tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85996940258331245432024-03-27T02:25:26.196-07:00Barry's BlogViewPoint from Top of the HumpBarry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-84245227240857900152015-12-18T05:30:00.001-08:002015-12-18T05:30:29.375-08:00Yellowpoint show wraps up this weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We’ve just wrapped up the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular’s two-week run in Cedar with 6 sold-out shows. It’s now on to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo for four final performances this weekend. I looked on www.porttheatre.com yesterday and tickets are in very short supply. <br /><br />Jump on it folks if you want to go. I have the feeling all the remaining shows will soon be sold out. <br /><br />I couldn’t attend my wife Pat’s final Christmas concert with the Timbre! Choir in Port Alberni last Sunday. Pat always expresses to me shortly before concerts her worries that the choir will not be ready for a particular performance. I habitually chuckle silently to myself. I was between shows at Yellowpoint when I received the expected text on my iPhone from her. “Best ever” the text read.<br />
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FINAL WEEKEND - FRI. DEC 18 (7pm), SAT. DEC 19 (3pm & 7pm), SUN. DEC. 20, (3pm)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My father made this plywood cutout of carolers in 1946. The cutout was mounted that year on the roof of our family home on South Crescent in Port Alberni. I still display the carolers in my front yard at Christmas. The decoration has never been repainted, its vivid colours intact, likely due to the amount of lead allowed in paint at the time. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> I recently found this black & white photo from 1946 of the plywood cutout mentioned above. The carolers are mounted for the first time on the snowy roof of our family home. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some folks in our Nanaimo neighborhood go all out. This close-by neighbor has no less than 12 fan-driven decorations occupying every square foot of their front yard. Seeing them all deflated during the day when the power is shut off is not a pretty sight. However, at night the display is unquestionably a car-stopping spectacle. </td></tr>
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<b>Sinatra explored as never before.</b><br />
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The past several weeks I’ve been wading through a 992-page tome called Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan. I also downloaded from iTunes Ultimate Sinatra ($10), a single-disc containing a cross-section of Sinatra's unparalleled recording career. Led by 'All Or Nothing At All' and closed with a previously unreleased alternate version of 'Just In Time,' the collection is stacked with standouts, including 'I'll Never Smile Again' (1940), 'I've Got The World On A String' (1953), 'In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning' (1955), 'I've Got You Under My Skin' (1956), 'Come Fly With Me' (1957), 'The Way You Look Tonight' (1964), 'Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)' (1964), 'Strangers In The Night' (1966), 'My Way' (1968), and 'Theme From New York, New York' (1979), among many more. I decided not to spring for the elaborate 4-disk Centennial Collection at $40. <br /><br />Sinatra: The Chairman is a riveting read. One reviewer Globe correspondent Julia Klein in my opinion put it best, saying the book is “a juicy, painstakingly researched, excitingly written examination of a brilliant musician, an uneven and temperamental actor, and a charming erratic, deeply flawed man.” Wow, that’s a mouthful. <br /><br />Having lived in Los Angeles while attending music college in the late 50’s and early 60’s, I most enjoyed the detail to the events surrounding Sinatra’s recording sessions that took place in those years at the new Capitol Studios on Vine Street just a few blocks from where I lived. It gave me a new appreciation of the songs as I listened to them while reading the book. <br /><br />Regrettably for my taste, at times the music almost seems secondary given Sinatra’s lifestyle which was domineered by dozens of beautiful women, The Mob, politics and booze. Yes, Sinatra had issues and the author describes them in great detail. However, whenever the text became excessively tragic for me to read on, I just punched up the CD and listened. The man’s digressions quickly faded. For me, Sinatra was and always will be the consummate vocalist. Paraphrasing the words of Frank’s mammoth hit from 1968 declare, He did it His Way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a 4-day break from the Yellowpoint show I was able to get in several days aboard my electric bike. Where else except Canada’s West Coast can one ride a bike in December? However, I confess last year around this time I went for a night-time ride on my old 10-speed and didn’t realize the streets were skating rinks of black ice. I ended up sliding across our cul-de-sac on my backside with the bike on top of me. Ever since I make sure the roads are dry before venturing out. <br /><br />However, there will be no bike ride today. As I write this blog it’s actually snowing outside. <br /></td></tr>
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<br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-14751720589659204422015-12-04T16:09:00.001-08:002015-12-04T16:09:26.590-08:00Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular underwayAs I write this blog, I’ve just returned from the last dress rehearsal for the upcoming run of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. It has been a marathon two weeks of rehearsals. It’s always amazing to me how singers and dancers can commit to memory dozens of songs and dance steps for an entire production within a two-week rehearsal schedule. In comparison I feel I have it easy, being able to have the piano score at my fingertips through the entire run.<br /><br />Yesterday’s final two dress rehearsals went off without a hitch except for a power failure in the morning run’s first act. I’ve always wondered what would happen in such a situation. Although the show suddenly ground to a halt, to our surprise we found out the venue had a backup generator that automatically kicked in. We did have to wait a few minutes to reboot the computers operating the stage lighting, but other than that, the show was quickly back up and running. <br /><br />You won’t want to miss this year’s version of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. Take my word for it. It truly is spectacular. The production includes music by the Beach Boys, a Rock of Ages medley, Bobby Darrin songs, tunes from Grease and Moulin Rouge, a special Canadiana set and many more classical hits and Christmas favourites.<br />
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Tickets for matinee and evening performances at the Cedar Community Hall (December 4th – 13th) and the Port Theatre in Nanaimo (December 18th, 19th & 20th) can be purchased by phoning 250-754-8550 or online at www.porttheatre.com. There will be two performances (Dec 8th & 9th) at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay – Phone 250-338-2430 or go online to www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rehearsing a scene that features a huge snow globe. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular doesn’t have a bass playing snowman. Band member Dave Baird found this detached head on a table backstage.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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The Met: Live in HD <br /><br />Last week I attended a matinee performance at the Metropolitan Opera. To clarify, the performance was one of the series of operas beamed live from New York City via satellite to movie theatres across North America. I have been attending these broadcasts at Nanaimo’s Galaxy Theatre from their very beginnings ten years ago. If my memory is correct, the first opera was The Magic Flute and attracted less than 10 people to the Nanaimo theatre including myself. However, as the season progressed word of mouth got around and audiences quickly built to the point where one has to purchase a ticket well in advance to guarantee a seat. Some performances of well-known operas sold out two of the Galaxy’s 6 auditoriums.<br /><br />The opera I recently saw was Alban Berg’s Lulu. Most blog readers I speculate would have never heard of it? I hadn’t. I had to go online to bring myself up to speed. The score uses the 12-tone composition technique pioneered by Berg’s teacher Arnold Schoenberg. Mention the term 12-tone music to many classical concertgoers and they will more often than not recoil. To them such music is rudderless and sounds tuneless. <br /><br />So what is 12-tone music you may ask? I confess my knowledge of the technique is limited to a semester I took at Music College in Los Angeles. Simply put, and I mean very simply, the composer cannot repeat a note used from the chromatic scale until all of the 11 others have been used. The composer chooses the order of notes that is called the prime row. It can become pretty complicated. I can tell you my limited attempts using the technique didn’t produce anything earth shattering. <br /><br />I confess it was not Berg’s score that motivated me to spend 4-hours at the Galaxy last week. I went because I knew one of the production’s cast members. Tyler Duncan played the trombone in my secondary school band for several years and sang from the age of 10 in my wife Pat’s Junior and Teen Choirs. Tyler moved on to study voice at the University of British Columbia and further study abroad in Germany. Building a successful North American solo career based out of New York, Tyler has recently joined the Metropolitan Opera Company. <br /><br />I enjoyed my morning at the opera with Lulu immensely. After two acts I was beginning to wonder if I’d missed seeing Tyler as his role, being a new member of the company, was not sizeable. However, at the beginning of Act 3, there he was filling the movie screen performing a short solo as The Correspondent. I wanted to stand and cheer. I settled for ghosting my hand claps. Pat and I are so proud of what Tyler has accomplished.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler Duncan singing with Timbre! during a return visit to the Alberni Valley. Tyler is performing in three Metropolitan Opera productions this season.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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Timbre! Choir’s Christmas Card<br /><br />You need to hurry, tickets are selling fast for Timbre! Choir’s annual Christmas Concert. The popular concert will be presented Sunday, December 13 at 2:30 pm at ADSS Theatre in Port Alberni. Tickets are available at Rollin Art Centre, Echo Centre, Salmonberry’s, Choir Members and at the door if available.<br />
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<br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-87561117786192261422015-11-23T04:36:00.000-08:002015-11-23T04:36:25.111-08:00Christmastime is ShowtimeI haven’t been too prolific with my Blog Posts of late. The most recent was back in September. I thought it high time to bring my readers up-to-date on a few past activities and some about to get underway.<br /><br />Most of September I was busy working as a conductor aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway in the Alberni Valley. Many trips were charters for cruise ships spending a day in Nanaimo harbour. Passengers from the ships are bused over the hump to Port Alberni where they catch the train out to McLean Mill. <br /><br />I didn’t mention it in my September blog, but the Desperation Dixieland Jazz Band that I performed with for many years had a couple of windup concerts this summer. The band is now officially retired. I happen to have a couple of dozen CD’s of the band still in my possession. The CD was recorded June 13, 2004 at Scott Littlejohn’s Bastion City Recording in Nanaimo.<br />
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Featured is Bill Cave (trumpet), Claudio Fantinato (soprano and alto saxophones), Bob McNally (trombone), Jack Clark (drums), the late Danny Bell (Banjo), Tom Pagdin (piano), and myself on String Bass. <br /><br />Anyone who wants one can have one for free. However, I’m not going to mail them out. I’ll carry them around in my car so if you see me out and about, just ask. <br />
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Photo: Train Crew awaiting passengers from the Nanaimo Cruise Ship Terminal. <br />Engineers/Firemen Rollie Hurst & John Land, and myself as conductor.<br />
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Three Photos above: The Desperation Band closed out their many years as a group well known for their interpretations of that happy foot-stomping style of jazz called Dixieland with concerts at the Qualicum Cheese Works and Campbell River’s Spirit Square this past summer.<br /><br />Over time with various changes of personnel, the band played festivals throughout British Columbia and the US states of Washington and Montana. <br /><br />The photos shown here were taken at Campbell River with Bill Cave (trumpet), Claudio Fantinato (clarinet/saxophone), Jeff Agopsowicz (trombone), Wayne Finucan (drums), Doug Gretsinger (Bass), and yours truly on piano.<br />
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Last week I had two rehearsals with the Nanaimo based group of musicians who back up the annual Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra violinist James Mark is the show’s musical director. Doubling as the production’s rehearsal pianist, on Monday I begin a marathon two-week period of daily sessions working with the Vancouver based professional cast of singers and dancers in preparation for opening night on Dec. 4th. <br /><br />Quoting from the YPCS website: “The Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular is a celebration of Christmas as well as an extravaganza of music and dance, lights and decorations, laughter and tears. Now in its’ 9th year, it is fast becoming a family Christmas tradition on central Vancouver Island. Be sure to include a performance as part of your Holiday festivities.<br /><br />Included in this year’s singing and dancing extravaganza are hits by the Beach Boys, a Rock of Ages melody, Bobby Darrin songs, songs from Grease and Moulin Rouge, a Canadiana set as well as many more classical hits and Christmas favourites.” <br /><br />Tickets for matinee and evening performances at the Cedar Community Hall (December 4th – 13th) and the Port Theatre in Nanaimo (December 18th, 19th & 20th) can be purchased by phoning 250-754-8550 or online at www.porttheatre.com. There will be two performances (Dec 8th & 9th) at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay – Phone 250-338-2430 or go online to www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.<br />
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The photos above were taken at rehearsals for last year’s Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular show. At the left, I’m setting up my piano on stage at the Cedar Hall. Drummer Michael Wright is trying to straighten out his bass drum pedal. On the right the production’s technical crew is checking the lights and the sound for the performances at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre.<br />
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<b>Timbre! Choir</b><br />
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For almost a decade I’ve not been able to attend the Christmas choral concerts by the Timbre! Choir of Port Alberni that my wife Pat conducts. I’ve always been playing a performance with the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular at the same time. However, I do manage to take in Timbre!’s morning dress rehearsal before I have to zip south over the hump to do a Yellowpoint show performance.<br /><br />The annual concert this year is called “Timbre!’s Christmas Card” and will be presented Sunday, December 13, at 2:30 pm at ADSS Theatre in Port Alberni. As Musical Director Pat will be conducting her final Christmas concert with Timbre! I’m sorry I won’t be there. However, I will be playing in her official retirement from Timbre! at the choir’s spring concert on April 24, 2016. <br /><br />For “Timbre!’s Christmas Card” Pat has planned an exciting afternoon of music filled with joy and thankfulness – joy at the outstanding variety of the music that will be presented and thankfulness, for the wonderful audiences who have supported the choir for 43 years. <br /><br />New material being presented includes a brand new arrangement of Jingle Bells. This will be a rhythmical, happy sleigh ride for everyone. Hey Ho! Nobody Home is a humorous Traditional British Carol featuring door to door carolers who solicit food and drink in exchange for their harmony – almost like a Trick or Treat in Christmas style. Timbre! and eight soloists are featured in this piece of “joyful pandemonium”. Recommended by one of the younger members, the Josh Groban tune “Thankful” written by David Foster is a beautiful message song about “taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us”. <br /><br />Also included are some past audience favorites such as White Christmas, Deck the Halls and John Rutter’s arrangement of Joy to the World.<br />
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Tickets always sell fast for Timbre! concerts so my advice is get yours pronto.<br /><br />In Port Alberni they are available at Rollin Art Centre, Echo Centre, Salmonberry’s, Finishing Touches, Choir Members and at the door if available.<br /><br />In Qualicum & Parksville tickets are available for the Port Alberni concert at Coastal Community Credit Union.<br /><br />This month on November 29 Timbre! is appearing in a combined concert with the Village Voices Choir of Qualicum Beach at Knox United Church in Parksville at 2:30pm.<br />
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<br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-32516190326568364182015-09-04T06:24:00.000-07:002015-09-04T06:37:59.821-07:00Summer ends with some great musicA week ago along with my brother-in-law Dave Auld, I took in a performance by Roger Baird’s Black & White Jazz Trio from Vancouver at Char’s Landing in Port Alberni. Char’s is located in the old United Church on Argyle Street. The recycled building has become an established concert venue for not only local singer/songwriters, but also touring musical groups from across the country.<br />
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Let’s see - how can I best describe the band’s style? The simplest way would be to call their music free jazz or perhaps an exercise of collective improvisation. The group’s drummer and leader Roger Baird suggested when introducing his band-mates Miles Black on piano and Scott White on bass, that we close our eyes and let the sounds surround our senses when listening to the band’s meditative musical approach.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Percussionist Roger Baird introduces Roger Baird’s Black & White Jazz Trio at Char’s Landing in Port Alberni</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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Free jazz styled music is not new, establishing itself in the 1950s and 60s. The music habitually involves the abandonment of standard chord changes, normal song construction, and in some cases, predictable tone and technique. Each player is limited only by his imagination. However, listeners and musicians alike often dismissed the approach. I recall in 1961 one of my teachers at music college in Los Angeles basically saying a new recording by saxophonist Ornette Coleman was nothing but garbage. I confess at the time I too found much of Coleman’s music baffling.<br />
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As a person who grew up listening to the likes of Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Count Basie, I acknowledge I was well into my 20’s before musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and others set my ears afire.<br />
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The Char’s concert last week featuring Roger Baird’s Black & White Trio I found, at first, wearying. Some of my old prejudices regarding free jazz were still evident. However, I became more engaged by the second set. By concert’s end, I won’t say I was hooked but knew I needed to hear more of this motivating ensemble. The following day accessing Apple’s iTune site I found a 2007 recording of the trio. The album was titled Spirit Door. I’ve listened to the full recording several times now using the new Apple Music streaming service.<br />
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A word about this new online streaming service from Apple. The service allows members to listen to full-length versions of the entire iTunes catalog anytime on up to five devices. Currently I’m signed on for the free three-month trial period. When that runs out the service will cost me $9.99 per month for one device or $14.99 if I want more. Will I be sticking with my single membership? Absolutely! I’ve been listening to dozens of jazz and classical albums this summer. Normally when buying an album I’d be very selective, downloading only something I knew I wanted to hear. Now I can listen to full versions of albums, that if purchased would cost me hundreds of dollars in a month. Apple claims 11million people signed up for their free trial in the first two weeks when the service launched in July. How many keep their memberships will determine the service’s success. I just hope musicians will receive a fair slice of royalties, as the streaming service will be the final nail in the coffin of anything resembling a brick & mortar record store.<br />
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However, I digress. After listening to the Spirit Door album by the Roger Baird’s Black & White Trio I have become an unqualified fan of the band. I could never do an adequate job describing their music. If you’re interested in hearing some of their work I suggest you go online at youtube.com and watch a special Shaw cable show about the band. Type <b>Roger Baird’s Black & White Trio – Shaw story – full version</b> into your search engine. That should get you there.<br />
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<b>Twist & Shout Rocks Chemainus</b><br />
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Another musical event attended last week was the Chemainus Festival Theatre’s production of Twist & Shout – The British Invasion. I wish the show was still on so I could tell you to skedaddle down to Chemainus and see it. Unfortunately the show closed on the weekend. <br />
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When I saw the posters for Twist & Shout – The British Invasion, I figured it would basically be an evening of Beatle music. Yes John, Paul, George and Ringo made several appearances on stage throughout the evening but the show was so much more. The stage setting was a New York television variety show hosted by Roy Solomon (think Ed Sullivan) who tied the production together introducing the performances of British bands of the 60’s who came to the Big Apple to appear on his “Really Big Show.” One after another they came - Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Hollies, Freddy and Dreamers, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield and loads more. The Mick Jagger impersonation was hilarious.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full Cast photo of Twist & Shout - The British Invasion</td></tr>
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At times I realized I was instinctively humming along with the cast on tunes and thought it might be just me. However, casting my eyes around the theatre I could see folks mouthing the words of songs. One gentleman in the centre row was bouncing in his seat with such enthusiasm I thought he might tumble into the rows below. The energy level in the theatre was electrifying and it never let up. <br />
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Being a musician, whenever I see actors imitating the playing of a musical instrument, I naturally watch how well they’re pulling it off. Everyone in the show certainly had done their homework. The ‘lip synced’ drumming was especially well done. Every fill, rim shot and cymbal crash was flawlessly timed with the live musicians who were only just visible behind a scrim. I’m sure most in the audience thought the actors were actually playing their instruments. <br />
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Talented keyboardist Nico Rhodes, who doubled as musical director, skillfully led the live band. Made up guitarist Brad Shipley, bassist Marisha Devoin, 2Nd keyboardist Patrick Courtin and drummer James McRae, all handled the mind-boggling number of 60’s hit tunes with unqualified proficiency. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beatles were on stage at the Chemainus Festival Theatre this summer </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tory Doctor as Roy Soloman (think Ed Sullivan)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Together again - The Martin Mars</b><br />
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During a break in the rain this week I nipped out in my boat to take this photo of the two Martin Mars floating together on Sproat Lake for the first time in several years.<br />
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In the foreground is the Philippine Mars painted back to its original colours when delivered to the US Navy in 1945. The plane is being prepared for a flight south of the border in the spring as part of a transfer to the U.S. National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.<br />
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The familiar Red & White Hawaii Mars is shown in the background. The plane was in the air several times this summer with flights around the Alberni Valley training a group of 14 Chinese pilots and engineers who visited Port Alberni in July to learn how to fly similar large tankers currently under construction in China.<br />
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The Hawaii Mars also flew this summer under a 30-day B.C. Government contract that came about after the Dog Mountain Fire at Sproat Lake produced a great deal of bad publicity for the forest service when the Mars wasn’t used. Finally put under contract the water bomber flew forest firefighting missions on the Island, the Fraser Valley and the Interior. The Hawaii set a new B.C. Record at a fire near Harrison Lake on Aug. 2, dropping 108,000 liters of water in an hour. Many in BC want to see the Mars signed to a 5-year contract.<br />
