The weather outside was frightful!

Last Monday an arctic air outflow spilled down the mainland interior passes, whipping across Georgia Strait with a vengeance. The result was our home overlooking the strait just south of Nanoose Bay got wacked with a solid dump of the white stuff for most of the day. Besides shoveling the walkways, my foremost chore was trying to convince my wife Pat that she shouldn’t attempt driving that evening to Port Alberni over “the hump” to get to a Timbre! choir rehearsal. Pat is the type of person who as a youngster never missed a day of school. Cancelling a scheduled rehearsal she finds, to put it mildly, stressful to the extreme. However, Pat finally relented after receiving a report that several trailer trucks had jackknifed on both sides of “the hump”. 

Having the evening free, I asked my wife out on a date, suggesting a little escapism might blunt her anxiety at having to cancel a rehearsal so close to Timbre!’s upcoming Christmas concert. We headed out for dinner and a flick, catching a 4:30 pm matinee showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I knew Pat would enjoy the film as she used to read the books to our grandchildren. 

The film picks up where the last episode left off. Dumbledore is dead, Voldemort has retaken control and Harry Potter and his friends are forced on the run. Knowing that the key to Voldemort’s defeat is the destruction of his horcruxes (bits of his soul he left in various objects in order to become near-immortal), the trio head off on a mission to track them down. 

When the Potter film series started in 2001 the lead characters were 11 and 12 years old. Now they’re all grown up which made for a much scarier flick, one I’d advise you not to take a young child to see. A few of the scenes featuring a mammoth snake made my skin crawl. 

After the movie it was off to Moxie’s for dinner. Pat and I consider their ribs to be the best in the hub city. At the restaurant we ran into a Timbre! choir member who was thankful she didn’t have to trek over “the hump” either, assuring Pat she’d made the right decision by cancelling the rehearsal.

After a couple of days of sunshine, on Thursday morning the snow was back, just in time for a taxing drive south to Cedar for my first rehearsal with the cast of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. I’m playing piano for the annual production for most of December. The snowy picture-postcard setting of the Cedar countryside was a perfect location to begin rehearsing a Christmas Show. Regrettably by rehearsal end the rain that usually follows our snowfalls here on the west coast had reclaimed its territory.  

YELLOWPOINT CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR at the Cedar Community Hall in Cedar with 3pm matinees and 7pm evening performances December 8^th to 19^th & Old Church Theatre in Courtenay on December 14^th & 15^th. December 12^th 3pm show is sold out! 

Phone 250.754.8550 to reserve tickets. www.yellowpointchristmasspectacular.ca/

Alberni Pacific hosts conductors in training

I have a habit of waking up around 3 am every day. Sometimes I try to get back to sleep. However when that proves unsuccessful I’ll open my laptop to write a blog, answer some emails, pay a few bills or read the Vancouver, Victoria and Port Alberni newspapers online. If I have a concert or show coming up I’ll use the early awakenings to practise on my electric piano using earphones, so as not to disturb my wife Pat. To maintain this nocturnal routine, most days I’ll grab a nap during the day. 

However, Friday morning I forced myself to sleep in until 5 am as I had a 9-hour shift aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway and any mid-day siesta was out of the question. I left our Nanaimo home at 6:00 am in order to arrive in plenty of time for an 8 am departure from the APR Roundhouse in Port Alberni aboard Loci #8427 with Rollie Hurst at the throttle heading to McLean Mill.

I was spending the day in the diesel’s fireman’s chair watching out for the safety of the students taking part in a B.C. Institute of Technology’s Railway Conductor’s training course. The program has been developed by the institute to fill a demand by the country’s major railway companies (CPR & CNR) as they begin to face an increasing number of employee retirements coming within the next five years. Using the Alberni Pacific Railway for the practical training component of the BCIT program is becoming a major revenue source for the Industrial Heritage Society, particularly in view of the Liberal government drastically cutting the society’s community access gaming grant through the local Chances Casino. I’ll stay clear of my thoughts on that subject for the time being, at least for this blog.

Although most folk know me as a conductor of the musical ilk, when they find out that I’m also a conductor on an operational railway they usually assume I drive the train. Not so. The conductor assigned to a passenger or freight train actually has authority over that of the engineer who operates the locomotive. In reality the conductor is in charge of the entire train and its crew. It’s his or her responsibility to inspect the mechanical equipment onboard such as the brakes, air hoses, couplings etc. and keep track of the train order paperwork. Train orders can come by way of a supervisor or can be radioed to the conductor from a dispatcher whose job it is to control meets at sidings, have certain trains wait in sidings for priority trains to pass, as well as maintain spacing (called blocks) between trains going the same direction. There’s a lot more to it than that, but basically it gives you some idea what railroad conducting is about. 

