SOME THING New MichaelOesterleandJamesRolfe,CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PACE all commissioned to give a 21st -year]. Following on the success of century update to Mozart's famousToronto's Nuit Blanche festival, in- Oboe Quartet. The Gallery Playersteractive, participatory art is all the are followed by the cross-culturalrage, as are all things interdiscipli- Beyond the Pale, who will performnary. In that spirit, we have decided unique Mozart arrangements colouredto invite a range of outstanding art- by a musical palette of Klezmer,ists to try their hand at creating mu- Balkan, and Romanian music, bluesic,as our invited 'guest compos- grass, jazz, reggae and funk. Moreers' for the evening. Luminaries details can be found at the Musicfrom literature, film, dance, theatre Gallery website and phone.and electronic media - as well as one The month closes out with the anacademicand a noted arts patron - nual University of Toronto Facultywill present songs or compositions of Music New Music Festival, which(or perhaps just ideas for either) to launches on January 31st at 7:30 p.m.be performed by a specially assem- with the fifth anniversary presentabled'supergroup' of Toronto impro- tion of the Karen Kieser Prize invising musicians. The public will also Canadian Music - a prestigious honhavea chance to participate, as we our bestowed upon a student comauctionoff two guest composer spots poser at the Faculty who has createdduring the evening. This will be a the best composition within the pastone-of-a-kind event that can only year. The prize is named in memoryhappen in Toronto and that only the of Karen Kieser, a distinguishedMusic Gallery could put together." Faculty triple-graduate and a formerFor details and tickets, www. Head of Music at CBC Radio.musicgallery.org or 416-204-1080. Unique to this year's presentation isAfter a breathless run of Decem- a concert featuring the four previousber concerts, we are given a brief winning works. Whoever takes theintermission before launching into the prize will join rank with some ofNew Year, returning to a series of Canada's best early career composeventshighlighting emerging talent. ers, among them Andrew Staniland,The Richard Bradshaw Amphi- Abigail Richardson and Craig Galtheatre,within the new Four Sea- braith. This much-anticipated annusonsCentre for the Performing Arts, al event is free, but ticketed, so behas quickly become a popular venue sure to reserve your seats at the Glennfor showcasing young performers in Gould Studio in advance.new music, the RCM New Music The cornerstone of this annual fiveEnsemble concert just being one day festival is always an invited guestexample. Another example is Janu- composer, the honour of which isary 18, featuring a group of song bestowed this year upon the Argencyclesinspired by political writings. tinean-born, British-based AlejandroPianists Liz Upchurch, Kathryn Vifiao. Highly accomplished, awardTremills, and Kynza Tyrrell will ed and commissioned, Vifiao's muaccompanythe COC Ensemble Stu- sic has been played and broadcastdio in Gyorgy Kurtag's Anilal6zsef throughout Europe and the U.S.AFragments. J6zsef was a well- and has been featured in internationknownpoet from Kurtag's native al festivals such as Tanglewood andHungary and an unyielding critic of the London Proms. While Vifiao willthe government's "right radicalism". primarily conduct lectures and work-Also on the programme are Luigi shops at U of T, the public will beDallapiccola's Quattro Liriche di treated to two concerts of his work.Antonio Machado. Machado, who The first starts at 7:30 p.m. on Feblivedat roughly the same time as ruary 1st in Victoria College ChapJ6zsef, is acknowledged as one of el, and will focus on his electroaSpain's greatest 20th -century poets caustic music. The second, featurandas a vocal commentator on the ing Vifiao's chamber music, willright-left divide invoked by the Span- close out the festival on Februaryish Civil War. Both poets offer rich 4th in Walter Hall at 2:00 p.m. Bothmaterial for these master composers, are free admission.and challenging terrain for early-ca- But, ultimately, the excitement ofreer performers. For more info visit U of T's new music festival lies inwww.coc.ca or call 416-363-8231. the freshness of student work, em-With a few days break, the emerg- bodied