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<b>Do you want to Sing, Sing, Sing?</b><br />
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The Timbre! Choir in Port Alberni has openings in all sections for new members for their upcoming 43rd season. Rehearsals get underway on September 14. Contact phone numbers are Pat Venn at 250-723-2380 in Port Alberni or my wife Pat in Nanaimo at 250-390-7508. I have a feeling this may be Pat’s final season as the choir’s musical director. Why do I suspect this? I notice that she’s titled the choir’s spring concert on April 24/2016 Time to Say Goodbye. Hmnn…..<br />
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<span id="goog_892977455"></span><span id="goog_892977456"></span><br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-57385027766527622802015-08-23T04:46:00.000-07:002015-08-23T04:46:34.116-07:00Could our ingenious technology run amuck?The Martin Mars had a contract this summer to train a group of Chinese pilots who will be flying some new 4-engine tankers currently being built in China. Then virtually within sight of the Mars bomber base, Dog Mountain caught fire. Although the Mars wasn’t quite ready to fight the fire, as they didn’t have a contract, public pressure did prod the authorities into giving a one-month fire-fighting contract to the iconic aircraft. The Forest Service’s spin the last two fire seasons has been the Mars is not as efficient as smaller more modern aircraft. Sadly that decision resulted in the loss of an entire mountain on Sproat Lake when the zippy new land-based airplanes couldn’t control the blaze. Thousands in BC are hopeful the Mars will now be given a five-year contract.<br /><br />However, one can still see the government’s reluctance to include the Mars in their toolbox of forest fire fighting aircraft. Is it my imagination, but whenever there’s a media report relating to the Mars the cost of the contract seems to be always mentioned? In all fairness the cost of all the other contracts should be published as well. Yes, the Mars likely costs more but it has proven its worth over the decades and can dump more water and gel on a fire in a shorter time span than any other aircraft. <br /><br />As of this writing the Mars has attended several fires in the province and has been doing an outstanding job. Follow the Mars at https://www.facebook.com/coulsonflyingtankers<br />
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<b>Photo: Our daughter-in-law Jessica Booker took this photo from our float as the Martin Mars was landing on Sproat Lake. </b><br />
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<b>I’ve added another flag to our float flag pole. On top of course is the Maple Leaf, below it the flag of the Colony of Vancouver Island and below that the newly minted Martin Mar’s flag.</b><br />
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<b>The upper half of a burnt tree from the Dog Mountain fire. When the lake starts to rise in the fall I fear tons of similar debris will be floating on the lake. Hopefully someone has a plan to remove these safety hazards. Meanwhile the BC Forest Service continues to allow the fire to burn itself out, a decision many lake residents find unacceptable with the Mars Bomber available to put out hotspots within the fire’s perimeter.</b><br />
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<u><b>Could our ingenious technology run amuck? </b></u><br />
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I remember when personal computers were first introduced into the public school system. I wasn’t overly impressed with what the machines could do. However, one had to pay attention because the government was willing to dole out substantial funding to teachers willing to figure ways to incorporate computers into their programs. I was convinced it was just another passing fad and things would soon return to normal. Boy was I wrong! Today I embrace technology as much as anyone.<br /><br />Yes, computers can do wonderful things but of late, many people are starting to fear them as well. Even Bill Gates, who is responsible as anyone for putting computers into our homes, stated recently in a Newsweek article that artificial intelligence is dangerous and could doom humanity. <br /><br />There are so many things that computers have replaced in our lives that it boggles the mind of someone like me who was a child of the 1930’s. My career choice became that of a musician. I often think of how computers wiped out the jobs of thousands of professional music copyists. Before the advent of computers, committing musical notes to paper using distinctive fountain pens was almost an art form. Then came computer programs tied to the Internet that enable musicians to record studio quality performances in the comfort of their own home and sell the created music worldwide, eliminating almost overnight a studio based recording empire. <br /><br />The computer incursion into our lives continues today at an ever-increasing rate. Today the very art of writing language longhand is threatened as elementary schools across the country downgrade cursive writing to make room for keyboarding lessons. Learning to write in my elementary school years meant having to dip a straight pen into a glass inkwell fixed atop my graffiti scarred wooden desk. Meticulously my classmates and I practiced daily to scroll so very carefully all the letters of the alphabet. Thinking about it calls to mind my mother’s beautiful longhand style that was pure artistry. Computers have obliterated that era. <br /><br />Youngsters these days can’t even write their own names. I recently read a newspaper article where an Ontario father was in a state of shock when he realized his teenage son didn’t how to sign his name in longhand on the Canadian passport application. The boy needed the passport for travel to Europe on a school field trip. <br /><br />And let’s be frank. Does anyone know how to spell anymore? As I write this blog Microsoft Spell Check is silently churning away, letting me know the millisecond I’ve misspelled a word and offering suggestions to correct my flub. Unfortunately for poor spellers, the program doesn’t recognize the difference between words like "your" and "you're". No matter, in this world of Smartphone texting, today’s youth simply avoids the effort and types “ur.” <br /><br />Going back to Bill Gates’ remark that, “artificial intelligence is dangerous and could doom humanity.” Referring to computer-controlled robotics, he stated “at first the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though, the intelligence will be strong enough to be a concern.” And another really smart guy named Stephen Hawking has declared, “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” especially since “humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded.” Wow! Given that brilliant people the likes of these are expressing such concerns should alarm us all. Is our future to be placed in the hands of a bunch of robots? There won’t be a decent job left for a human to do. <b><br /></b><br />
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<u><b>Steam Days at McLean Mill National Historic Site (Port Alberni)</b></u><br />
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<b>My wife Pat and I continue to work as conductors aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway that travels between the Port Alberni downtown waterfront and the National Historic Site McLean Mill in the Beaver Creek area east of the city. The weekend of July 24/25 was called Steam Up and Antique Machinery Show Days and featured steam operated equipment from various points of Vancouver Island. Here Pat and I are in charge of a much smaller train than we’re used to, a model railway steam ride brought to the McLean Mill steam weekend by the Vancouver Island Model Engineer Club based on the Saanich Peninsula north of Victoria.</b><br />
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<b> Can you imagine dragging this monstrous steam operated saw around in the bush to buck up a fallen tree? The photo was taken at the recent Steam Up and Antique Machinery Show at the National Historic Site McLean Mill.</b><br />
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<b> The notorious Beaufort Gang continues to harass the Alberni Pacific Railway, periodically getting away with the entire payroll for McLean Mill employees.</b><br />
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There is a scenic spot in the Alberni Valley known as the Hole in the Wall. Oddly, taking into account the many decades I lived in the valley, I can’t believe I never got around to visiting the locally known gem until this summer. At long last on a blazing hot afternoon last week, Pat and I decided to hike in and have a look. <br /><br />We began by parking Pat’s loyal Toyota Camry in a small pull-out on Highway 4, directly across from Coombs Country Candy where one begins the drive up the hump. Being a very warm day, walking the first section of the trail through a shade-less replanted logged off area was somewhat desert-like. However, within a short distance the trail passed into a cool forest of second growth. Unfortunately there was no signage to tell one which of several forks in the trail led to our goal Hole in the Wall so we found ourselves backtracking at one point. However, with some direction from other hikers we soon located our destination.<br /><br />The watercourse running through the area is Roger Creek. Considering the drought conditions this summer I was surprised the small waterfall tumbling out of the hole hadn’t been reduced to a trickle. The little information I could find online said the gaping hole had been blasted through the massive wall of volcanic shale to provide a direct delivery route from a reservoir that was the source of drinking water for the Town of Alberni before it amalgamated with Port Alberni in 1967. I spotted several old wooden pipes wrapped with wire exposed alongside the trail which I deduce carried the water into town. Our visit to Hole in the Wall was well worth the trek and every bit as impressive and picturesque as I’d been led to believe it was by others. A second visit has been added to my bucket list.<br />
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-51046320933292995322015-07-14T05:00:00.000-07:002015-07-14T05:03:54.400-07:00Magnificent Mars flies againThis past week has been surreal at our summer home on pristine Sproat Lake in the Alberni Valley. It started July 4th as I was working as conductor aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway’s heritage steam train ride to the McLean Mill National Historic Site. The train was travelling downgrade to Port Alberni when it was suddenly robbed by the Beaufort Gang. A number of well-known valley citizens lost their valuables to the venomous thieves who escaped into the forest on horseback. <br />
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Proceeding down the grade, the rail right-of-way emerges from the woodlands near the Chase & Warren Winery. The view across the Alberni Valley at this point is quite spectacular. Looking towards Sproat Lake we could see a thin wisp of smoke curling skyward from the top of Dog Mountain, the unmistakable sign of the birth of a forest fire. Over the train’s PA system we drew our passenger’s attention to the developing event. <br />
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On subsequent trips throughout the day we watched the fire grow ever larger in size. It was several hours before any fire-suppression aircraft appeared on the scene. On all our minds was the fact that the world’s largest firefighting water bomber, Hawaii Mars, was sitting beached on the shoreline of Sproat Lake within sight of the fire. The mighty Mars had been declared redundant by the government two years ago and was not part of their future plans to fight forest fires in British Columbia. This decision would prove to be a colossal mistake this past week. Had the Mars been operational it is likely the fire could have been contained until firefighters arrived on the ground. Instead the result was a massive wildfire that burned an entire mountain and spread to the beaches of Two Rivers and Taylor Arms.<br />
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<b>Above: I took this picture of Sproat Lake’s Dog Mountain fire from my boat
at 11pm on Tues. evening July 7. An awesome and scary event to witness
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As the fire raged and expanded towards several shoreline cabins, social media went crazy. Why was the Mars just sitting there onshore? “Get it up and running!” Alberni residents and others further afield cried. For days the government wouldn’t budge, refusing to give the Coulson Group of Companies (a local corporation and owners of the Martin Mars) a contract to get the aircraft back in action. Finally the heat became too much to ignore, not only from the fire, but also from BC citizens of all political stripes. The government finally caved, spewing a stack of political bafflegab why they now considered the Mars Water Bomber part of their arsenal in battling forest fires in the province. The result is the Hawaii Mars will operate on a one-month contract that could be extended if the dry weather continues. Wouldn’t it be a revelation if a government agency just stated that they’d made a mistake in the first place and get on with the job.</div>
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As I write this blog the Martin Mars has just landed after completing a number of test flights including a water drop directly in front of the bomber base. Our lake house is exactly under the landing flight path of the mammoth machine and every landing is an exciting event that sets all our cupboard dishes dancing. Although safely high enough, the Mars always seems close enough to clip the treetops surrounding our sundeck. <br />
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Everyone here in the Alberni Valley and I’m sure in other parts of the province are relieved the Mars is back in service. She has proven her worth in the past and given the opportunity, no doubt will once again.<br />
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<b>Photo: Pat and I along with our grandchildren watched the Hawaii Mars launched into Sproat Lake early Tuesday morning for the first time in two years. The following evening the huge aircraft did a test flight over Port Alberni with the whole community cheering.</b><br />
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<b>Saturday morning July 11.</b>What is this? Am I hallucinating. I’ve just woken up and heavy rain is falling, the first seen in numerous weeks. I had to rush down to our float to get our boat covered. Last night when I went to bed the weather report was calling for light rain, not a 12-hour long deluge. Will the rain put out the fire? Possibly. However, there’s more summer days ahead and having the Mars Bomber floating in the lake on standby, ready to fly at a moment’s notice is definitely comforting.<br />
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<b>And all that jazz….</b><br />
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Two weeks ago I drove down to Victoria to catch some concerts at the TD International Jazz Festival. Packing a case of CD’s, I’d decided from the moment I left home I’d listen to jazz non-stop. No tuning in on the car radio to eavesdrop on the latest talk show rants regarding political scandals. This was to be a few days submerged in music and also do a little touring on my new e-Bike. <br />
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Victoria is a superb city for cycling with some excellent bike trails crisscrossing the surrounding communities. Arriving in the Capital City, the first thing I did was ride the Galloping Goose Trail on the old Canadian National Railway grade out to Sooke. <br />
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Later the same day I rode a newer paved commuter bike trail that has been laid out between Victoria’s historic E&N railway roundhouse and the Naden Naval Yards in Esquimalt. The only drawback to accessing the trail is one must ride smack in the middle of vehicle traffic across the old Johnson Street lift bridge. The railway bridge that was situated alongside the vehicle bridge and had incorporated the separated bike path lanes has been removed to make way for the new bridge currently under construction. When finished the new bridge will include designated bikes lanes and will act as the trailhead to serve the region’s Galloping Goose, Lochside, and E&N biking trails.<br />
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After bike riding most of the day it was time to hear some live jazz. The first festival event I took in was a two hour performance by the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra. They were incredible. Made up of 19 musicians from Montreal the band was world class. You wouldn't hear big band jazz played any better anywhere. Jensen is a beautiful arranger and a fair portion of the program was based on her Juno Award winning album Treelines. Currently she is working on a new work that will be jazz interpretations of the paintings of Emily Carr. The concert also featured Christine’s sister Ingrid on trumpet who is based in New York City. For those blog readers who may not know, both began their music studies in the Nanaimo school system and have gone on to achieve world wide success, like another Nanaimo bred musician by the name of Diana Krall. Hats off to CBC Radio and The Canada Council for underwriting the costs of Jensen’s concert. Touring a large jazz band across the country is a rare event these days considering the current political climate relating to support for the arts.<br />
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The second concert I attended was a piano trio called GoGo Penguin from Manchester England. The group’s dazzling improvisations were based on everything from Shostakovich to the British group Massive Attack. Pianist Chris Illingworth boggled my mind with his ability to split his brain in two to state one melody with his right hand and another with his left with such breathtaking precision of metre. It was uncanny how he made it work so seamlessly. Nick Blacka’s huge sound on the double bass and drummer Rob Turner’s unyielding staccato styled rhythms filled every corner of Herman’s Jazz Club where the concert was held. The overall trance-like musicality of the group is something that has to be heard live to be believed.<br />
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<b>Above: Christine and Ingrid Jensen perform an improvised duet backed by Christine’s big band at the TD International Jazz Festival in Victoria. </b><br />
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<b> Below: New flag added to our float flag pole on Sproat Lake</b><br />
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Did you know Vancouver Island has its own flag? I didn’t until I noticed a Nanaimo neighbor flying from their balcony an unusual flag containing the Union Jack in one corner. Unable to find the flag listed on a world flag site on the internet, I asked our neighbor one evening while out walking with my wife Pat, what country the flag represented. To my surprise I learned it was the official flag for the Colony of Vancouver Island. </div>
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Aside from having the Union Jack, the flag also features the trident of Neptune (for the ocean), a pine cone to represent the Island’s forests, and a beaver to represent the fur trade. It was approved by Queen Victoria in 1865. However events ensured a short shelf life. In 1865 the Colony of British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island merged so the designed flag was never flown. Our neighbor had purchased his from the Victoria Flag Shop on Fort Street. I immediately ordered one.</div>
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This year starting Canada Day, on our Sproat Lake float flagpole we not only raised the Maple Leaf, but Vancouver Island’s very own official flag.</div>
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<br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-81533602093607905372015-06-30T21:33:00.002-07:002015-06-30T21:33:56.277-07:00E-Bike a revelationI’ve been riding a 10-Speed bike for many years and enjoy the pursuit immensely. However, at the end of our street I have to pump my bike up an incredibly steep hill before hitting more level terrain. Lately I’d taken to dismounting and pushing my bike up the incline. My knees were beginning to wag a flag of surrender. After all I had to concede, I am a retired senior so feeling joint pain does come with the territory.<br /><br />Then one morning while reading the local Nanaimo newspaper, I spotted an advertisement placed by a Qualicum store promoting a product called Pedego electric bikes. “Come see us and take one of our electric bikes out for a test ride. Recapture the fun of being a kid on a bike again – able to go anywhere, forever” their ad declared. I jumped into my van and thirty minutes later was in the store donning a bike helmet and taking an e-bike model called the City Commuter Classic for a spin. Having spent a decade of summers during my youth at my parent’s beach house in Qualicum Beach, I knew where all the really steep streets in the area were located. I had to see if the e-bike could perform as advertised. What a revelation! The hills I selected melted away as the e-bike zipped effortlessly up every grade. I was sold. There was no way I could leave the store without owning one.<br />
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Originally my perception of an e-bike was that it must be like a motorcycle – just climb on and the thing will cart you wherever you want to go, no pedaling necessary. That, it turned out was just ignorance on my part. Electric bikes are normal bicycles that have been built to incorporate the assistance of an electric motor. It’s more accurate to call them electric-assist or pedal-assist bicycles because they do not go unless you pedal them. However, having said that, mine has a throttle that works independently from the pedals when needed. I use it whenever I need to take off quickly from a standing stop such as after waiting for a traffic light.<br /><br />When I was in Switzerland a couple of years ago with my brother Terry, I noticed that most city public parking garages had more bicycles parked in them than cars. Apparently in many European cities, e-bikes have extended the distances cycled so much that bikes are second only to automobiles in total mileage traveled. The rise of e-bikes as a practical commuting option in Europe is actually eroding sales of cars. <br /><br />After getting my new e-bike home aboard my utility trailer, I could hardly wait to take off. However, I had to be patient and wait a few hours to charge the new battery pack. Remember that first hill located at the end of our street? The e-bike charged up the grade like it didn’t even exist. I was onto the Parkway Trail behind the Woodgrove Mall in moments and heading south. Upon reaching Vancouver Island University I took a wrong turn and got a little lost on some unfamiliar side streets. However, my Apple Smart Phone GPS soon bailed me out and guided me through Bowen Park to where I was able to access the E&N bike trail and ride it northward to home.<br /><br />I had a little fun on this leg of the trail. Pulling up behind three cyclists I indicated I was going to pass them on the left. I then kicked in full battery power and roared past, leaving them far behind. The group caught up with me as I was waiting for a long light change at the Bowen Road and Island Highway intersection. They were flabbergasted and had to know how a senior citizen had left them behind eating his dust. I gave them a technical rundown on the phenomenal capabilities of my new bike and told them where I’d bought it. They all wanted one. I may have given the Qualicum store a few more sales. Perhaps I’d better inquire about receiving a sales commission.<br /><br />It’s an understatement to say my first extended trip with the bike was awesome. As one bike reviewer I read online put it, “it’s thrilling to add 400 watts of power to the 400 watts your body is already putting out.” Also, whenever I needed to leave the bike trails and travel on city streets, I felt much safer than on my old 10-speed because I can now keep up with the traffic. On hills, I was constantly smiling to myself as I marveled at how little effort it took to climb them.<br />
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The following day I decided to do my bit for the environment by ditching the car to do the grocery shopping via my bike. An article I’d read that very morning stated when an e-bike replaces a car, the e-bike offsets 1,550 grams of globe-warming hydrocarbons; 1,460 grams of carbon monoxide; and 770 grams of nitrogen oxides for every 500 miles ridden. Perhaps I should consider voting Green in the next election. Interestingly the only federal running politician at this point in time to knock on our door was the Green candidate for our area – an intelligent young fellow by the name of Paul Manly. I digress. <br /><br />Bottom line – my new bike has extended my life on two wheels into the future and my knees are thanking me. Riding gives me a sincere connection with the community, venturing into neighborhood areas I’d never bother to go with a car. I am aware that some in the biking fraternity assert that riding an e-bike is not a pure cycling pursuit and fundamentally is lazy. However, the way I see it, it’s my car that breeds laziness, while my new e-bike will have me out riding more than ever.Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-56261299425929252022015-04-06T16:13:00.003-07:002015-04-06T16:13:38.480-07:00Everything you ever wantedf to know about The Sound of Music revealed in newly released book
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Last
Sunday I toddled off like an excited youngster to see the film version of the iconic
Broadway Musical <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music.</i>
This year being the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the movie’s release, the
Galaxy Theatre in Nanaimo as part of their Classic Film Series scheduled two
showings. The previous week I’d stumbled upon an article in the Art’s section
of the Victoria Colonist that mentioned a new book by Tom Santopietro about the
making of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music.</i> Downloading
the book from Amazon to my iPad, I couldn’t stop reading. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It
was June 4<sup>th</sup>, 1964 and Julie Andrews was freezing. “If this is
spring weather in the Austrian Alps, what is it like in February?” she thought.