Since I’m on the subject of railroads and also a film freak, I’d like to recommend a new movie to readers entitled Unstoppable which just opened in theatres. The basic premise has an unmanned diesel locomotive hauling a consist of toxic cargo roaring its way along a mainline track in the state of Ohio. Fortunately a veteran engineer played by Denzel Washington and a young conductor (Chris Pine) aboard another train in the runaway's path devise a far-fetched plan to stop it -- therein preventing certain disaster in a heavily populated area. 

Although I’m not encouraging the BCIT student conductors I was working with on Friday to rush out and see the film, since a runaway is not something they’d ever want to have happen in their future conducting careers, I recommend it for anyone up for a good dose of adrenaline-infused action that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Returning home over ‘the hump’ later in the evening, the first snowfall of winter was threading its way through the Cameron Lake Valley. By morning the North Nanaimo cul-de-sac where we live had become a winter wonderland. Time to locate my snow shovel.

Class photo of BCIT conductor students aboard APR Diesel #8427 with engineer'instructor Rollie Hurst, On the ground (L to R) are APR conductors Kevin Hunter and myself with Irving McIntyre who assisted with instruction. Behind Irving is BCIT instructor John Wetzel.

Rollie Hurst at the throttle of Diesel #8427. An engineer with the patience of a saint, never letting a student error cause him any stress.

BCIT students learning to safely spot rail cars on a steep grade on the McLean Mill siding.

Students observe a smooth coupling by the locomotive.

Arriving home, winter's first snowfall had blanketed our house.

Remembrance Day 2010

Yesterday was Remembrance Day. Musically November 11^th  has always been a busy day for marching pipe bands and trumpeters capable of laying down a flawless version of the Last Post followed, after two minutes of silence, by a snappy Reveille. 

For over 30-years as a secondary school music director I was called upon every November to field a band for student Remembrance Day ceremonies.  The first ceremony I ever conducted was at a newly built school in Port Alberni. Eric Dunn Junior Secondary School was a novel design, better suited for Southern California’s sunny landscape than our monsoon lashed West Coast environment. Clusters of module classrooms were scattered on a wooded hillside, joined together by numerous outdoor cement staircases. Changing classes meant moving outdoors along open roof-covered walkways, nice on sunny days, not so in the middle of a lashing winter rainstorm.

The new school had no indoor area large enough to house a student assembly. The gymnasium had been axed from the construction schedule for lack of funding. The only available area for large gatherings was an open courtyard between a group of classroom clusters. However I was in luck for my first Remembrance Day ceremony. It was sunny but very cold, although thankfully not frosty enough to freeze the valves on the brass instruments. Ceremonies in later years were held a few blocks away at First United Church which, along with the church’s gymnasium, the school district rented for assemblies and PE classes until the government finally released the funding needed to have a physical education building built on the Dunn property.  A band room for the school’s music program was built atop the shower rooms of the new gym complex. Up to then I’d taught band alternating between the metalwork and woodworking shops.

After 15 years at EJ Dunn I transferred to Alberni District Secondary School where it was a tradition for the school band to play the community’s Remembrance Day Ceremony organized by the Legion.  Each year I’d ask for students to volunteer for the ceremony and never had a problem filling the orchestra pit with musicians.  Upon my retirement I was honoured to be awarded a life-membership in the Canadian Legion.

During the last decade there has been a growing trend across the country towards the staging of Remembrance Day concerts featuring everything from choral ensembles through to professional symphony orchestras. Last weekend the community choir Timbre! included a set of selections in their fall program in tribute to our veterans and members of the Canadian Forces. One of the most moving was For The Fallen, composed by Mike Sammes and based on the well-known text by Canadian poet Laurence Binyon. A favourite with the audience was a bevy of Songs That Soldiers Sang including Lili Marlene, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.

Early yesterday morning I watched the national Remembrance Day ceremony playing out on a sun bathed Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Three hours later I viewed the annual ceremony broadcast from Victoria and Vancouver. Then it was time to heave my piano into my van and head for the Parksville Legion to play a dance with the Arrowsmith Big Band. In the Mood, Sing Sing Sing, It Don’t Mean a Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing - there’s no better place than a Legion hall in which to perform all those venerable big band hits of WW II.

This year I wore an English poppy that my brother Terry picked up last week in Britain while attending the funeral of our cousin Philip.  Unlike our brilliant red plastic copies of the ancient plants, English poppies are made from a light red paper backed with a green leaf. 

One of my fetishes following Remembrance Day is the un-boxing of our Christmas decorations. Getting a jump-start on the season has always been driven by the musical commitments I have in December. I fear if I wait I won’t have time to trim the house. Besides, brightening up the lengthening November darkness makes my pre-emptive strike worthwhile.  Actually I assembled our artificial tree on Nov 10^th , albeit without the light strings attached. This morning I plan to affix the lights and by this evening our living room will be awash in a blaze of colour. 

