician who has made a substantial impact on the musicallife of Toronto is harpist Judy Loman, who on March 24 willcelebrate her 50th season as a professional musician in Toronto bypresenting a concert which looks back on her career as teacher,performer and supporter of new music for the harp. The performerswill include a number of illustrious former students, such asMariko Anraku, Associate Principal Harp, The MetropolitanOpera Orchestra; Lori Gemmell , Principal Harp, KitchenerWaterloo Symphony; Jennifer Swartz, Principal Harp, OrchestreSymphonique de Montreal; and Sharlene Wallace, celtic harpist,concert harpist and composer. The program will include piecescomposed for Judy Loman by Glenn Buhr, Srul Irving Glick,Caroline Lizotte, Kelly Marie Murphy , R. Murray Schafer, andJohn Weinzweig, as well as her arrangements of works by Debussyand Bizet.Ms. Loman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, where shestudied with the celebrated harpist, Carlos Salzedo, came to Canadawith her husband Joseph Umbrico in 1957, and became PrincipalHarpist with the Toronto Symphony in 1960, retiring fromthat position in 2002. As a soloist, Judy Loman has commissionedmany new works for harp and introduced them worldwide throughher recordings and recitals. She is a recipient of a Juno Awardfor best classical recording and the Canada Council ' s Grand Prixdu disque Canadien. She continues to teach at the Curtis Institute,the University of Toronto, and the Royal Conservatory of Music,and adjudicates and gives master-classes worldwide.The UniversitiesThe month of March, of course, marks the approach of the end ofthe academic year in the music schools, bringing a great flurry ofmusical events. At York University the benefit of having all thearts under one roof in an integrated faculty of fine arts reallyshows this month . York' s third annual Fine Arts Festival , March11-31 , provides lots of reasons to make the trip to Keele and Steeles,as in a single day you can attend concerts, dance, theatre,film screenings and art exhibitions. At the University of Torontothere are also plenty of interesting events. One that stands out forme is the March13 "Thursdays at Noon" concert, "Almost aThird Viennese School," a program of song cycles by Canadiancomposers Sasha Rapoport, Nancy Van de Vate and Brian McDonagh, all of whose musical studies have a Viennese connection.If star spotting is your thing, try the U of T Opera Division'sproduction of Ariodante, which opens on March13 and the RoyalConservatory' s production of Mozart' s The Marriage of Figaro onApril 4. If you live west of Toronto, there are many events in ourlistings at McMaster, Wilfrid Laurier and Western. Needless tosay , there are many , many more fine concerts to be found in thelistings-do try to get out to at least one in the coming month.BAND Standby Jack MacQuarrieThree disparate occurrences during the past month have sharpenedthe focus for this month's column to topics dear to our hearts. Thefirst was a vi sit to two town band rooms to show what can be donewhen a community band has the support of the municipality. In morerecent days, two messages received from readers have triggeredother thoughts on the state of community bands.The month began with a delegation from the Markham ConcertBand visiting the rehearsal facilities of the Oshawa Civic Band andthe Cobourg Concert Band. On the first stop of our safari, Oshawaband president Bill Askew gave the delegation a tour of the bandshell,rehearsal and storage facilities which his band enjoys. Situated in alarge park in the heart of downtown Oshawa, the facility was thedonation of the late Col. R. S. McLaughlin to the municipality. In itsacceptance, Oshawa council enacted a by-law guaranteeing that amunicipal band would always have a place to call home, a placewhere they could meet for rehearsal and for the storage of equipment.This comes about as close as one could wish for a band'shome. They have a fine bandshell in a park with adequate rehearsaland storage space within the same structure.On to Cobourg where the facility is quite different, but one whichwould still be the envy of most community bands. Here, Music DirectorPaul Storms and a quartet from the band executive treated thedelegation to a tour followed by a PowerPoint presentation of theevolution of their band and its home. Some years ago the town sold asomewhat run down building on the edge of town to the band for theprincely sum of one dollar. Over the years, with the help of manyvolunteers and a variety of fund-raising initiatives, band membershave transformed the once derelict building into a home of which theyand the town council are justly proud.While the homes of the two bands are very different, they havemuch in common. Both buildings have high ceilings , good acoustics,good lighting, adequate storage and immediately accessible libraries.In both cases the bands are the sole users of their rehearsal spaces sothey can leave music stands and percussion equipment in place. Bothhave easy ground level access for moving bulky instruments to remoteperformances. In both cases, in addition to outright financialgrants from the municipality, the bands have their taxes and utilitiespaid . In return, both bands provide extensive public concert programs.Above all, in both cases, the communities proudly supporttheir bands.As for the net result of the visits of this delegation, it is too early topredict. However, it is safe to say that the folks planning for the newMarkham recreation centre will be under more pressure to considerthe possibility