The location was a meadow high above Mehlweg in Southern Bavaria and the schedule
called for the filming of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of
Music</i>’s title song – the scene that opens the story that has Maria cresting
a hill at a flat run, throwing herself into a full-bodied twirl with arms
outstretched as if to embrace the entire world launching into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The hills are alive with …</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The logistics involved a rental helicopter that would swoop down from
above to film the scene. Helicopter rentals were enormously expensive and the
20<sup>th</sup> Century-Fox front office back in Hollywood was pleading with
director Robert Wise to rein in the escalating costs affecting a studio that
was just emerging from bankruptcy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no money for even one more day’s helicopter rental.
Seeing the scene replayed on the big screen last Sunday, I’d forgotten how spectacular
the sequence was.</span><br />
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<b>The <i>Sound of Music</i> soundtrack has proved to be the most successful soundtrack ever released, but aside from Julie Andrews, no one who sang on the soundtrack ever received any money from it. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Reading
Santopietro’s book before attending the film added so much more enjoyment to
the multiple times I’ve seen the film, mostly on video when preparing for one
of the live productions I’ve played piano on and conducted over the years. Santopietro’s
tome is loaded with so much detail about the filming that the data was continuously
spooling through my brain as every scene played out. Apparently the helicopter’s
downdraft proved so strong that Andrews found herself constantly knocked over
and trying to avoid the meadow’s muddy sections during multiple morning takes.
The regular Hollywood cameraman had refused to dangle himself from the
aircraft’s doorway so a fearless German operator had to be hired for this part
of the shoot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
overriding question for 20<sup>th</sup> Century-Fox during three months of
filming was would the movie-going public buy into a story about a nun bursting
with song. Audiences were starting to expect more reality from their films in
the early 60’s. Marked relaxation of production code taboos had changed the
very nature of moviegoing. Religious epics were no longer in vogue and musicals
had fallen out of favor. I recall seeing the Academy Award winning film version
of West Side Story by the same director Robert Wise in 1961 at a movie theatre
in Port Alberni. Most of the audience had left the theatre before the end,
unable to accept the premise of street gang hoodlums who sang and danced their
way across the screen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
as we all know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i>
turned out to be a worldwide film phenomenon that continues to resonate with
audiences some five decades after the film’s initial release. This, was in
spite of the critical scorn heaped upon the film when it opened. Santopietro’s
book devotes a number of pages regarding movie critics in this pre-Internet
age. He states critics in the mid-sixties simply grew mean, as if the more
vicious the attacks, the more firmly they established their importance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Some examples - the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Yorker</i>’s
Brendan Gill wrote “the film’s handful of authentic location shots have a hokey
studio sheen. The acting of Andrews, Plummer, and Parker are well under
ordinary high school level.” Wow! As author Santopietro points out, “It’s safe
to say that there was not a high schooler alive in 1965 or 2015 who possessed
anywhere near the acting skills of these three award-winning actors.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCall’s</i> magazine critic Pauline Kael
found the movie phony. She struck the pose of a world-weary upholder of
artistic standards writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of
Music </i>makes it “even more difficult for anyone to try to do anything worth
doing, anything relevant to the modern world, anything inventive or expressive.”
Pressing her attack further she declared that a film of such “luxuriant
falseness” was “probably going to be the single most repressive influence on
artistic freedom in movies for the next few years.” She blamed the American
public for foolishly buying into a film that promoted the “big lie, the
sugarcoated lies that people seem to want to eat.” Incidentally, the review
cost her her job as the magazine’s film critic. I assume too many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCall’s</i> magazine readers cancelled or
threatened to cancel their subscriptions.</span><br />
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<b>Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and the children. Plummer thought the film beneath him and worried how the movie could affect his career as a classical actor. In one interview he called the film “The Sound of Mucus.” However, over time he finally came to understand and appreciate how much the film meant to people.</b><br />
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<b> The hills are alive with ...</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
seemed to particularly confound the critics was the fact that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i> represented a return
to old-fashioned “saccharine” fare they thought had finally disappeared. Films
like Alfred Hitchcock’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psycho</i>, others
that depicted nuclear destruction like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fail-Safe</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dr. Strangelove</i> were the fare of
the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet here was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i>, old-fashioned to the
core, rising to be the most popular film on the planet. The most severe critics
continued to assert the question: “had audiences all around the world lost
their collective minds?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When
the Oscar nominations were announced early in 1966, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor
Zhivago</i> had each garnered a total of ten nominations. When the dust settled
on Oscar night, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music </i>triumphed,
marking two years in a row that a musical had won the Academy Award as Best
Film. The previous year was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Fair Lady</i>.
Critics once more rolled their eyes. Although nominated, Julie Andrews didn’t
win best actress. The Hollywood scuttle-buck was Andrews had already been well
rewarded for winning the Oscar in 1964 for her role in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary Poppins</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Country by country, continent by continent, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i> juggernaut rolled on setting box office records,
except in Germany and Austria. The cold hard fact in these two countries was
the film flopped outright – big time. Santopietro poses the reason for this was
that the Nazi-era setting of the movie seemed to remind the population of an
era that they would rather totally forget. The movie’s depiction of Captain von
Trapp’s principled refusal to serve in the Reich’s Navy only served to remind
Austrians that masses of their fellow citizens had eagerly welcomed Hitler. The
first run of the film in Salzburg lasted only three days. Only those who had
acted as extras showed up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However the passage of time
does heal. Today Austrians are grateful for the decades’ long boon to tourism
fostered by the film’s worldwide appeal. As Austrian minister of arts and
culture once stated, “Salzburg may be the home of Mozart, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i> locations appear to
have surpassed Wolfgang Amadeus’s birthplace as the ‘go to’ Salzburg
destinations.” Today at the height of the summer season one tour company claims
their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sound of Music</i> location tours
still attract over two hundred paying customers per day. Tourists also attend
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Salzburg Marionettes</i> production
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music</i>. It appears the
company<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>turned down an offer by 20<sup>th</sup>
Century-Fox to stage the famous marionette scene that appears in the film. They
judged being in a Hollywood movie undignified - beneath their legendary
performance standards.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HrYLNs1qRftBvTZL7iJR09pGcr1OEw8o0J_bF42_zgkWVpvcLgDXCGvuIExSD4_Q7DUpSZlejDiQmAXYqi1WVjZfCgtP5U6A7Ze29BCZbqlaESnWzFUa_5GnNPbVFi6ImAPm1QHdZXpN/s1600/th-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HrYLNs1qRftBvTZL7iJR09pGcr1OEw8o0J_bF42_zgkWVpvcLgDXCGvuIExSD4_Q7DUpSZlejDiQmAXYqi1WVjZfCgtP5U6A7Ze29BCZbqlaESnWzFUa_5GnNPbVFi6ImAPm1QHdZXpN/s1600/th-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The famous Marionette scene from the film.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Today
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sixteen Going on Seventeen</i> gazebo
sits in a city park. Across from the Salzburg Sheraton Hotel, the manager
claims that guests don’t ask for their room number when checking in – they only
want to make a beeline for the iconic steps of the Mirabell Gardens across the
street where the finale of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do-Re-Mi</i>
was filmed. Here tourists flock to re-create the stair-hopping climax of the
tune that featured Maria and the children on a summertime outing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
barely scratched the surface of the quantity of information packed into this new
book by Tom Santopietro. If you’re at all interested in film musicals, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music Story</i> is a must read.</span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-86633260014372200562015-02-02T09:08:00.002-08:002015-02-02T09:08:16.512-08:00Piano in family since 1939
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<span class="s1">The past month I’ve been going through stacks of cardboard boxes bursting with old photos, sheet music, letters, clothing and other paraphernalia stored in our garage. Many containers hadn’t been cracked open since we moved from Port Alberni to Nanaimo 14 years ago. One box containing correspondence belonging to my parents and written in the 1930’s I found to be of significant interest, a link I felt to be my prelude connection to the world of music. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Photo: Our Grandchildren Nathan and Matthew play a duet on the Mason & Risch Grand Piano that my parents purchased in the summer of 1939.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Three letters written in June and July of 1939 were related to a Mason & Risch Grand piano that my parents had purchased in Vancouver and were in the process of having shipped to Port Alberni. This was the piano I would ultimately learn to play on. In 1939 I was a year old. The Mason & Risch piano company of Toronto dates back to the late 1800’s. They were among the earliest piano makers in this country and grew to become a giant of the Canadian piano industry, producing more pianos than any other company. In supporting young Canadian musicians my wife Pat won the company's national scholarship in 1960/61 which enabled her to study at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The first typewritten letter addressed to my father was dated July 20</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1">, 1939 and signed by the manager of the Vancouver branch office of Mason & Risch. It indicated the Grand piano purchase had left their hands in “lovely condition”, and hoped that it would reach Port Alberni “without mishap.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">It appears from references in the correspondence that my father was apprehensive about assembling the piano when it arrived and wondered if someone from the Vancouver store could be sent over to do the job. The manager acknowledged that he had “made enquiry of our local Dray Company, who handle all our Grands, what it would cost to send their foreman over to Port Alberni to supervise the work to ensure safe installation. The cost of such a trip seems almost prohibitive. The round trip fare would be $6.55, the wages of a man for two days $10.00, and estimated for meals and bed $6.50, a total of, approximately, $23.00.” The reference to a “Dray Company” I found fascinating – harkening back to a time when freight was moved aboard horse-drawn wagons.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The piano arrived by railway express at the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway in Port Alberni the first week of August in 1938. A second letter arrived at the same time explaining in great detail how the piano should be assembled. The “draymen who transport the piano to your home from the Port Alberni railway express warehouse should fasten the Grand on their skid to take it to your living room, where the setting up takes place. Obviously it cannot be set up on its legs outside the house. Inside the Grand is to be lifted bodily by five husky men so as to not put any strain on the legs until the Grand rests on the legs naturally. Let the men get themselves distributed around the Grand for the lifting of it.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">On and on for three-pages the instructions go, the piano company apologizing for repeating sections of the directive so many times, “but we have done our best, in everyday language, to make this clear to you, and it is really not as involved as it would appear, especially as you will see when you have the Grand before you. Please do not be scared over our prolonged description of how to do it.” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In closing the letter writer states, “realizing your profession (my father was a medical doctor) it is possible that you would anticipate a major operation instead. The writer has enjoyed among his close personal friends several physicians and surgeons, and we feel quite confident that you can handle this situation satisfactory. We will await with considerable interest your letter after the Grand has been installed in your new home.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The piano occupied a prominent position in the livingroom of our parent’s home for decades. Upon the passing of my mother Evelyn Miller, the piano was placed in my wife Pat’s piano studio after traveling with us when we moved to Nanaimo. Recently the Grand was transported back over the hump to Port Alberni to be used by our two grandchildren, Nathan and Matthew.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Loci ready to move</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc8gNdNWWXgTMZ21J20ldcN0wtT8xM7VdtnWIIa5coqOda2cg2p7ek4g7dKpBoB0XN6kPFoe-rCuVfESRXKh8Q78qRbwZQjmZvFmZTXqJuLfz5yQQtFURB5gjTIxk8-SJ4WvabxTh9tup/s1600/IMG_3380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc8gNdNWWXgTMZ21J20ldcN0wtT8xM7VdtnWIIa5coqOda2cg2p7ek4g7dKpBoB0XN6kPFoe-rCuVfESRXKh8Q78qRbwZQjmZvFmZTXqJuLfz5yQQtFURB5gjTIxk8-SJ4WvabxTh9tup/s1600/IMG_3380.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">My blog of Dec 6</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> featured photos taken during an exploratory trip I made north to Woss Lake with members of the Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society. The trip was to assess the possibility of moving steam locomotive #112 from the Nimkish Valley to the Alberni Valley by highway on board a flat deck truck. </span><span class="s3">Western Forest Products had offered the locomotive, situated in their Beaver Cove rail yard, to the Industrial Heritage Society. It was decided to go ahead with the move and backed with a donation of $10,000 from the BC Railroad Association, society members have been working weekends readying the steam locomotive for the move. <b>Here are some photos taken recently by IHS member David Hooper.</b></span></div>
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<span class="s3">The Nickel Bros Moving Company has been tasked with moving the steam locomotive to Port Alberni. The company is the largest house moving company in the Pacific Northwest, transporting everything from a castle built for Expo 86 to an entire two-story pub. The photos above show the locomotive being jacked up and blocked. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><i>Arrowsmith Big Band on mid-island tour</i></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The 16-piece Arrowsmith Big Band will be making a 3-concert tour starting next week. The band is comprised of some of the foremost musicians on mid-Vancouver Island who have between them many years of professional experience playing jazz. There are also three talented students in the group, one from Kwalicum Secondary School and two who attend the music program at Vancouver Island University. The adult members hail from several communities on the Island and meet weekly in Parksville to rehearse.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The concerts will be a rare opportunity for jazz fans to hear the sound produced by the traditional big band instrumentation of four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones accompanied by a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums. After more than 70 years the configuration continues to be a platform for training young jazz musicians in high school and university music programs world wide.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Some of the arrangements that will be heard during the tour will be Pete Coulman’s Yardbird Suite, Mark Markus’ Med. Basie Swing, John LaBarbera’s A Delicate Balance, Bill Holman’s Aura, Quincy Jones’ Quintessence, Gordon Goodwin’s Hunting Wabbits, Gary Urwin’s My Foolish Heart, Bob Brookmeyer’s Spirit Music, Rob McConnell’s Groovin’ High amongst others. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Band members include Michael Irving, Dave Stewart, Greg Bush, Susie Craven (trumpets), Paul Nuez, Julian Telfer-Wan, Will Oxland, Jeff Agopsowicz (trombones), Claudio Fantinato, Caleb Boorboom, Dan Craven, Trevor Hooper, Rod Alsop (saxophones), Barry Miller (Piano), Marisha Devoin (bass), and Michael Wright (drums).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Dates:</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Thursday February 5</b> @ Georgia Strait Jazz Club, The Avalanche, 275 Eighth Street Courtenay.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Start time 7.30pm</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Sunday February 8</b> @ Crofton Hotel, 1534 Joan Avenue, Crofton</span><span class="s2">. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Start time 2pm</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Thursday February 12</b> @ ADSS theatre in Port Alberni - 4000 Roger Street. Student groups at 7:00pm. <b>Arrowsmith Big Band at 8:00pm</b>. <b>Admission by donation at door </b> - </span><span class="s3">Proceeds from the concert are in support of a music scholarship awarded annually by the Port Alberni Orchestra & Chorus Society to an ADSS music student.</span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-22334835064116282832015-01-19T10:24:00.002-08:002015-01-19T10:24:40.487-08:00White Noise app leading to peaceful sleep<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I have no trouble falling asleep when first hitting the sack. However, more often than not, around 2am I wake up and can’t get back to sleep. That’s why most of my blogs are written in the middle of the night.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">During the Christmas holidays an ad popped up on my computer promoting the website of TV pop-medicine guru Dr. Oz. On the site there was an article about how to attain a restful night’s sleep using white noise. Listening to something referenced as being noisy when one is trying to fall asleep you may think, as I did, to be a rather wacky idea.</span></div>
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Photo: White Noise App - Ocean Waves</div>