PHOTO 1: Unlike our brilliant red plastic poppy, English copies of the ancient plants are made from light-weight red paper backed with a green leaf.

PHOTO 2: Before a gymnasium was built at Eric Dunn Junior Secondary School (now Ecole E.J. Dunn Middle School), the school’s Remembrance Day ceremonies took place at First United Church in Port Alberni.  Some blog readers may recognize themselves. 

PHOTO 3: The Arrowsmith Big Band performs at the Remembrance Day dance held annually at the Canadian Legion Hall in Parksville. 

Timbre! opens 37th Season with Bits and Pieces

It’s going to be very busy weekend. Friday night I’m performing on piano with the Cory Miller Quartet at Jazz Night in the Step Above Café at Quality Foods in Port Alberni. Nanaimo based vocalist Lauren Bush will be appearing as guest artist. Word is the Step Above Café  is sold out and no further reservations are being taken. However I understand a few spots are usually held back for walk-ins.  

On Saturday morning there is a dress rehearsal scheduled with Timbre! and the accompanying musicians for the choir’s Sunday afternoon performance. The concert, titled Bits and Pieces – Music from Broadway and the Movies, opens the ensemble’s 37^th season and gets underway at 2:30 pm in the ADSS Auditorium in Port Alberni. 

As Timbre!’s Musical Director, my wife Pat has chosen a pleasingly varied repertoire for the performance. Choral Highlights from the Broadway Musical Mamma Mia! is one of the major selections programmed. Many super ABBA hits including I Have A Dream, S.O.S., Take A Chance On Me, Thank You For The Music, Waterloo and Dancing Queen are part of Mac Huff’s well written arrangement. 

Other pieces programmed include Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit which was recently featured in the television series Glee), I See You (the ethereal theme song from Avatar, a powerful ballad which captures the magical science fiction atmosphere of this blockbuster film and its stunning world of imagination and color), Look To the Rainbow (from Burton Lane’s Broadway Show Finian’s Rainbow) and Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat (from the venerable Broadway musical Guys and Dolls).

After intermission Timbre! will present a set of pieces in tribute to Remembrance Day. In honour of our country’s annual recognition of our veterans and members of the Canadian Forces, the choir will sing Make Me a Channel of Your Peace (Prayer of St. Francis), For The Fallen (music by Mike Sammes and based on the well-known text by Canadian poet Laurence Binyon), Oscar Peterson’s Hymn To Freedom and a bevy of Songs That Soldiers Sang including Lili Marlene, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.

Season Passes are now on sale at Rollin Art Centre, Echo Centre, Salmonberry’s, Somass Drugs and will be available at the door. A Season’s Pass admits you to all three concerts - Adult $30, Senior & Student $25, Family $65. Individual ticket prices for Bits and Pieces are Adults $12, Seniors & Student $10 and Children $6. Making the price of buying a Season’s Pass more attractive is the fact that starting with Timbre!’s Christmas Concert there will be a price increase for single show tickets. 

This increase has been made necessary due to the current government’s decision to no longer support adult performing arts organizations in British Columbia through access to gaming grants.  Adding insult to injury, last week the government’s newly minted cultural minister removed “arts” from the title of her portfolio. With support to the arts accounting for such a tiny percentage of the overall provincial budget, the damage being done to BC performing arts groups by this ill-conceived judgment is appalling. I predict within a year or two a vast number will virtually disappear. Without a doubt the philistine agenda has found a centralist role within the reigning government. However this debate is reserved for a future Blog. 

Hope to see many of you from Port Alberni and surrounding area at Timbre!’s concert on Sunday.

As I type this blog my brother Terry has just Skyped me from London, England. For those who may not know what Skype is, it’s a computer program that allows people to talk and see each other (on their computer screens) from anywhere in the world for free. Sadly Terry is in Britain to attend the funeral of our cousin Philip who passed away on Oct 15th. The funeral was originally scheduled for next week but the Vicar at St Mary’s Anglican parish church in Bristol unexpectedly moved it up to today. Unfortunately, with my concert commitments this weekend, it was impossible for me to accompany Terry as planned. However I feel fortunate to have had two extended visits with Philip last year. He was an exceptionally cultured individual and a very entertaining host in that British sort of way. Through Skype I’ve been able to feel allied to the interment observance regardless of the great distance.

Photo: Nov 1st, 2009: Timbre! on Stage at Bob Dailey Stadium in Port Alberni for the lighting of the Olympic Torch.

Photo: Nov 1st/2010 - Timbre! Music Director Patricia Miller on stage at ADSS preparing for Bits and Pieces concert scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8th at 2:30 pm.