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Volume 25 Issue 2 - October 2019

  • Text
  • Performing
  • Orchestra
  • Symphony
  • Musical
  • Concerts
  • Arts
  • Jazz
  • Choir
  • October
  • Toronto
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.

JOAN ANDREWS The Music

JOAN ANDREWS The Music Lovers at Royal York Rifles regiment, still living, who landed on Juno Beach in Normandy in 1944. Two months later I attended Fred’s funeral service. At the funeral there were many members of his regiment and the regimental association. During the service in the chapel there was the customary playing of The Last Post by a bugler at the rear of the chapel. I was stunned when I heard the first notes of this. I was hearing a real bugle, not a trumpet. There, in full uniform, was the bugler from The Queen’s Own Band playing on an excellent new bugle. It had been a very long time since I had heard such a beautiful tone and flawless playing. I had to learn more about this bright silver bugle. A few weeks later I visited a rehearsal of the Band of the Queen’s Own Rifles at Moss Park Armoury and chatted with the man who played that bugle. It was not the old traditional copper instrument with brass trim around the bell. This was a bright silver instrument, and the big feature for me was that it uses a standard trumpet mouthpiece. One of the problems with the tradition copper bugle is that the mouthpiece has a very different shank than a trumpet. Consequently, most trumpet players are reluctant to play bugle calls on an unfamiliar mouthpiece. In this case any trumpet player just uses their regular mouthpiece. It’s a win - win situation. My next question was: where did they get this excellent bugle. All I have found out so far is that this bugle was made to order locally. I hope get more information on that soon and will pass it on to you when I do. Concerts with Themes Looking over information on recent and planned future concerts, it seems that they are now the usual standard format. In the past few months I’ve encountered such themes as: “Music based on Bach,” “A Night at the Oscars,” and “A Night at the Cinema.” Christmas is still too far away to to be rearing its head just yet. Halloween, though, is getting the definite nod. A recent flyer from the Markham Concert Band is for three concerts, all with themes. The first, on October 30 is “MCB’s Hallowe’en Party.” Then, on Sunday, October 27 the Wychwood Clarinet Choir will perform their fall concert with the theme “Creepy Clarinets.” Programming themed concerts solves some problems, but also poses some dilemmas. In programming who are we trying to please, the audience, the conductor or band members? For band members at least, the limitations of library contents can become an issue when all the music on the chosen theme is at one level of difficulty. Of the concerts on the near horizon that we have heard of, only one really states what an audience can expect. On Sunday, October 27 at 4pm The Wychwood Clarinet Choir presents “Creepy Clarinets” featuring Humperdink’s Overture to Hansel and Gretel; Moussorgsky’s Baba Yaga’s Hut and Great Gate of Kiev; Henry Mancini’s The Pink Panther; and Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King. With artistic director Michele Jacot conducting, this should be a very entertaining afternoon at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, 611 St. Clair Ave. W. in Toronto. Plumbing Factory Brass Band on Hiatus Speaking of creative thematic programming, elsewhere in the band community, we have received sad news from Henry Meredith who officially announced just the other day that he has made the decision to suspend the Plumbing Factory Brass Band indefinitely. This band has presented nearly 60 different programs over the last two dozen years. This will be sad news for Brass Band fans. There will be no PFBB next season. As for the future, who knows? Henry himself certainly has a lot of musical irons in the fire. For one thing, there is his huge instrument collection which needs proper cataloguing if he is to find the museum home for it that it richly deserves. We’ll follow this next chapter in “Dr. Hank’s” life with interest, and report back. Elsewhere, the Music Continues Following are upcoming concerts we know about. Only the bare bones are here. All the details can be found in The WholeNote’s listings sections. BANDSTAND QUICK PICKS !! OCT 5, 7:30PM: St. George’s Cathedral. Metropolitan Silver Band. 270 King St. E., Kingston. Proceeds to the Cathedral Heritage Preservation Trust. !! OCT 15, 7PM: Barrie Concert Band. Musical tribute to the veterans of the Canadian Forces and to those currently serving abroad or at home. Entertainment by the Skyliners’ Big Band will follow tribute. Royal Canadian Legion Branch 147, 410 St. Vincent St., Barrie. !! OCT 20, 3PM: Weston Silver Band. In Concert. Guests: TorQ Percussion Quartet. Glenn Gould Studio. !! OCT 20, 4PM: Guelph Concert Band. Masterclass Concert with Elisabeth Fessler (trumpet) and Cristian Ganicenco (trombone). Chris Cigolea, conductor. Salvation Army Citadel, 1320 Gordon St., Guelph. !! OCT 23, 12:30PM: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Western University Symphonic Band. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western University, London. !! OCT 27, 3PM: Church of the Ascension. Swing Shift Big Band: Memories of Yesteryear - The Big Band Sound. !! OCT 27, 3PM: Hannaford Street Silver Band. Nine Daies Wonder. Guest: Mark Fewer, violin. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. !! OCT 29, 8PM: Roy Thomson Hall. A Tuba to Cuba: Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Yusa and Special Guests. !! NOV 1, 8PM: Etobicoke Community Concert Band. Radio Days. Alex Dean, saxophone. Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium. !! NOV 7, 7:30PM: York University Department of Music. York University Wind Symphony & York University Symphony Orchestra’s Preview Concert. Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East. Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com. 40 | October 2019 thewholenote.com

20 TH ANNUAL BLUE PAGES PRESENTER PROFILES 2019/20

Volumes 21-25 (2015-2020)

Volumes 16-20 (2010-2015)

Volumes 11-15 (2004-2010)

Volumes 6 - 10 (2000 - 2006)

Volumes 1-5 (1994-2000)