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<span class="s1">What is white noise? Simply put, it’s a type of noise that’s produced when all the imaginable tones that a human can hear are combined together. Because white noise contains all frequencies, it is often used to mask other sounds. For example, the sound of a fan produces a good approximation of white noise and can be used to block the sound of people talking in a hotel room next to you. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Apparently when a noise wakes you up in the night, it's not the noise itself that wakes you up, but the sudden change or inconsistencies in noise that jar you. White noise creates a masking effect, blocking out those sudden changes that frustrate light sleepers, or people trying to induce sleep. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I figured I’d give Dr. Oz’s sleep therapy a go and downloaded the linked white noise app onto my iPad. The app incorporates 25 different sounds with a link that enables you to download dozens more – everything from storm waves crashing ashore to birds chirping away in the steamy jungles of the Amazon. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Over the years my technique to falling asleep has been to think of something pleasant in my life. A visit to the West Coast of Vancouver Island is one always treasured. Whenever staying overnight in the Tofino area, Pat and I will invariably reserve a waterfront suite at Pacific Sands Resort. At night we’ll sleep with the windows wide open and let the sound of the ocean waves engulf the room. Getting back to sleep in that environment I find almost instantaneous. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Now a downloaded app on my iPad has made it possible to recreate anytime, albeit on a small scale, my West Coast soundscape recollections. All I do is click on a photo of ocean waves in the app, set a volume level and bingo, combined with a little imagination on my part I’m transferred back to Tofino and Cox Bay, minus I admit the smell of beached seaweed. I wonder if there’s an app for that?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Another soundscape I’ve created with the app centers on family camping trips made to Glacier National Park in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s. During that time we owned a converted Volkswagen Bus, two different pickup campers plus a Winnebago motorhome in which we’d travel every July & August the highways and byways of British Columbia. There was a particular campsite we loved to stay in on Rogers Pass called The Loop. A creek fed by the Illecillewaet Glacier ran through the site. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The sound of the rushing creek water and the throbbing hum of CPR diesel engines entering the nearby Connaught Tunnel is a soundscape that’s been impregnated in my memory for years. With the app there was no problem reproducing a live facsimile. I clicked on photos of babbling brooks and railway train links. The app, which allows up to 5 separate sounds to be mixed simultaneously, instantly produced a soundtrack to accompany my Glacier Park memories. This has resulted in an improved sleep pattern as I allow my mind to reconnect to those happy family trips. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">According to the Dr, Oz article, using white noise to kindle sleep isn’t everyone’s cup-of-tea. One’s partner in life may not take pleasure in having the sound of a plummeting waterfall fill the night air. In such cases the use of ears buds is recommended. However, Pat also enjoys the roaring waves.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As a teenager I volunteered to be put to sleep by a touring hypnotist performing a show in Port Alberni. On stage in front of an audience he had me asleep in a matter of minutes. Apparently I was a good subject for such shenanigans. My father, a medical doctor, was not amused when he heard about it, especially when the hypnotist wanted to put me to sleep in a store display window to advertise another show the following evening. I was grounded until the show left town.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: The first vehicle we used for camping trips was this Volkswagen Bus. I installed a bed, a baby crib and window coverings as the unit was not built by Volkswagen as a camper. We cooked on a Coleman stove set up on a portable table outside the vehicle. I’m dressed in a suit for this photo taken by my wife Pat. We must have been going somewhere special. However, according to her, I was on my way to teach school. Do teachers still suit up for work?</span><span class="s2"> </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: A few years later we upgraded to the pickup camper seen here backed up to the boulder-strewn bank of the Illecillewaet River in Glacier National Park.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: Our most luxurious camping unit was a Winnebago Brave-class motorhome. The picture was taken in 1976 on one of our summer camping trips to the Loop Campsite in Glacier National Park. We bought the unit new in 1971 from a motorhome dealership that had just opened at Granville & Broadway Streets in Vancouver. I recall being very nervous driving the unit through downtown traffic to catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay. It was the widest vehicle I’d ever driven.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: The Winnebago Company headquartered in Forest City, Iowa, introduced the Brave series in 1970. They came in 17 and 19-foot lengths. Ours was the 19-foot model. In the summers of 1973 and 1974, I attended UBC to gain my BC teacher’s certification. I lived in the unit parking it at night on a university lot. We kept the vehicle for 10 years and sold it for almost the same price we bought it for - $12,000. </span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-7500783179226115902015-01-07T10:03:00.002-08:002015-01-07T10:03:45.855-08:00Film studios down-sell the fact a film is actually a musical<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I read recently a report that this fall’s flu shot has not been as effective as other years. Apparently some of the virus strains included in this year’s flu vaccine have mutated into other virus strains. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up one of those marauding mutates that were part of my flu-shot cocktail. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">However, along with Pat and my brother Terry I still managed our annual New Year’s Eve outing to the Chemainus Festival Theatre for dinner and the company’s Christmas play. Probably not the wisest thing to do when not feeling well but I didn’t want to spoil our New Years Eve. On the way home we passed through Ladysmith to view the town’s impressive Christmas lighting display.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I felt close to normal on Saturday morning which enabled me to drive up to Parksville to take in the final of the BC Men’s Junior Championship. Sportsnet TV was broadcasting the game live and I found it amazing how much lighting equipment they’d packed into the ice rink to enhance the game for viewers. (see photo below).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Pat and I read all our favorite magazines on our iPads through an online service called NextIssue. Browsing the latest Maclean’s magazine I noticed an article by Jaime J. Weinman about how selling a musical to modern moviegoers involves being a bit evasive about what it is. It started me thinking about the <i>Annie</i> movie I reviewed recently in this blog and how the advertising trailers had promoted it. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I got out my iPad and previewed a few trailers of the film. As the Maclean’s article had pointed out, there was only a few seconds of onscreen singing used. One of the trailers concentrated only on the dialogue for Cameron Diaz (Miss Hannigan), making it “look like a comedy without music.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Another movie musical out this Christmas is <i>Into the Woods</i> which I haven’t seen yet. The article points out that if a person didn’t know the Broadway catalog, they might be very surprised to find it is a musical. Even though the film is based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 song-filled take on Grimm’s fairy tales, the first theatrical trailer had no singing whatsoever.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">According to Matthew Kennedy, author of the book <i>Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960’s</i>, he claims that studio marketing departments often believe the musical is in disrepute. They feel if people hate musicals, then why give that information.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Even last year’s mega-hit Disney film <i>Frozen</i> was first marketed as a non-musical, concentrating instead on a character called Olaf, a comedy-relief snowman voiced by Josh Gad. It wasn’t until the hit song <i>Let it Go</i> took off worldwide that advertising slid into a musical mode.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">According to Weinman’s editorial, the 2002 film version of <i>Chicago</i> is considered to be the ultimate example of how a musical can be sold to a modern movie theatre audience. The studio trailers mostly ignored the music and sold it based on its dark comic plot. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The article quotes Samual Craig, a professor of marketing at New York University who explains that music will attract people to a concert but not a movie. He goes on to say that without a strong story, a film’s appeal will be limited. With this in mind the studio promotion of <i>Chicago </i>concentrated on convincing people there was a compelling story behind all the music. The film itself made sure the audience kept focused on the plot by setting most of the numbers in a dream-like world, making it possible for musical-haters to speculate that the characters were imagining the songs.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">In conclusion the Maclean’s article claims that ever since <i>Chicago’s</i> success at the ticket booth and at film award ceremonies, no matter how much singing there is in a film, the studio-marketing departments usually aim their promotion material towards people who prefer a more realistic film style.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">However, no marketing guru could hide the fact that the 2012 film version of the musical <i>Les Miserables</i> had non-stop singing from start to finish. Instead the marketing staff emphasized that the music was recorded live right on the set instead of having the actors lip-sync their songs to a pre-recorded soundtrack, thus making the film more musically authentic.</span></div>
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Photo above: Dancers strut their stuff in the film version of Chicago.</div>
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<span class="s1">It appears at this point in time the film studios will continue to sell musicals to the demographic groups that appear, at least in their eyes, as hostile to the form. They know fans of musicals like myself will automatically buy a ticket to a movie based on a Broadway show. However, their job is to get more bums in the seats and if it takes a little <i>sleight of hand</i> to do it, so be it. On the up side, it may be some of those people who don’t know it’s a musical going in, just might be surprised and actually like it.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Sunday wrapped up our New Year’s week. Pat worked most of the day on organizing her next Timbre! choir concert and I started noodling through the score of <i>Anything Goes</i> that I’m doing for the Bard to Broadway company in Qualicum next summer. Late in the afternoon both of us took in the big budget Hollywood epic <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings, </i>another politically controversial film playing this holiday season. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Joining the extraordinary banning throughout North America of the Kim Jong-Un assassination movie <i>The Interview</i>, <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings </i>was banned in Egypt for what the country’s culture minister Gaber Asfour explained was the films “Zionist view of history” and that it contained “historical inaccuracies.” O dear. I think it’s time some of these world leaders lightened up. When did Hollywood ever worry about making a script historically accurate?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">After the film we scooted home to watch Canada thrash Slovakia at the World Junior Hockey Championships. We then viewed an episode of <i>The Good Wife</i> on Netflix. We’d planned to watch the opening of another season of <i>Downton Abbey</i> but decided we’d had our flick fill for the day.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I let the digital recorder do its job so we’d be able to view the show later in the week.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Bard 2 Broadway Theatre’s 2015 Summer Season.</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">General <b>AUDITIONS</b> for all three 2015 shows (<b><i>The 39 Steps, Play it Again Sam</i></b> and the musical <b><i>Anything Goes</i> a</b>re being held in <b>Parksville</b> at the McMillan Art Centre (133 McMillan Street) on Sat. Jan 24 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm and Sun. Jan 25 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In <b>Nanaimo</b> Auditions are being held at St. Paul’s Church Hall (100 Chapel Street) on Sat. Jan 31 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm and Sun. Feb 01 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm. - Call-backs are Sun. Feb 08.</span></div>
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<span class="s2">NOTE: </span><span class="s1"><i>Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue. If auditioning for the musical, please prepare a song, and provide sheet music for our accompanist, or backing track on CD or iPod. Please wear comfortable clothing. Please be prepared to stay for about 2 hours. If you wish more information, or if you are genuinely interested, but cannot make these dates / times, please contact:- Gary Brown 250-468-9545 - </i><a href="mailto:stageguy@shaw.ca"><span class="s3"><i>stageguy@shaw.ca</i></span></a><i> or Eileen Butts 250-248-3782 - </i><a href="mailto:ebutts@shaw.ca"><span class="s3"><i>ebutts@shaw.ca</i></span></a></span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-60534298108000830672014-12-29T01:42:00.000-08:002014-12-29T01:42:22.400-08:00Christmas week a family affair<div class="section">
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">On December 21 the </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">wrapped up its
run with an afternoon performance at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo.
Having lived with the show since November 18, it was difficult not to
feel a certain loss. Suddenly you realize you won’t be playing through
your piano score ever again, and many cast members who you got to
know well over the last month may never cross your path again. When a
show goes dark it’s almost like a death. However, it’s part of showbiz
and such inspired journeys inevitably end.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">On Monday it was time to move on and get ready for Christmas. My wife
Pat was cruising the malls searching for gifts. My job was to shop for the
provisions needed for our big family feast, which we traditionally have
on Boxing Day. By 8:00 am on Christmas Eve day I was out the door and
loading a supermarket basket in advance of the crowds I knew would be
jockeying for parking lot space by mid-‐morning. By noon I had
everything packed away in our kitchen cupboards or stacked inside the
refrigerator, ready for Friday’s marathon turkey-‐cook day.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">With Pat wrapping Christmas gifts during the afternoon of Christmas
Eve, I decided to take in a movie matinee. A good choice I thought would
be a new Ailm version of the Broadway musical </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Annie </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">that had just
opened at the Galaxy theatre here in Nanaimo. Having performed the
Broadway version with a student group during my high school teaching
years, I know the live show well and was looking forward to seeing the
new 2014 movie version. I recall in the process of rehearsing students
using the very popular and well-‐done 1982 film as a teaching tool.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">Unfortunately my decision to attend the matinee was a mistake; the
2014 film update is an absolute disaster. According to all the preview
hype, this new version of </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Annie </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">was supposed to build a new generation
of fans for the musical. Well, sprinklings of these young folks were at the
same screening I viewed Wednesday afternoon and most looked bored
out of their minds.
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">Some things in classic film fare should never be tinkered with. </span><span style="color: rgb(18.823530%, 20.784310%, 22.352940%); font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">The
</span><span style="color: rgb(18.823530%, 20.784310%, 22.352940%); font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Wizard of Oz </span><span style="color: rgb(18.823530%, 20.784310%, 22.352940%); font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">would be one. No remake could ever top the first one. </span><span style="color: rgb(18.823530%, 20.784310%, 22.352940%); font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Gone </span><span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">With the Wind </span><span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">is another. Sadly this 2014 version of </span><span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">Annie </span><span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">is nothing more than an attempt by the
Sony movie studio to fleece trusting parents looking for some respectable holiday entertainment
for their children. I understand the film was also one of those stolen in the recent cyberattack by
North Korea of the company’s computers. Perhaps Kim Jong-‐un wanted it for a private screening.</span><br />
<span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">I recall Carol Burnett being hilarious as </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">Miss Hannigan in the 1982 film. In this updated version the
role is played by Cameron Diaz who screams her dialogue at such a shrill pitch that my ears haven’t
yet recovered. As far as her singing goes, it was pure torture. </span><span style="color: #424242; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 13pt;">The character of Daddy Warbucks in
this ill-thought-out mess has been renamed </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">Will Stacks, a rich industrialist who is running for mayor
of New York City. Oscar-‐winner Jamie Foxx literally sleepwalks through the part. And what about
Annie herself? I need to be fair here. Quvenzhané Wallis, who in 2012 was the youngest actress
ever to receive a nomination for an Academy Award for her role in </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">Beasts of the Southern Wild,
</span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">does a pretty good acting job although her vocal chops are fairly thin.</span><br />
<span style="color: #303539; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">Singing is obviously a key component in any musical. Sadly in this new version it was decided to
update the classic Charles Strouse score to fit with the popular music of today. What a dumb idea.
As an example, the musical’s big hit ballad </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt; font-style: italic;">Tomorrow </span><span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">had a backbeat so heavy it sounded like the
Rolling Stones were doing a stadium sound check. The film’s soundtrack has been processed to a
synthetic muddle and the vocals auto-‐tuned to the point that any real musical emotion has been
literally squeezed from every bar. Basically every song has been made to sound like your typical
pop tune complete with electric drums and banks of synthesizers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">About an hour in I couldn’t take it anymore and headed for the theatre exit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO: Pat prepared a superb Boxing Day dinner in our Nanaimo
home. From L to R – Brother Terry, daughter-‐in-‐law Jessica,
grandsons Nathan & Matthew, Pat, son Cory, daughter-‐in-‐law
Dorianne and son Brock. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO: The turkey. I can
hardly wait to start
carving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO ABOVE: My father cut out this group of carol
singers in the 1940‘s from a sheet of 1⁄4 inch plywood.