in the New Opera Showcase,ing Gallery Players of Niagara take which takes place at noon on Februtothe Music Gallery stage at 8pm ary 2nd, and the Student ComposonJanuary 21st with their Beyond ers' concert, scheduled for FebruMozart concert. The programme ary 3rd at 7:30 p.m. Both concertsfocuses on three new works by Ca- will be held in Walter Hall and arenadian composers Peter Hatch, offered free to the public.BAND Standby Jack MacQuarrieFor most community bands, Decemberis the busiest time of year. Whetherperforming in Christmas concertsor in the many Santa Claus paradesin surrounding small towns, bandsare hard-pressed to honour all requestsfor their services. That is oneaspect of community involvementwhich has changed least over the past150 years since bands first started toappear in Ontario towns. Other aspectshave changed dramatically, inthe makeup of bands and their rolesin their communities.The first record we were able tofind of an organized community bandin Ontario is from 1820 in what isnow Sharon. The first record of aband in Toronto is in 1824. Of thebands still operating or revitalizedafter a lapse, there are a number datingback to the 1850's including thoseof Perth and Newmarket.By Confederation in 1867, manycommunities in Eastern Canada hadmore than one "civilian" band. Inaddition to "town bands" and "citizens'bands" there were bands supportedby fraternal and other communityorganizations. Fire Brigade,Elks Club, Knights Templar, Temperancegroups. All had bands."Company bands" also appeared,perhaps the most famous being TheAnglo Canadian Leather CompanyBand founded in 1880 in Huntsville.At its peak it enticed legendary cornetistHerbert L. Clarke away fromthe John Philip Sousa band. As ateenage star in 1886, Clarke playedfirst cornet in the regimental band ofthe Queen's Own Rifles in Toronto,and was lured back to Canadafor a reported salary of ,000 ayear. A princely sum in those days.Military bands as we know themtoday appeared at about the sametime. Previously, military bands hadexisted for the sole purpose of alleviatingthe tedium of long marches.The first records of militia units formingregimental bands we found wereof the Governor General 's FootGuards in 1872 and the 48th Highlandersin 1891. It was not longbefore concerts by military bandsbecame central to community music.The earliest recorded concert inthe Uxbridge Music Hall on July 2,1902, featured the combined bandsof the Ontario Regiment from Oshawaand the 48th Highlanders fromToronto.The early bands were all brass.Not until the late 1800s were woodwindsgradually added. Early bandswere also composed exclusively ofmen. My first band had two girls init, but was because they were daughtersof the bandmaster. In the late1940's the Students' AdministrativeCouncil at U of T convened to decideif a girl should be allowed toplay in the university band. A heateddebate decided to set a precedentand permit this determined younglady to join. I'm happy to report that,sixty years later, this renegade ladyis still playing clarinet in her localcommunity band. To the best of myknowledge it was not until Canada'sCentennial year, 1967, that a womanwas "permitted" to play in a Canadianmilitary band.For over a century there have beenclose ties between military bands andtheir civilian counterparts, manybands occupying grey areas. TheRegimental Band of The LorneScots, is completely staffed by volunteersrather than members of theforces. One of the most unusual arrangementsoccurred during WWIIwhen HMCS Hunter, the naval divisionin Windsor, wanted a band.There was no staffing provision forone at the local level, so they engineeredan arrangement that allowedthem to "borrow" the Kiwanis BoysBand for the duration of the war.Boys as young as twelve were enlisted,drilled regularly and receivednaval pay. In 2006, almost all reservebands welcome "AssociateMembers" to rehearse and performwith the band.1~HARKNETTMusical Services Ltd.MUSIC BOOKSBEST SELECTION OF POPULAR& EDUCATIONAL MUSICPiano - Guitar - InstrumentalMid-Town StoreBrass - Woodwind -String Instruments - GuitarBuy direct from the Distributor 416-423-9494AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR:943 Eglinton Ave. E. (W. of Leslie)Armstrong, Artley, Besson, Benge (Next door to Robert Lowrey's Piano Experts)Boosey & Hawkes, Buffet, ConnGet zen,jupite r, I