that community music is, in fact, a valid and worthwhilerecreational activity enjoyed by citizens of all ages. Whetherthey be performers or listeners, local citizens enjoy music.The most recent message which we received paints a very differentpicture for the Newmarket Citizens' Band. For many years thisband had the good fortune to have excellent regular rehearsal space ina town-owned building shared with the local Lions Club. That came toa sudden end two-and-a-half years ago when arsonists destroyed thebuilding. The town decided not to rebuild. Since then the band hasrehearsed during the winter months in a school room where they haveno storage facilities. During the summer months they have been accommodatedin the warehouse of the town works department, wherethe acoustics and lighting are not exactly concert hall quality. Yearround the library, percussion and other instruments have been distributedin the basements of members' homes. The librarian must transportall music required to and from rehearsals every week . Now, eventhat space is not available. The warehouse is being converted to officespace. The band is once again homeless. When the huge new town recreationcentre was in the planning stages, the planners could not comprehendhow a community band with over one hundred years in the communitycould consider its activities recreational and worthy of any space inthis centre.Carol Law, a member of the band 's executive who has just assumedpublic relations duties, writes: The Newmarket Citizens ' Band,16 W W W . THEWHO LENOTE.COM M ARCH 1 - APRIL 7 2008
in its 135th year, may be without a permanent practice space at thistime, but they continue to deliver concerts and parades to the community.Currently practicingfor Music Alive in March, the band welcomesall musicians every Tuesday night in Newmarket. When practicespace is not available the band takes their extensive repertoire tothe community with concerts at places such as nursing homes andseniors' residences. No auditions required, just enthusiasm and aninstrument you have learned to play recently or as a youth. Everypractice is fun , but like every band, performing in the communitygives us the most fun and satisfaction.New directions include strategies for partnerships to address theurgent need for a permanent home, having lost our practice/storagespace two years ago to afire. Not only are dollars needed, butaffordable, suitable space is required as well. Newmarket CitizensBand has had 135 years of community support to build its reputationand it will take community support to secure it for the future .When you see band members joining who were members in theiryouth and have returned, when you see young and old alike dancingat concerts and waving at parades, one realizes that sharing musicis timeless and unites communities. Without community support fromthe practical to the presentation, no community band can exist.How did Carol come to be a member of this band? It all startedwhen she transported her children to band practice. Her childrenhave moved on , but Carol remains as a key member of the band.The other message we received was from Joanne Hawthorne, amember of Scarborough Bel Canto choir. She sent us two photographsand writes: 1 have two pictures of bands which 1 foundamong my father's memorabilia. My father was a band leader inVancouver in the 1935-40 era, and these band pictures we thinkinclude his father William Walker (but we are not sure). The picturesare of two different bands and we are guessing they date fromaround 1895-1905 or thereabouts. My grandfather was living inOntario at the time, in Lanark County. In the first picture (above) ofa band in dark uniforms she thinks that the person on the far left,second row may be her great-grandfather. Since he lived in Lanark,that might be a clue. Can anyone identify the band and era from theuniform?We'll take a look at the second picture, showing Saskatchewan'sLemberg Brass Band, and the story that goes along with it, in nextmonth's column.This all brings up the matter of memorabilia and preserving ourcommunity heritage. However, that 's another topic for another day.Our upcoming band concert picks for March include TheMarkham Concert Band concert on Sunday, March 2 at 3 :00 pm,and the Sunday, March 30 reading of brass band music at 2:00 pmin Newmarket, to which brass players from Newmarket and surroundingarea are invited. The music to be played ranges from fairlysimple to medium difficulty. Although British Brass Band musicwrites all parts (except Bass Trombone) in treble clef, all music forlow brass will be available in bass clef (contact Don Giles:senesco@rogers. corn).Stay tuned next month for our picks for more great band concertshappening down the road in April.M ARCH 1 - APRI L 7 2008WWW. THEWH O LENOTE.COMBrass - Woodwind -String Instruments - GuitarBuy direct from the DistributorAUTHORIZED DEALER FOR:Armstrong, Artley, Besson, Buffet,Conn, Getzen, Holton, Jupiter,Keilworth, King, Noblet,Selmer, Vito, YanagisawaMUSIC BOOKSBEST SELECTIONOF POPULAR&EDUCATIONAL MUSICPiano - Guitar - Instrumental905-477-1141JcOSl--.-.o>'7 .nusic2650 John Street, Unit 15Oust North of Steeles)www.harknettmusic.comFine quality instruments & accessories to suit any budget- Woodwinds, Brass, Strings & PercussionExpert Instrument Repairs in one of North America'slargest and best-equipped facilitiesComprehensive Band & Orchestra Rental Programwith over 9,000 instruments in inventoryYork Region's Largest Music Schoolserving over 1,200 studentsSALES • RENTALS • REPAIRS • LESSONS • PRINT MUSIC