I display it every year at our front door. Back in those
days lead was still a key ingredient in paint so the
colours have never faded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO ABOVE: 16 years ago Pat & I
conducted our last School District #70
Christmas Candlelight Concert. As a gift, the
students in the choir had melted down all
the candles used over the years for
rehearsal purposes and made one gigantic
one for us. Every Christmas Pat and I light
the candle at our family dinner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO: Son Cory gave me a painting
by Port Alberni artist Michelle Peffers. It was
painted from a photo of me climbing down
from the cab of APR Locomotive #7 during a
switching operation in the Port Alberni Rail
Yard. I hung the painting on my office wall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO : Every December I
display this model steam engine
that my brother Terry & I
received as a gift from our
parents on Christmas Day in
1946. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO : This black and
white photo shows my
brother (L) and myself
admiring the model train
that my father had built and
set up for us on Christmas
Day 1946. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Cambria'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">PHOTO: My Christmas gift this year
was a new workbench. It took my son
Brock and myself over two hours to
assemble it. The hardwood top looks
almost too good to repair stuff on. </span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-60850658616829545712014-12-18T10:52:00.002-08:002014-12-18T10:52:38.263-08:00Final weekend for Christmas Spectacular<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Thank you to all those readers who emailed to say they were pleased I’d returned to blog-land. I’ll try to post on a more regular basis in the New Year.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As you know from last week’s blog, I’m again performing in the band accompanying the <b><i>Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular</i></b>. Last Sunday evening we wrapped up the run at the Cedar Community Hall, performing 6 shows between Friday and Sunday. Playing this many shows in such a short space of time was a first for me. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">This week the cast has been enjoying a few days off before moving the production into Nanaimo’s Port Theatre for the final four performances. The run in Cedar was very successful with many patrons expressing their preference for the Christmas ambiance the rural setting provides. However, equally there are those who like the Port Theatre run due to the better sight lines and comfortable seating inherent in a sloped floor venue. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The shows at the Port Theatre are Dec.19 (7pm), Dec. 20 (2pm &7pm) & Dec. 21 (2pm). Tickets can be ordered for the Port Theatre shows on-line at</span><span class="s2"> <a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span class="s3">www.<b>porttheatre</b>.com</span></a></span><span class="s4"> </span><span class="s2">or by phone at 250-754-8550.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">PHOTO: Setting up for the Port Theatre run of the <i>Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular.</i> View of the stage from the Sound Board. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Last Saturday morning at 6:30 am I left our home in North Nanaimo and drove over the hump to Port Alberni to help set up for the Timbre! Choir’s dress rehearsal in the ADSS Theatre. Playing the Yellowpoint show meant I wouldn’t be able to attend the choir’s public performance the following day. However, I was able to stay at the dress rehearsal long enough to hear the concert’s first half before scooting back over the hump to Cedar to play a Yellowpoint matinee. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In the half of the rehearsal I heard, the choir was in top form and the sound in the theatre was magnificent. The program was called <i>Simply Christmas</i> and my wife Pat as musical director had chosen a potpourri of both old and new carols. Excerpts from <i>Messiah</i> by Handel held its traditional place on the program alongside such new songs as <i>Let It Go</i> from the recent movie box office hit <i>Frozen</i> and a beautiful ballad by Gordon Lightfoot, newly arranged by Larry Nickel, titled <i>Song for a Winter’s Night</i>. Other new arrangements programmed included <i>Huron Carol</i> and <i>I Saw Three Ships.</i> Accompanist for the concert was our niece Danielle Marcinek who recently returned from the United Kingdom and is now based in Vancouver. Judging by the emails that Pat received from audience members following the concert, <i>Simply Christmas</i> was a resounding triumph.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"> PHOTO; Timbre! preparing their concert on the ADSS Theatre stage last Saturday.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Christmas Time is Movie Time </b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">During December the major movie studios invariably launch an array of new films. Many are vying for an Academy Award nomination before the year‐end deadline. For a movie fan such as myself it’s a virtual film feast. So far I’ve seen <i>The Theory of Everything</i>, the extraordinary story of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Two days ago I survived the 2:24 minute running time of <i>The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. </i>Having seen all the movies in the series (this is the final installment), I’m definitely Hobbited out. Topping the list of films I’ve seen so far is <i>Interstellar, </i>which is about a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage. The movie blew me away. The 3 hours just flew by. I plan to see this one again just to understand everything. However, on the flip side, one movie to skip is <i>Top Five</i> starring Chris Rock. The film is just plain bad and vulgar to boot. I left the theatre before it was over. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">PHOTO: During the immense rainstorm last week I made a quick run out to Sproat Lake to check our summer house. I’ve never seen the lake so high. The gangway in the photo above normally slopes down to the float. </span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-39934008185802157292014-12-10T06:16:00.000-08:002014-12-10T06:16:24.383-08:00<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It’s been many months since I’ve blogged. However, it’s the Christmas Season, my favorite time of the year, a busy time for Pat and myself with our musical endeavors and I wanted to bring readers up to date. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Once again I’m performing in the band accompanying the <b><i>Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular</i></b>. The production is in its 8</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> season and I’m thrilled to be still playing the show. The last two weeks in November I spent working as the rehearsal pianist for the young cast of professional singers and dancers from Vancouver. This past week the show was put together on stage with the orchestra with a soft invitation only performance on Thursday. We opened last night.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">We have 4 shows this weekend at the Cedar Community Hall south of Nanaimo before moving to the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay for two evening shows December 9 and 10. Then it’s back to the Cedar Hall for afternoon and evening performances on Dec. 12, 13 & 14 . The <i>Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular</i> then moves to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo on Dec 19, 20 & 21.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This year’s Yellowpoint extravaganza includes an <i>Elton John tribute</i> (I get a heap of playing in this section), songs from <i>West Side Story</i>, disco hits including songs by the <i>BeeGees’s</i> and <i>Gloria Gaynor,</i> a <i>Dolly Parton tribute</i>, highlights from <i>The Grinch</i>, plus an array of traditional Christmas favorites. Tickets can be ordered for the Cedar & Nanaimo shows on-line at</span><span class="s3"> <a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span class="s4">www.<b>porttheatre</b>.com</span></a></span><span class="s5"> </span><span class="s3">or by phone at 250-754-8550.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Monday is a day off from the Yellowpoint show so I’m driving over the Hump to Port Alberni to help Pat’s choir Timbre! set up for a rehearsal in the ADSS Theatre for their annual Christmas concert which will play the venue on Sunday, Dec 14, at 2:30 pm. Since I’m playing piano for the <i>Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular</i> I plan to catch the choir’s early morning dress rehearsal the previous day and then scoot back over the Hump to Cedar for a matinee and evening performance of the Yellowpoint show. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Timbre!’s concert is called <i>Simply Christmas</i> and this year my wife Pat as musical director has chosen a potpourri of both old and new carols. Excerpts from <i>Messiah</i> by Handel will hold its traditional place in the program alongside such new songs as <i>Let It Go</i> from the recent movie box office hit <i>Frozen</i> and a beautiful ballad by Gordon Lightfoot titled <i>Song for a Winter’s Night</i>. New arrangements of Huron Carol and I Saw Three Ships have also been programmed. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Accompanist for the concert will be our niece Danielle Marcinek who recently returned from the United Kingdom and is now based in Vancouver.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Last September Pat announced that she would be retiring as the musical director of Timbre! at the choir’s spring show on May 3rd, 2015. However, as the choir’s fall rehearsal schedule rolled on, Pat began to mention to me how she was going miss working with the choir. Last week, at no surprise to me, she has decided to put off her retirement and conduct the choir for another season. I confess I’m thrilled as I know what a void it would present in her life. Is a 50</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> anniversary concert a possibility?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This past fall I made an exploratory trip north to Woss Lake with members of the Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society. The trip was to assess the possibility of moving steam locomotive #112 from the Nimkish Valley to the Alberni Valley by highway on board a flat deck truck. </span><span class="s2">Western Forest Products has offered the locomotive, situated in their Beaver Cove rail yard, to the Heritage Society. It was decided to go ahead with the move and, with a donation of $10,000 from the BC Railroad Association, society members have been working several weekends in preparation for the steam locomotive’s relocation. </span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-38392144087966481812014-03-03T06:23:00.001-08:002014-03-03T06:23:32.310-08:00
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Incredible music heard at Idaho Jazz Festival</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The first time I watched the Winter Olympic Games on television was in 1960. The games that year were held in Squaw Valley California and I was attending Music College in Los Angeles. To watch, together with my two apartment roommates, we rented a small black & white set for $5. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley ushered in the era of the modern, televised Winter Games. The CBS network paid $50,000 for the broadcast rights, an astronomical sum for a sports event in those days. The 13 hours of coverage was criticized by newspaper columnists to be a risky financial move that would result in nothing but gallons of red ink for CBS. As usual the Pundits were wrong. Today television networks bid billions for the rights to cover the games. My most vivid memory of those 1960 Olympics was Walter Cronkite leering into the camera and informing America of the U.S. hockey team’s gold-medal upset of the Soviets. Overall in the round robin schedule Canada was runner up and received the silver medal.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Fast-forward 54 years and the recent Olympic Games in Sochi. I watched 11 days worth of the TV coverage on my giant HD TV at home. However, on day 12, I shut off the set at 6:00 am and had Pat drive me to the BC Ferry Terminal at Duke Point. I was scheduled to meet the Alberni District Secondary School Band Bus on their way to Moscow (the one in Idaho) to attend the International Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. The school’s band director Sarah Falls had asked me if I’d like to come along as a chaperone. The clincher was that I could do the piano accompaniment for my grandson Nathan’s trumpet solos at the festival - an opportunity not to be missed. I confess I was somewhat apprehensive about surviving the 12-hour bus trip. However, the time seemed to pass quickly with movies playing on the bus TV set and reading a supply of the latest Time, Newsweek and MacLean’s magazines I’d downloaded to my iPad. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Photo above: It was a special moment for me at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival held last week in Idaho being able to accompany our grandson Nathan Miller in the trumpet solo class. In another class Nathan received an honourable mention for his solo on <i>The Nearness of You</i>. Michael Addy (Bass) and Devon Barker (Drums).</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">When I was teaching music at EJ Dunn and Alberni District Secondary School, students looked towards the annual band trips as the highlight of the year. In combination with my wife Pat’s three choral groups we both have wonderful memories of the numerous festivals we performed at across the country. However, after 35 years as a school band director, this trip to Idaho represented my first trip as a chaperone.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The concerts the students heard live were, as the kids would say, “awesome”. Over three evenings at the University of Idaho we heard an unbelievable potpourri of some of the world’s finest jazz musicians including pianist <i>Geoff Keezer,</i> vocalists <i>Sheila Jordon</i> and <i>Rene Marie</i>, the Seattle based vocal jazz ensemble <i>Groove For Thought</i>, a stunning young 21-year old saxophonist/vocalist <i>Grace Kelly,</i> the Grammy award winning instrumental combo <i>Yellowjackets</i>, veteran composer/saxophonist <i>Benny Golson</i> and vibraphonist <i>Jason Marsali</i>s who soloed with the <i>Lionel Hampton Big Band</i>. The 18-piece ensemble included some of the late band leader’s original players. The list of performing jazz stars goes on and on. If you’re a jazz fan check out the festival’s website at <a href="http://www.uidaho.edu/jazzfest"><span class="s2">www.uidaho.edu/jazzfest</span></a> </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The bus trip home from Idaho was a slippery one. Leaving Moscow in a snowstorm at 6:00 am on Sunday, we got over the Snoqulamie Pass east of Seattle moments before a chain-up order for buses was ordered. Along the way we got the news that Canada had won the men’s hockey game. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Around Bellingham we hit the west coast version of the Pacific bred snowstorm but cleared customs with just enough time to make our ferry reservation at Tsawwassen. The bus dropped me off at the Woodgrove Mall in Nanaimo where I managed to get a cab. Pat’s car was buried under a snow bank making it impossible to get out and up the steep hill near our house. Before trundling off to bed I zipped through the recording of the Canada/Sweden hockey game to view the goals. It’s much less stressful watching when you know the outcome. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thanks to Sarah Falls and her wonderful students for taking me along. I had an absolute blast!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: At the close of each day clinicians select outstanding soloists to perform at a venue called Hamp’s Club. Titled the Young Artist Concerts Series, students experience what it feels like to perform in a real life gig situation. Professional musicians accompany the students.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Here ADSS vocalist Arlene Oldale performs the ballad <i>Misty</i>. Alberni Valley student Erin Netzer was also selected to perform her version of <i>Dream a Little Dream</i> which she sang in French. </span>Other Alberni students receiving honourable mention were George McNally (trombone) and vocalist Danil Sim.</div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: Grandson Nathan also performed as part of a piano trio with Michael Addy (Bass) and Devon Barker (Drums).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: A bronze statue of bandleader Lionel Hampton occupies a corner of the main stage during festival </span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-6010350238811515362014-01-26T03:54:00.000-08:002014-01-26T04:37:56.582-08:00January - Overture to another year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">As a youngster, returning to elementary school after New Year’s Day characteristically meant our class would be asked by our teacher to write a short composition on what we’d done during the Christmas break. Recording one’s thoughts about a trip off the island to the big city or the gifts we’d received was typically central to the exercise. So here I am, many decades later doing the same thing.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">With my brother Terry, my wife Pat and I spent New Year’s Eve having dinner at the Chemainus Festival Theatre followed by their Christmas Musical <i>It’s a Wonderful Life. </i>The next day Pat and I drove out to Tofino through a typical west coast monsoon, fully expecting our packed raingear would receive major usage. However, miraculously by the following morning, the Pacific storm had blown itself out and given away to a cloudless sky of pure blue followed by four days of brilliant sunshine. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sunset on Jan 3rd, 2014 at Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino</b></td></tr>
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<span class="s1">It was a year ago this Christmas that I retired our older TV and replaced it with one of those humongous flat-screen sets. A few days after getting the unit up and running, I signed up for a service called <i>Netflix</i>. For those who may not be familiar with <i>Netflix</i>, basically it’s an internet television network with millions of subscribers world-wide who for a monthly fee of $7.99 can watch as many TV shows and movies as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. Also making <i>Netflix</i> popular is that the user is always in control, able to </span><span class="s2">play, pause and resume watching at will, all without having to endure the never ending landscape of mindless commercials that clutter the regular TV channels these days. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">For a movie junkie such as myself, <i>Netflix</i> ended my trips to the local video store and the need of having to scramble to reserve popular movies in advance. However, I must confess that I’m still addicted to viewing first run Hollywood films at the movie theatre. The smell of stale popcorn and watching a film in the crowded company of other movie fans remains a compelling draw.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Films I viewed in the theatre this past holiday season included <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i>, <i>American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Captain Philips </i>(all nominated for Best Picture Oscars), <i>The Hobbit</i>, and <i>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire</i>. One film I particularly enjoyed seeing with Pat was called <i>Saving Mr. Banks</i>. The movie tells the story of how Walt Disney acquired the rights to make the classic film <i>Mary Poppins</i>. </span><span class="s2">Set in the 1960s, the author of <i>Mary Poppins</i> Pamela Travers is seen struggling financially and is convinced by her lawyer that has no choice but to sell the rights to her children stories to the iconic filmmaker Walt Disney. Disney is played by Tom Hanks and Travers by the English actress Emma Thompson. Sadly in my opinion both were overlooked for best actor nominations in the upcoming Academy Awards.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">At home on <i>Netflix</i> I’ve been watching Season 1 of a TV series called <i>Homeland</i>, an American political thriller about a Marine who is hailed as a hero after he returns home from eight years of captivity in Iraq. However, a US intelligence officer suspects that he may have been turned and is planning a terrorist attack on home soil. The series is pretty exciting.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><b>In November Oxford Dictionaries announced </b></span><span class="s2"><b><i>selfie</i></b></span><span class="s1"><b> as their international Word of the Year 2013. A </b></span><span class="s2"><b><i>selfie</i></b></span><span class="s1"><b> is a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Here’s ours taken at Cox Bay near Tofino on January 5th.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span class="s1">At this point you may have drawn the conclusion that I wrapped up 2013 watching nothing but television and movies. Not so. Christmas gifts included two beautiful un-digitized books that can’t be read online – <i>Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway: The Canadian Pacific, VIA Rail and Shortline Years (1949-2013)</i> by Robert Turner & Don MacLachlan and <i>The Land of Heart’s Delight: Early Maps and Charts of Vancouver Island </i>by Michael Layland. I’ve had hours of enjoyment wading through the extensive text and studying the wonderful photos and drawings included in these masterful volumes of island history.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As previously mentioned, Pat and I spent four days out on the west coast staying at <i>Pacific Sands Resort</i>. We normally try to make it out to the outer coast in early spring. However, we took a chance at an exceptional January price offer and as luck would have it we were rewarded with four days of glorious sunshine with balmy (compared to the rest of Canada) 8-degree daytime temperatures. During the four days we walked every accessible beach on the peninsula and hiked over the newest section of Ucluelet’s <i>Wild Pacific Trail</i> called the Ancient Cedars loop. We continued north on the new trail to Rocky Bluffs, a location storm-watching connoisseurs will definitely relish. We’ve hiked the older sections of the trail in the past but the new section was truly worth the additional visit. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky Bluffs - Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Our beachside suite at <i>Pacific Sands Resort</i> looked out on the expansive vista of Cox Bay, a west coast Mecca for the surfboarding crowd. I’d love to give surfing a try but I’m not convinced a condom-like layer of black rubber stretched over my frame could possibly permit my survival in such frigid water. However, the surfers I saw trotting back to their condos looked warm although I confess were much less than half my age. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Our suite had cooking facilities so we prepared most of our own meals although we did venture out to some local restaurants. However, west coast cuisine we found to be pretty expensive and portions definitely on the tiny side. One restaurant we really enjoyed was called <i>The Shelter</i>. We went twice due to its funky west coast atmosphere and wonderful Fish & Chips served up on a wooden plank.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As volunteer conductors during the summer months on the <i>Alberni Pacific Railway</i>, Pat & I were shocked to learn last week that quad-riding vandals have been ripping up sections of the historic (1911) E&N railway in the Alberni Valley in order to drive over the rails more easily. Apparently rails were removed by using a cutting torch. Personally I can’t comprehend the stumpy mindset of individuals that would carry out such reckless activity.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Railway accidents akin to the one at Lac-Megantic last July have ramped up the media spotlight on rail transportation ever since. Can you imagine what would have happened if any railway equipment had been travelling along the tracks pictured above? The photo shows <i>APR</i> conductor Kevin Hunter standing at the vandalized area. The Port Alberni RCMP are investigating and can be contacted at 250-723-2424 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Am I missing something? I thought all the security searches I’ve endured at airports over the years was to stop individuals who might be bent on blowing up an airplane. Evidently last September at the Edmonton airport a teenager was found to have a homemade pipe-bomb in his baggage. It was immediately confiscated which you’ll agree was the smart thing to do. However, bizarrely he was still allowed to board the aircraft and fly off for a Mexican holiday. It seems the Edmonton airport security staff thought about it for a few days and finely phoned the RCMP. The teen was arrested when he returned home. I’d say some rules need to be fine-tuned. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Last Wednesday Pat received an urgent request from the Toronto Conservatory asking if she could whip over to Vancouver and fill in for a piano examiner who had taken ill. It meant a bit of a scramble as Pat rescheduled some piano students before we rushed off to catch the last ferry sailing from Departure Bay, getting to the Surrey Sheridan Hotel at midnight. After a day of examining on Thursday we scooted back over the Port Mann Bridge (my first time driving over the new tolled structure) and checked into the Metrotown Hilton Hotel.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I have over the years enjoyed such examination jaunts with Pat as I get to play tourist during the day. So what did I do on this one you ask? I’ve been trying for some time to find a fish-poaching pan. I had already checked every store in Nanaimo and proceeded on this trip to check kitchen stores around the lower mainland. I had no idea such an item would be so hard to find. I was constantly told that no one stocks them due to low demand. However, a clerk in the Coquitlam IKEA told me I might find one at the Gourmet Warehouse on East Hastings Street in Vancouver. Subsequently I contacted the store via Facebook. They informed me within minutes they had one in stock priced at $50. I drove to the store Saturday morning and picked it up. Later in the day I found the same branded item in a kitchen store in the Metrotown Mall. Their asking price - $149.50. It pays to shop around. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">And yes, I did see a few more first run movies while on the mainland - namely <i>August; Osage County</i> and <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i>, both with Academy Award nominations for their stars Meryl Streep and Matthew McConaughey respectively. I also caught the opening day screening of the new Jack Ryan flick <i>Shadow Recruit. </i>Wow! Absolutely a high-powered knockout thriller. Hollywood has returned to making Russians out to be the bad guys. Strange in this Olympic year. I wonder if it’s due to Russian President Putin’s homophobia. Hollywood would find that particularly disdainful and rightfully so. </span></div>
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<span class="s2">I viewed <i>Shadow Recruit </i>in Silvercity Metropolis’ new Ultra AVX theatre. </span><span class="s1">The theatre has big lounge type leather seats that tip way back and you choose your seat on a touch screen when you purchase your ticket. The screen is huge and the sound system has been upgraded to a new Dolby platform called Atmos which pumps out 128 channels of pure audio bliss. It was the most crystal-clear sound I’ve ever heard in a movie theatre.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Sitting in a Vancouver Restaurant last week, a curling game was being shown on the barroom TV set. Not unusual for curling at this time of year with the Olympic Games and the Canadian and World Championships in the sport just on the horizon. However, what surprised me was the game was being played in the sun-drenched desert city of Las Vegas, in front of thousands of spectators, many of whom I would guess had never seen a curling game before.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I lobbed my first curling rock down a sheet of ice in the early 1950’s. It was at the Alberni Valley Curling Club that had been a WWII army drill hall at the north end of 10</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> Ave in Port Alberni. I loved the game and played competitively for three decades before drifting away from it for reasons that escape me.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">It’s really quite remarkable to observe the growth the game has had over the years, to the point where 18 countries will have a curling team competing at the 2014 Olympic Games next month in Sochi, Russia. Still, watching a curling game being played in Las Vegas was a real head-turner. To relate to this new Vegas entertainment option one could now paraphrase the old saying to read, “what slides in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I was reading in the <i>National Post</i> newspaper on the weekend that a new study undertaken at the University of British Columbia has found that people with little to no musical training who were administered the drug Valproate (which treats epilepsy and mood disorders) could learn to identify musical pitches out of thin air with no reference points. For many a musician, this is the Holy Grail.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Musicians call this rare and strange phenomena <i>Perfect Pitch</i> and researchers have estimated that one in 10,000 people possess it. Obviously far from all musicians have it. I for one don’t, although I know several colleagues that do. I’ve also taught music students during my teaching career that had it. To musicians who don’t possess perfect pitch, the phenomena seems kind of magical and we usually work throughout our lifetime training our ears to develop the best next thing, <i>relative pitch</i>. Simply put, this means when one has identified, say one note on a recording, one can deduce what the other notes will be. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The <i>National Post</i> article went on to say that the most frustrating thing about perfect pitch (for those who don’t have it) is that, “it appears to be developed exclusively in childhood — the prime window being between ages four to six. By the time you get to 12 years old it’s pretty much closed off.” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Who knows, in a few years taking music lessons might include a prescription for Valproate to “restore the brain plasticity necessary for people to learn skills that are generally developed only during early, critical periods in a human’s growth.” Perhaps the pills could be coloured black and white - to match the piano keyboard. </span></div>
Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-64071992646532366262013-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:002013-12-19T17:45:30.634-08:00Christmas concerts coming to a close<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Each year at this time I write blogs promoting upcoming Christmas concerts that my wife Pat and I are involved in. In the case of the Timbre! Choir that Pat conducts, I typically write something about their program and tell folks where to purchase tickets etc. However, this year was different. No extra promotion was needed during the week’s lead up to the concert which took place last Sunday afternoon as the show was sold out a week in advance. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Before the busy December concert season gets underway I usually put up all my Christmas decorations inside and outside our home a week or so after Remembrance Day. I seem to have started a trend in our neighborhood. This year some in our block had their Christmas lights on display before me. However, to be fair to myself, I did have a Halloween light display that had to be dismantled first. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">My December show commitments got underway two weekends ago with the Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular with 5 shows at the Cedar Community Hall. Then it was up to Courtenay to perform two performances at the Sid Williams Theatre. Returning to Cedar we performed another 5 shows.</span><span class="s2"> </span></div>
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<span class="s1">At this writing the cast is having four days off before moving the production into the Port Theatre in Nanaimo for 3 performances. This will be the largest venue the Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular has played in its 7 year history so the cast is quite excited.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Dec. 20 at 7:00 pm and Dec. 21 at 3pm and 7:00 pm Tickets available online <a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span class="s3">www.porttheatre.com</span></a> or by phone 250.754.8550.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Pat and my schedules overlap at this time of year. I haven’t been able to attend a Timbre! Christmas concert for the last 7 years as I’m always performing an afternoon matinee with the Yellow Point Christmas Spectacular the same day. However, I did get to hear the final rehearsal the day before (and the choir sounded magnificent. I’m sure those attending Timbre!’s performance last Sunday will agree. It was great to have our grandson Nathan running the sound board in the new theatre and son Cory involved as Timbre!’s Assistant Conductor. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Christmastime always brings fond memories of my childhood and my love of trains. It all started with my first electric train set which magically appeared under our family Christmas tree in 1945. In the photo at above I’m vacuuming some dust off my display cabinets of railway hats and other assorted memorabilia. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">(Photo above): Some of my collection of railway dining car silverware.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">(Photo above); My favourite Christmas photo shows my brother Terry and I looking over our new electric train setup on Christmas morning. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">(Photo above) I still have the steam locomotive from my first 1940’s era train set. It becomes part of my window ledge winter scene decorative display each December.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Over the years numerous musicians and singers who grew up in the Alberni Valley have carved out successful careers in the music business. Singers Tyler Duncan, Lisa Wallecki, Laura Langmead and, Los Angeles based recording engineer Jason Van Poederooyen, pianists Brent Jarvis and Danielle Marcinek, saxophonist Brock Miller, organist David Poon, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, and award winning TV & movie composer Andrew Oye are just a few names that came to mind. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Actually, Pat and I started coming up with names of others, including those who became music teachers and began to realize we were barely scratching the surface and such a list could fill several pages. I’m sure readers of this blog know of many more. Perhaps together we could make this an online project and enlarge the list. E-mail me at <a href="mailto:barrysblog@hotmail.com"><span class="s2">barrysblog@hotmail.com</span></a>. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">This month New York based bassist Lauren Falls is another Port Alberni grown talent who can be added to this list with her recently released debut avant-garde jazz album titled <i>The Quiet Fight</i>. I enjoyed listening to the album while driving over the hump several times this past week. If you’d like a copy of Lauren’s recording it can be downloaded on iTunes. Another name can be added as well. Lauren’s brother Trevor is the drummer on the album</span><span class="s3">.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Photo above: The Alberni Valley United Church Handbell Choir rehearsing a combined number with Timbre! at Saturday’s dress rehearsal. The group performed 4 numbers on their own.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>DR. A.P. MILLER MEMORIAL HANDBELLS</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The Alberni Valley United Church Handbell Choir under the directorship of Michael Villette was one of the guest performers at Timbre!’s Christmas Concert last weekend.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The collection of handbells they used came about on the passing of my father Dr. A.P. Miller, who came to the Alberni Valley as a pioneer medical doctor in 1935. Under the auspices of the Kinsmen Club of the Alberni Valley, my mother Evelyn Miller set up a handbell fund to which citizens of Port Alberni could donate money to in memory of her husband. Schulmerich, the world’s largest and oldest existing manufacturer of handbells in the United States, made the bells. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">During my teaching years the bells were rung by groups of teenagers I recruited from the music program at Alberni District Secondary School. Upon retirement I had the bells stored in my basement. Three years ago I placed the handbells in the inventory of the Port Alberni Orchestra & Chorus Society and in agreement with the society, I have the responsibility of administering the loaning out of the bells on a yearly contract to an organization of my choice. Presently the Alberni Valley United Church are using the bells to develop the group of ringers who performed at Timbre!’s concert last weekend. Their director Michael Villette has done an outstanding job. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Some weeks ago Michael asked if I could recall any humorous events from my years as director of the handbells. I emailed him the following: </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Hi Mike</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>This story was not humorous at the time but over the years has moved to that category.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>The ADSS Handbell Choir, along with the ADSS Concert Band directed by myself and the Alberni Valley Teen Chamber Singers directed by Pat, was touring Nova Scotia under the sponsorship of a Canadian Government student exchange program. We had flown through Toronto to Halifax and then bused to the community of Truro in central Nova Scotia. It had been a very long day. The schedule called for a handbell concert on arrival for billeting parents. As we were setting up the bells the two students in charge of loading the buses in Port Alberni with our equipment to drive to the Victoria Airport informed me that the handbell music had not arrived and must have been left in the ADSS band instrument storeroom. I can't remember their names but I still recall the horrified look on their faces as they confessed. The look on my face? No comment!</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>What was I to do? My only option was apologize to the gathered audience that it would not be able for us to perform the program by memory and promised somehow we'd reprogram it later. The following morning I phoned ADSS (no internet in those days) and had the handbell music priority air-shipped to Nova Scotia. The good news is we were able to perform the program three days later. The cost of shipping the music was $150.00.</i></span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-80541615959225569642013-11-28T16:49:00.001-08:002013-11-28T16:49:48.315-08:00Prelude to Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 19px; text-align: start;">November has been a busy month. On the 14th I was in Courtenay performing withthe Michael Irving Quartet for the Georgia Strait Jazz Society at the Avalanche Lounge. After playing mostly Broadway musical scores for the last four months it’s great to get a chance to stretch out on improvised jazz solos for an entire evening.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Baskerville; mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">PHOTO </span></b><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">(above)<b> - </b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";">Playing with the Michael Irving Quintet is
always a thrill. I appear to be mid-solo on piano as Michael (Trumpet) looks
on. Other members of the Quintet are Michael Wright (Drums), Dan Craven (Tenor
Sax) and Doug Gretsinger (electric bass). Photo credit: PRS Images</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Last week I started rehearsals with the Yellow Point
Christmas Spectacular cast. I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the
production as the rehearsal and orchestra pianist for the past seven Christmas
seasons. This year the production includes a Queen tribute, James Bond and
Sound of Music medleys, plus Michael </span><span style="color: #343434; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Bublé</span><span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">
showstoppers, a nostalgia tribute, as well as many classical hits and Christmas favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">The spectacular will be performed in three different
venues. The show will open in the Cedar Community Hall south of Nanaimo with
3:00 pm performances Dec 7, 8, 14 & 15 and 7:00 pm performances on Dec 6,
7, 8, 13, 14, & 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">During the Cedar run the production will move to the Sid
Williams Theatre in Courtenay for two performances - Dec 10th & 11th at
7:00 pm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Closing out the season will be three shows staged at The
Port Theatre in downtown Nanaimo on Dec 20 & 21 at 7:00 pm and a matinee at
3:00 pm on Dec 21.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Tickets for the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular
performances in Cedar and Nanaimo can be purchased through the Port Theatre Box
Office (250.754.8550 - </span><a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span style="color: #000099; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">www.porttheatre.com</span></a><span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">). The Courtenay shows are
handled through the Sid Williams Theatre Box Office (250.338.2430 - </span><a href="http://www.sidwilliamstheatre.com/"><span style="color: #000099; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">www.sidwilliamstheatre.com</span></a><span style="color: #141213; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt;">Yellowpoint Christmas
Spectacular’s website is </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><a href="http://www.yellowpointchristmasspectacular.ca/">www.yellowpointchristmasspectacular.ca</a></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #141213; font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";">PHOTOS</span></b><span style="color: #141213; font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";"> (above) <b>Turning the Cedar
Community Hall into a seasonal wonderland for the Yellowpoint Christmas
Spectacular is a massive undertaking.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141213; font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Baskerville; mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">PHOTO </span></b><span style="font-family: Baskerville; mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">(above) -<b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";">Another gig I played in November was with the
Arrowsmith Big Band based in Qualicum. The band is made up of musicians from
Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Qualicum Beach and Courtenay. The dance is held annually
at the Parksville Legion on the afternoon of Remembrance Day and features music
from the swing era of the 1940’s.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Baskerville; mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">PHOTO </span></b><span style="font-family: Baskerville; mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">(above) - <b>My</b></span><b><span style="color: #141213; font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";">
wife Pat has been busy as well preparing for the Christmas Season driving over
the hump to Port Alberni every Monday to rehearse the Timbre! Choir.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #141213; font-family: "Bell MT"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bell MT";">My December Blog will feature more about this popular
seasonal event.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.8pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">“Arts Groups
reeling from lack of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gaming
grants”</span></b><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.8pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> headlined a recent article by
Alberni Valley Times reporter Stewart Burnett. The Port Alberni Orchestra and
Chorus Society and member groups, the Alberni Valley Adult Band, Harbour City
Big Band, Phil’s Harmonic Orchestra, Echo Centre Youth Recitals and the Timbre!
Choir appreciated having our concerns spotlighted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.8pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">However, for
the record I’d like to clarify a few points relating to Mr. Burnett’s interview
with me for the article. The interview was by cell phone as I was in the midst
of a rehearsal for the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular south of Nanaimo. Not
the best time for me to explain clearly how our gaming grants are applied for
and dispersed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.8pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Since the
interview I’ve rethought some of Mr. Burnett’s questions and my answers. For
example, without a yearly gaming grant would our society cease to operate?
Possibly. The core function of the PA Orchestra & Chorus is to act as an
umbrella organization for our member groups. The society through the gaming
grants helps with the cost of liability insurance, purchases of musical
instruments such as the $50,000 grand piano currently stored in the new ADSS
Theatre, buys sheet music, sponsors workshops and covers portions of hall
rentals for rehearsals and concerts, to name a few. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.8pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">As
independent identities, would our member groups be able to carry on, depending
wholly on ticket sales and perhaps some corporate sponsorships? Optimistically,
I believe they would but with reduced expectations. Ticket prices would need to
rise substantially, the danger being audience numbers could fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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appears the BC government has decided that community arts groups in this province
are expendable as ever increasing gaming funds are diverted to general revenue.
The latest Vancouver Island based performing arts group casualty of this policy
that I’m aware of is Nanaimo’s Western Edge Theatre Company, who also had their
gaming fund application turned down. Last week the professional theatre group
cancelled the remainder of their 2013/14 season and refunded all subscriptions
. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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current gaming rules, our society is allowed to apply for a grant in the spring
of 2014, which if successful, would be available for September 2014. If our
application fails a second time, some sobering decisions regarding the
society’s future will need to be made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Suzuki, after a lifetime trying to persuade politicians to look after the
planet, felt he’d failed miserably. I must confess after decades trying to
convince decision makers that arts and culture are the heart of our
communities., that on occasion I have similar thoughts.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-84515432308382751722013-10-15T12:19:00.004-07:002013-10-15T12:28:29.557-07:00Did recording have some political spin?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This past summer I made a protracted assault on what can only be described as a lifetime of accumulated hard-to-turf memorabilia cluttering every corner of our basement. Carted off to the landfill went my classroom daybooks, something most teachers toss as a celebratory act of passage the day they retire. Following them were dated computer software disks & manuals, dozens of promotional demo recordings of school band arrangements, broken tools, and a trailer load of bits and </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">pieces of scrap lumber I’d squirreled away, thinking it might come in handy someday.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">However, remaining untouched was my boxed record collection which includes volumes of weighty 78 rpm recordings of entire symphonies and decades of popular single hit material that had belonged to my parents, plus hundreds of 33 rpm jazz recordings purchased with gig money I earned playing weekend dances during my high school years. Picking my way through the collection, I came across an album released in 1969 titled <i>British Columbia Suite</i> - composed and arranged by Nelson Riddle. Riddle was a Hollywood based Grammy award winning composer best known for his orchestral arrangements during the 1960s and 70’s for legendary crooner Frank Sinatra. He also wrote material for other celebrated vocalists of the era including: Rosemary Clooney, Billy Eckstine, Keely Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and later Linda Ronstadt. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Peaking my interest in the Riddle LP recording was a testimonial printed on the backside of the colourful multi-paged sleeve jacket written by W.A.C. (Wacky) Bennett, the premier of British Columbia at that time. It read: “<i>It is singularly appropriate that a name as famous in the world of music as Nelson Riddle should be linked at last with a place in this world as well-known and well-loved as British Columbia, Canada.”</i> Bennett went on to say that Nelson Riddle was a very special visitor to BC, a “<i>personality able to convert what he saw in British Columbia into music</i>. <i>The delightful result is a tribute to our Province and a credit to the composer and his fine musicians, as I am sure you will agree when you hear Nelson Riddle’s British Columbia Suite.” </i> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Opposites do attract so the saying goes. In this case, a celebrated American musician and an iconic western Canadian politician appear to have collaborated on a record album released in 1969. Investigating further I was reminded that 1969 was also an election year in British Columbia. Could this elaborate recording in any way have been connected to premier Bennett’s bid for reelection? Was any taxpayer’s money spent on producing the album, perhaps under the guise of tourist promotion? Interesting questions I’ve not been able to verify. </span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">British Columbians of my generation remember W.A.C. Bennett as a one-of-a-kind character. From the summer of 1952 to the fall of 1972, W.A.C. Bennett ruled British Columbia winning seven elections in a row. During his 20-year tenure, Bennett nationalized the province’s hydroelectric industry and put together a ferry fleet scornfully dubbed by the media of the day as Bennett's Navy. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My favorite recollections of Bennett were the humorous cartoons drawn by Len Norris that appeared weekly in the Vancouver Sun. One of the best remembered was called <i>“Now here's the Deal. ” </i>It was </span><span style="font-family: Times; letter-spacing: 0px;">published Sept 16, 1964, the day of a border ceremony held at the Peace Arch in Blaine to celebrate the implementation of the Columbia River Dam Treaty.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i>The cartoon depicted Bennett’s lead-footed highways minister Phil Gaglardi at the wheel of a speeding convertible. Cringing on each side of the premier in the convertible’s back seat were Prime Minister Lester (Mike) Pearson and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett is explaining to Lester (Mike) Pearson and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson: <i>“Now here's the deal, Phil blacktops the road from California to the Aleutians. Mike gives up the Yukon and Lyndon gives us Washington and Oregon."</i> Pearson and Johnson appear so terrified they seem prepared to cede the territory to get out of the car.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: left;">Also I recall watching the ceremony on TV, which was staged at the Peace Arch. A great deal was made of rushing the multimillion dollar cheque handed to BC by the Americans for the downstream benefits of the treaty, to a Canadian bank to take advantage of the institution’s daily interest rate. However, I digress.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Inside the record jacket of <i>British Columbia Suite</i> are twelve unaccredited photos tagged with extensive text. The photos coincide with each cut on the record. Side One - 1. <i>Route of the Haidas</i> shows a BC Ferry plying the Inside Passage, 2. <i>Peace River</i> has the northern BC river meandering its way through the adjacent prairie, 3<i>. Victoria</i> shows the capital city’s Inner Harbour and Parliament Buildings 4. <i>Cariboo</i> - we see a cowboy sitting abreast a horse as he lights up a cigarette akin to the Marlboro Man, 5. <i>Valley of the Swans</i> portrays the bird sanctuary at Creston Flats in northeastern BC, 6. <i>Government House</i> highlights the baronial Victoria residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of BC. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Side Two – 1. <i>Vancouver Nights</i> shows the city’s evening skyline, 2. <i>Okanagan</i> features a fruit laden peach tree high on Penticton’s east bench, 3. <i>Buchart Gardens</i> displays its famous Sunken Garden, 4. <i>Barkerville </i>has a stagecoach making its way down the town’s dusty main street, 5. <i>Garibaldi Mountain</i> shows a skier carving his way down the mountain, and in conclusion, 6. <i>Moving Ahead</i> has a photo of the Vancouver Planetarium with a radiant yellow Jaguar parked in front. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The photo captions are all written in the syrupy touristy descriptive style of the era. For example the text of the final cut <i>Moving Ahead </i>reads: “<i>As a climax to his musical impressions of Beautiful British Columbia, composer Nelson Riddle has caught and compressed the spirit of its people into melodic phases and moving rhythms of memorable quality. Here is the tempo of the times in Canada’s burgeoning West Coast Province, vibrantly alive, urgent with ambition, bright with self-confidence and warm with the hospitality of the good life shared with good friends ----a fitting finale to the series of unique emotional experience so eloquently expressed in British Columbia Suite.” </i></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Although it’s purely speculation on my part, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that the recording had taxpayer support in some disguised way and was likely released to coincide with the summer electoral campaign of 1969. Supporting the hackneyed notion that the best in musical arts has to come from outside our borders, the album’s instigators appear to have looked south to Tinseltown for an American big name to give the project more credibility, at least in their eyes. However that said, <i>British Columbia Suite</i> is a brilliant piece of program music and Nelson Riddle’s compositions do depict our province in a very special way. Understandably, being a musician my only criticism is I wish a Canadian had got the gig. Incidentally, Bennett won the election, his seventh and last. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>More musical memorabilia</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">During my massive clean up of our basement I found this tiny booklet of Tariff of Rates for the Winnipeg Musicians Association dated 1921-1922. The pamphlet had belonged to Pat’s grandfather George Albert Dobbs who was a professional pianist and organist. It was interesting to read the wage rates for playing in Winnipeg’s moving picture theatres before “talkies” made silent films obsolete later in the decade. Along with the new sound technology the jobs of thousands of musicians also became outmoded. Playing from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm or from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm netted a pianist or organist $40.00. Those musicians performing as a substitute got an extra $2.00. Playing an evening concert or dance at the classy Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Fort Gary Hotel in downtown Winnipeg brought in $45.00. Taking into account inflation, 1 dollar in 1922 would be worth $13.70 today. Musicians were making good wages in those days.</span></div>
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<br />Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-37836596994048179912013-10-02T15:49:00.002-07:002013-10-02T15:54:17.047-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Timbre! Choir of Port Alberni announces concert season</b></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-naA-hdkDXgs1x9Fkt1MQlI73v1IOASOyNNdEh7E_PjdKvdblCVVHPNAwKFMHnYC3FDYJ9dyf8ophO1_HYmQ5hyYvgshhZQYuu2D3NrpXSAlucfXRoyD2G5UahTJxSNnZ6Pv_6jewq8_/s1600/DSCN1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-naA-hdkDXgs1x9Fkt1MQlI73v1IOASOyNNdEh7E_PjdKvdblCVVHPNAwKFMHnYC3FDYJ9dyf8ophO1_HYmQ5hyYvgshhZQYuu2D3NrpXSAlucfXRoyD2G5UahTJxSNnZ6Pv_6jewq8_/s320/DSCN1979.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patricia Miller</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Timbre! Choir with musical director </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Patricia Miller will present two concerts this season. Both concerts will held in the new ADSS Theatre on Roger Street.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The first, titled <b><i>A Christmas Celebration, </i></b>will take place on Sunday, December 15 at 2:30 pm and will feature a diverse selection of seasonal music. </span><span style="color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The concert has</span><span style="color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0px;"> traditionally been one of the Alberni Valley’s most popular musical events of the holiday season. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance.</span><span style="color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Piano accompanist for <b><i>A Christmas Celebration </i></b>will be Vancouver pianist Sarah Hagen. Hagen is a sought-after soloist and chamber musician who has performed in concerts across Canada as well as in the United States, France, Italy, Germany and Sweden. Closer to home, she has been on faculty at the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre for over 10 </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">years and is also well-known for her intimate lecture recitals in smaller venues such as the lobbies of Nanaimo’s Port </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Theatre and the Sid Williams’ Theatre in Courtenay. Audiences learn what inspires and drives each composer. They also gain insight into the pianist's perspective and enjoy a discussion over a cup of tea or a glass of wine. Sarah promotes a relatively informal ambiance, providing opportunity to ask questions, or voice opinions if one so desires!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah Hagan</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This year, musical director Patricia Miller has chosen a potpourri of both old and new carols. Excerpts from Messiah by Handel will hold their traditional place in the program alongside such new compositions as Benjamin Britten's <i>A New Year Carol </i>and songs by the famous British composer, John Rutter. On the lighter side there will a special guest appearance by the Russell Cripps Vocal Quartet from Vancouver who will perform the Drifters’ doo-wop version of <i>White Christmas</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tickets will be available beginning in early November at Rollin Arts Centre, Echo Centre, Somass Drugs, Salmonberry’s and at the door. Ticket prices are Adults and Seniors $15, Children and Students $5. Ticket reservations: For those not living in Port Alberni who would like to attend this concert please send a cheque made out to Timbre! c/o Barry Miller, 6601 Golden Eagle Way, Nanaimo, BC, V9V 1P8. Your reserved ticket can be picked up at the box office on the day of the performance. For further information check out Timbre!’s website at <a href="http://www.timbrechoir.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">www.timbrechoir.com</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Timbre!’s second concert is titled <b><i>The Peacemakers</i></b> and is scheduled for May 11 at 2:30 at the ADSS Theatre. Featured will be compositions by Karl Jenkins, The Beatles, and others. Accompanying the concert will be pianist Danielle Marcinek, who has just returned from the United Kingdom, along with the Barry Miller Jazz trio. More details in the New Year.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Timbre! encourages singers who would like to join a group dedicated to producing a fine choral sound to contact them. The choir is a four-part ensemble and welcomes choristers of all voice types - soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Teenagers are also most welcome.</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>For information, please phone Karen Sparrow at 1-250-724-5244 (Port Alberni) or the musical director Patricia Miller at 1-250-390-7508 (Nanaimo). The musical director will set up a time with you to meet privately to determine your range, pitch and tonal control. Be prepared to sing a short solo of your choosing. It doesn't need to be elaborate, anything from O Canada to Silent Night will do. You may then be asked to join with the choir for two or three rehearsals after which the musical director will call you to fill a possible opening.</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Timbre! - </span><span style="font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0px;">A Christmas Celebration</span><span style="font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Lucida Handwriting; font-size: large;">Music Director - Patricia Miller</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sunday, December 15 at 2:30 pm</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Advance Tickets on sale during November at the regular outlets and at the door (if available). Concert capacity is limited to 500 seats. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; letter-spacing: 0px;">Adults and Seniors $15, Children and students $5</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> </span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-50353507622202938492013-01-28T17:07:00.001-08:002013-01-28T17:07:33.091-08:00<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Concerts, movies and skiing crowded in to city visit</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My wife Pat has been in Vancouver the last couple of weeks adjudicating piano examinations for the Toronto Conservatory. Not one to turn down staying in a fancy hotel in the big city I tagged along.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Vancouver Canucks were playing their first game after the infamous NHL strike. Having never seen the Canucks play live, I thought it might be great to attend a professional hockey game. That is until I went online to see if there were any tickets available. Talk about sticker shock. Cheap seats in the nosebleeds started at $95. Sitting anywhere near ice level was priced at $206.00. Really! Do families actually attend NHL games? I decided to skip the hockey and take in a concert instead. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Vancouver Symphony with their musical director Bramwell Tovey was doing a launch concert before heading out on the road for a Western U.S. two week tour </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">to Washington, California, Nevada and Arizona. I went online and got an excellent seat at the Orpheum for a fraction of the cost of watching the boys of winter, skate around the Rogers’ rink. Just as well, the Canucks got dumped by the Ducks. </span></div>
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<b style="color: #1a1718; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><i> Pianist Jon Kimura Parker </i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1718; letter-spacing: 0px;">Soloist for the VSO concert was pianist</span><span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1718; letter-spacing: 0px;">Jon Kimura Parker. For the tour Parker had selected the </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor. He was dazzling and if the concert I heard is any indication, U.S. audiences will be greatly impressed with this British Columbia raised Canadian export who currently teaches at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Unfortunately Pat was unable to come with me to hear him. Adjudicating is not easy work. The hours are long and Pat needs to spend evenings going over all the marks and comments given during the day before Purolatoring everything off to Toronto. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Specially written for the U.S. tour was a piece called <i>Totem</i> by VSO composer in residence Edward Top. My ears can handle some very far-out contemporary harmony but I’m afraid nothing could have prepared me for such a mish mash of sound. Pounding percussion, wailing sirens, gut wrenching brass and edgy string sounds that seemly led nowhere. I found the composition a tad painful to listen to. However, in fairness, the work did in the final bars morph to a very beautiful closing. I can’t imagine what the U.S. audiences will make of it. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wrapping up the concert was Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major by Prokofiev. The score for the symphony is complex and it was a demanding workout for both the conductor and the orchestra who played the work brilliantly. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b> I had some excellent skiing on Grouse Mountain. There was a weather inversion with sun on the slopes and the city below encased in thick fog. </b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">With oodles of movie theatres scattered around the lower mainland I was able to see all the Academy Award nominees. The late night TV talk shows had been raving about a flick called <i>Zero Dark Thirty </i>so I started with that one. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the running for 5 Academy Awards, <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> is a chilling thriller concerning the CIA’s decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. Jessica Chastain is outstanding as the single-minded CIA analyst who figures out where bin Laden is holed up. Her portrayal garnered her a best actress nomination. It’s always been puzzling to me, if a movie has been nominated for best picture, shouldn’t the director be automatically nominated as best director? Case in point. The director of <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> Kathryn Bigelow was completely ignored. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Although not a blockbuster academy award nominee, one of the most enjoyable films I saw this week in Vancouver was called simply <i>Quartet. </i>I heard about the film after listening to an interview with the film’s director Dustin Hoffman on </span><span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jian Ghomeshi’s morning talk show “Q,” on CBC Radio One. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Quartet</i> is set somewhere in Britain in a </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">retirement home for performing artists and named after the famous conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. The film is loaded with great music played by actual </span><span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">retired musicians who perform as extras throughout the film. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Playing a quartet of retired operatic stars are famed British movie stars Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay and Billy Connolly. As you may have surmised, the target audience for <i>Quartet</i> is, shall we say mature, like myself. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Quartet</i> is currently playing at the Galaxy in Nanaimo. If you do attend be sure to wait until the credits run at the end showing photos of the musicians and singers in their heyday. As they say in the film, getting old isn’t for wimps. Having just seen Arnold Schwarzenegger’s <i>Last Stand</i> and Jason Statham’s <i>Parker</i>, it was a relief to sit through a film without scads of violent gunplay and perpetual car chases. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Before I forget, while attending a film at the Metropolis Theatre at Metrotown , I slipped into the theatre showing <i>Les Miz </i>to have a second look. When I saw the movie a few days after Christmas in Nanaimo I felt the balance between the singers and the orchestra left a lot to be desired. However, the sound was much improved at the Metrotown venue. I could hear the orchestra very clearly right down to the deepest bass notes although the voice mix continued to be tweaked on the loud side for my taste. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A few days after this second viewing, a colleague emailed me an interesting review written by Emma Gosnell that had appeared in the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. The critique was titled <i>Why I walked out of Les Miserables. </i></span><span style="color: #1e1e1e; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Echoing my sentiments, Gosnell had been very excited about seeing the movie ever since the trailer screened that had “Anne Hathaway sob-singing her way through <i>I Dreamed a Dream.</i>” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Her review paralleled the thoughts I expressed in my last blog about my lack of an emotional connection through the music as presented in the film version. I’ve read so many outstanding reviews of</span><span style="color: #363636; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i> Les Miserables</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> (with its 8 Oscar nominations) I was beginning to think I had a chunk of defective genetic material wedged in my cranium for even suggesting the highly nominated film has some musical flaws. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The bottom line, unbalanced sound track aside, is that most of the actors in the film version are brilliant actors first, not singers. This is not live theatre and I need to acknowledge that’s likely why I found little emotional connection to the film. However, this was not the case with the three weeping women sitting in the row in front of me at my second viewing. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Reviewer </span><span style="color: #363636; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Emma Gosnell, as part of her article for the Daily Telegraph, had interviewed </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Marni Nixon an 82-year-old Hollywood musicals veteran. I quote: Nixon “is known in the industry as the ‘<i>ghostess with the mostess</i>, having been a singing double for everyone from Audrey Hepburn in <i>My Fair Lady,</i> Deborah Kerr in <i>The King and I</i> and – without her knowledge – Natalie Wood in <i>West Side Story</i>.” In Nixon’s opinion, “the Les Misérables film was misconceived. If you’re making a musical, you should hire singers who can act. In a musical, you want singing that’s technically good. It’s cruel to make people who can’t sing, sing,” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Enough said. I confess, my love for live Broadway theatre taints my opinion about filmed musicals.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For those interested, the link to Gosnell’s complete review in the Daily Telegraph can be read at: <span style="color: #0928a7; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9812939/Why-I-walked-out-of-Les-Miserables.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9812939/Why-I-walked-out-of-Les-Miserables.html</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>I don’t like to be away from the piano too long so when possible I bring my digital keyboard along with me. I use earphones so the hotel guests in the next room don’t start complaining. </b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Another film I viewed in Vancouver was the </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Life Of Pi</i> with </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">11 Academy nominations. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The film </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">should only be seen in a big-screen 3-D format in a good theatre. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Life Of Pi</i> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">has to </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">be the most beautiful film of the year. It is unquestionably a technical marvel. There is a Canadian connection with Winnipeg born </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; letter-spacing: 0px;">composer Mychael Danna receiving a nomination for best musical score as well as best song.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In support of the performing arts I’ve been asked by readers to post the following information for anyone in the mid-Vancouver Island area who may be interested.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Summer 2013 – Village Theatre in Qualicum </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">General Auditions for the 2013 Summer Season are being held in <b>Parksville </b>– Shelly Road Centre, 186 Shelly Road on Sunday, Feb 03 (1:00-5:00 pm & 6:30 to 9:00 pm). <b>Nanaimo</b> – St. Paul’s Hall, 100 Chapel Street on Saturday, Feb 2, 1:30-5:00pm.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Singing and non-singing roles for males and females aged 13-70. Open auditions for all three shows at all audition sessions. Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue, and about 16= bars of a song (if auditioning for musical). No appointment necessary but please be prepared to stay for about 2 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The shows:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>SEXY LAUNDRY</b> – A marital comedy-poignant and funny, Special Guest Director Norman Browning.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>THE DROWSY CHAPERONE</b> – A terrific, tuneful, toe-tapping tribute to the Twenties. Directed by Gary Brown & Eric Gow. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>LITTLE WOMEN</b> – The timeless classic by Louisa May Alcott. Directed by Eileen Butts.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Role descriptions may be found in B2B’s November newsletter online at <a href="http://www.b2btheatre.com/"><span style="color: #1440fc; letter-spacing: 0px;">www.b2btheatre.com</span></a>. For further information contact: Eileen Butts (<a href="mailto:ebutts@shaw.ca"><span style="color: #1440fc; letter-spacing: 0px;">ebutts@shaw.ca</span></a> or 250-248-3782). Gary Brown (<a href="mailto:stageguy@shaw.ca"><span style="color: #1440fc; letter-spacing: 0px;">stageguy@shaw.ca</span></a> or 250-468-9545). Don Harper (<a href="mailto:doncharper@hotmail.com"><span style="color: #1440fc; letter-spacing: 0px;">doncharper@hotmail.com</span></a> or 250-752-3502).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>NANAIMO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC presents pianist Krzysztof Jablonski – Sunday, March 17, 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nanaimo Conservatory of Music presents its annual gala concert featuring international piano superstar Krzysztof Jablonski. Fresh from a touring engagement in Japan, Mr. Jablonski will present an afternoon of Frederic Chopin’s greatest hits. Program highlights include the Polonaise in A flat major (Op. 53), the Prelude in E minor (Op. 28 No. 4), and Andante Spianato & Grand Polonaise in E flat major (Op. 22).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For tickets and more information, please call Nanaimo Conservatory of Music at 250.754.4611</span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-70327071171777580242013-01-03T23:43:00.003-08:002013-01-03T23:43:39.590-08:00A diary of memories - The Holiday Season<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Happy New Year to all my faithful blog readers. The email list is now approaching 400. Last week the Port Alberni Community Website (alberni.ca) added a link to the online version. I see the link has received 89 reads so far. Welcome to those readers.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Holiday Season is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. The years during my working life as a teacher were filled with music, my favorite event each December was the Candlelight Concert that featured my wife Pat’s Teen Choirs with my school bands and handbell choirs.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The handbell set used by the student groups was purchased through the Dr. A.P. Miller memorial fund set up by the Kinsmen Club of Port Alberni and endorsed by my mother when my father passed away. When I retired I placed the bells in storage.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Photo: The bass bell section of one of the handbell ensembles I directed at ADSS performing at the annual Candlelight Concert. Unfortunately I didn’t date the photo. However, I do remember the names of the students in the photo. (R to L): Gordon Mosey, Luke Mayba, Steven Gregory, Alan Beauregard and Joanne Marshall. </b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Photo above: Pat’s Alberni Valley Teen Singers performing in the ADSS Auditorium at our 30th Candlelight Concert in December of 1995.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, several years ago I put the bells on the Port Alberni Orchestra & Chorus Society’s instrument inventory list as the Dr. A.P. Miller Memorial Handbells. Currently the society has the bells on loan to the Alberni Valley United Church where Michael Villette has been training a group of ringers. A few days ago Mike emailed me a YouTube video of his ringers performing <i>Unto Us a Child is Born</i> at the church’s recent Christmas concert. It’s wonderful to hear the bells being rung again in memory of my father. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here is a link to the AVUC Bell Choir video for anyone who’d like to see it. </span><span style="font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="color: #114ee6; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/RBHzKvA0chA">http://youtu.be/RBHzKvA0chA</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Celebrating our 30</b></span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><sup>th</sup></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b> Anniversary Candlelight Concert</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Boxing Day sales mania saw us switching over to an HD television set. To a movie addict like myself the conversion to an outsized TV screen has ushered in a feast of films through the online video streaming site Netflix. I’ll need to be vigilant and spread out my expanded viewing options to avoid becoming a couch potato.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Living in Nanaimo with 14 movie theatre screens just moments away from our home, the holiday season means indulging in one of my favorite pastimes, viewing the latest film releases that traditionally play theatres during December. A few days after Christmas, I took in the new movie version of the musical <i>Les Miserables</i>. Over the years I’ve seen at least a half dozen live productions of the musical, including a wonderful production of the 25</span><span style="font-size: 8.7px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> anniversary concert beamed last year from London via satellite into movie theatres. I’d been looking forward to viewing the new film ever since learning of its Christmas day release date. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sadly, I was extremely disappointed with the screening I attended. The balance between the voices and the orchestra was unusually poor, something I didn’t expect from the Dolby sound system at the Nanaimo’s Galaxy Theatre. I’ve seen many opera presentations via satellite in the theatre complex and all, with the exception of one which had an equipment breakdown, had superb sound. With the orchestra tracks barely audible and the voices excessively strident, I had difficulty connecting to the musical on any sort of technical or emotional level.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know that the studios insist that theatres set their Dolby speakers at certain volume levels. Perhaps someone at the Galaxy got the mix wrong. Returning home, I did listen to the film’s soundtrack on my computer through iTunes and the balance was excellent. I plan to be at the Galaxy seeing some other films in January. I think I’ll duck into the auditorium showing Les Mis and see if the pitiful sound was a ‘one-off’ situation. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>World War II had just ended and electric trains were once again to be found in toy stores. In the photo above my brother Terry and myself are playing with a model railroad that suddenly appeared on Christmas morning. </b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>The layout, set up by our father late on Christmas Eve, consisted of a 4X8 sheet of plywood painted green with an oval of “027" gauge railroad track tacked firmly to its surface. Our father being a medical doctor had even constructed a miniature pedestrian overpass out of wooden tongue depressors. That simple layout expanded over the years into a major model railway operation only to be torn down when my parents moved to a smaller home after I graduated from high school.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Boxing Day is traditionally the day for our family dinner. Pat and I always light a special candle after the meal. The huge candle was given to us at our final Candlelight Concert in December of 1997. It contains dozens of melted down candle stubs that were used over the years for rehearsals.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On Saturday evening Pat and myself with my brother Terry attended the Chemainus Festival Theatre’s Christmas musical The Gift’s of the Magi. The timeless holiday love story follows a down-on-their-luck couple who go to great lengths to find the perfect gift for each other. In the spirit of Christmas, they discover that the best gifts come from the heart. The Chemainus version of the venerable off-Broadway musical was outstanding. Jeff Hyslop was brilliant in the role of Soapy. The Vancouver born actor/singer currently lives in Campbell River. His most famous role was the phantom in Phantom of the Opera in which he played over 975 performances. Hyslop is also well-known internationally for his role of Mike in the London West End and Broadway productions of <i>A Chorus Line.</i> </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Pictured above is the British built Hornby steam locomotive from my first model train set. It now graces our living room Christmas window frame display.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>New Years Day I hit the slopes for my first ski day of the season. Our grandchildren were on the hill as well. The conditions on Mt Washington were perfect, some new snow overnight followed by a sunny ski day.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>It’s 3 am on Jan 3</b></span><span style="font-size: 9.3px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><sup>rd</sup></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b> as I wrap up this blog. It’s the 3</b></span><span style="font-size: 9.3px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><sup>rd</sup></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b> period at the World Juniors and Canada is getting blown out of the rink 5 goals to 1 by the USA. Canada’s Gold Medal dreams are shattered. I’m going back to bed. </b></span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-9802155907138862292012-12-19T14:37:00.001-08:002012-12-19T14:37:58.832-08:00Seasonal song Six White Boomers sparks memories<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Playing piano for two 2-hour shows a day as I’m currently doing at the <i>Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular</i> can be daunting. If you take your mind off what you’re doing for a millisecond you could find yourself scrambling to refocus. This is the sixth year I’ve been a member of the band backing the production and it’s been made additionally enjoyable using a newly acquired digital piano. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Last month my wife Pat and I were in the Long & McQuade music store in Nanaimo. Pat needed to purchase some Christmas music for some of her piano students. While waiting for her to dig through the bins of sheet music, I kept entertained by noodling my way through the piano department. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #424242; letter-spacing: 0px;">Trying out a number of the digital pianos on display, I came across a Roland FP-7F keyboard and after playing just a few chords I instantly fell in love with the instrument. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">No digital I’d played before sounded and felt so close to an acoustic piano as this one did. Later at home I couldn’t get the instrument’s superior sound out of my mind and thought I’d check for reviews of the piano on the Internet. I soon learned the sampled sound chip in the unit had been prepared using a Hamburg Steinway D Grand piano. </span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;">Sound sampling is a way of converting real sounds into a form that a computer can store and replay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #433525; font-family: Cambria; letter-spacing: 0px;">Pat could see how taken I was with the piano and the following day said to me that if I liked that much, she’d give it to me for Christmas. I was of course delighted. However, the piano had been listed in the music store as used so I needed to know its history. It turned out the instrument had been rented to the Chemainus Festival Theatre for one of their musicals. The result was a substantial discount off the list price. Picking up the piano just a day after first playing it, I’ve had an incredible time performing on the instrument from the Yellowpoint show’s very first rehearsal.</span><span style="color: #433525; font-family: Cambria; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>(Above) - The </b></span><span style="color: #424242; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Roland FP-7F keyboard - </b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>my Christmas present from Pat.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This year the <i>Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular</i> has over 50 songs programmed. Playing through the production, many of the tunes have sparked personal memories of Christmases past. One song in particular called <i>Six White Boomers</i> took me back to a seasonal show I performed over 40 years ago with an entertainer by the name of Rolf Harris. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Rolf Harris was an Australian entertainer who showed up in Vancouver on the maiden voyage of the cruise ship Oriana in the spring of 1961 to play a short gig at a venue called the Arctic Club on Pender Street. His big hit in Australia was an infectious tune called <i>Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport</i> that had caught on worldwide. Harris was such a smash hit in Vancouver that he ended up playing two shows a night, six days a week for 31 straight weeks before the Arctic Club burned to the ground on New Year’s Eve 1961. He was so popular the legendary Cave Theatre Restaurant on Hornby Street extended his stay. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rolf Harris ultimately built a secure career in England but still continued to make regular visits to Vancouver. It was one of these periodic visits during the Christmas season that a local Alberni Valley radio station (CJAV) booked Harris to do some concerts on Vancouver Island. Somehow his Vancouver booking agent got my name and phoned to ask if I could put together a trio to back the entertainer up. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Photo above: My jazz trio is seen backing up Rolf Harris at the old Athletic Hall in Port Alberni. Rolf is shown with his wobble board singing his principal hit, <i>Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport</i>. Ernie De Montigny played bass and my brother-in-law Dave Auld (unseen at right) was on drums.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first show was to be a matinee in Port Alberni and a rehearsal was arranged for my band to learn the music. However, when Harris showed up after travelling over from the mainland he apologized that the airline had lost all his musical arrangements in transit. Even his mammoth </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">didgeridoo (</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; letter-spacing: 0px;">a long, wooden wind instrument used traditionally by the aboriginal people of Northern Australia)</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> had gone astray. However, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rolf was happy to learn that I could read chord symbol shorthand as he’d spent his travel time on the ferry scribbling out the chord structure of his compositions on sheets of hotel stationary. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And that’s what we ended up doing, playing the entire show from these scrap pieces of paper scotch-taped to the piano. To imitate the strange sounds of a </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">didgeridoo, Rolf blew into one end of a cardboard centre core used to wrap newsprint at the local paper mill. However, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">eventually his backup band scores did arrive and later shows were definitely superior. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;">Over time, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rolf Harris became one of Britain's best-loved entertainers. A very talented artist, a large segment of his act on stage incorporated sketching cartoons and portraits on huge sheets of paper. In 2005 Harris </span><span style="color: #272727; letter-spacing: 0px;">was commissioned to paint a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday. Harris was appointed an MBE in 1968 and an OBE in 1977and received a CBE from the Princess Royal in 2006.</span></div>
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<b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(Photo above): Rolf Harris painting a portrait of the Queen for her 80</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> birthday celebration at a sitting in Buckingham Palace.</span></b></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>(Photo above): Dancers at the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. The production plays out its final week starting tonight with six performances through Saturday. Tickets available through the Port Theatre in Nanaimo at <a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span style="color: #1440fc; letter-spacing: 0px;">www.porttheatre.com</span></a>.</b></span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-54006816458365912352012-12-19T14:10:00.000-08:002012-12-19T14:10:20.553-08:00A busy concert weekend<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">On the west side of the hump in Port Alberni my wife Patricia is conducting the Timbre! Choir for its annual Christmas presentation. Soloists will be Michelle Weckesser and Elizabeth Grenon. Vancouver pianist Sarah Hagen is the accompanist. Performances - Sat, Dec 15 at 7:30 pm & Sun, Dec 26 at 2:30 pm.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">On the east side of the hump I continue my gig at the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular this weekend with six performances thru Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online from the Nanaimo’s Port Theatre website at <a href="http://www.porttheatre.com/"><span style="color: #0928a7; letter-spacing: 0px;">www.porttheatre.com</span></a>. The production has just returned from a one-night performance at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay with a sellout of 500 seats.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The design of the new ADSS theatre in Port Alberni is very different from the community’s old auditorium on Burde Street with its rows of plywood seats, and like driving a new car or installing a modern HDTV set in your home, there will be an adjustment for some patrons attending events in the new facility. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The seating style in the 455-seat theatre is what’s known as Continental Seating. It’s not a new concept, an early example being Wagner’s opera house in Bayreuth, Germany which was built in 1876. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today across North America there are scores of theatres using the design. Three in Canada that I’ve attended concerts in are the </span><span style="color: #363636; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Farquhar Auditorium at the University of Victoria and the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The concept behind not using an </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">aisle to break the rows is to allow for maximum seating in front of the stage. To do this the aisle of the seats is made wider to allow for easier movement. Last week at the official opening my wife Patricia and I sat in the exact centre of the theatre’s second row. Due to an afternoon performance of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular that I’m playing piano for, we had to leave a few minutes before the ceremony had finished. We had no problem reaching the side aisle. In fact the students seated in our row didn’t even need to stand up to let us pass. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Another benefit of the new theatre is the </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">generous slope giving from every seat, a direct line of vision to the stage.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The theatre is truly a remarkable achievement for the Alberni Valley considering the economic challenges faced in recent years. For School District #70 (Alberni), a standing ovation is in order. </span></div>
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8599694025833124543.post-9622600201248238482012-12-11T04:15:00.001-08:002012-12-11T04:15:47.410-08:00<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Friday morning my wife Patricia and myself entered the freshly finished ADSS Theatre in Port Alberni as invited guests at the Official Grand Opening of the community’s new high school. As a retired member of the school’s staff and having been a member of Alberni Valley Performing Arts Committee in 2008, it was an exhilarating moment. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The performing arts committee was created following the Alberni School District #70’s success, after years of lobbying trying to convince the provincial government that the community’s high school needed to be drastically upgraded or replaced. However, a crisis for the performing arts community ensued when it was decided the new school would be built on property many blocks north of where the old school had stood since the mid-1950s. Attached to the school was a 1000-seat auditorium. The concern being, would it be torn down along with the rest of the old school buildings?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The committee, which was made up of representatives of local performing arts user groups, the city council and the school board, set a mandate to determine if any community agency was willing to take on the responsibility for preserving, upgrading and maintaining the existing auditorium as a stand-alone facility. To the arts community members it wasn’t rocket science to conclude that it would take someone with very deep pockets to upgrade and maintain such a large aging facility. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The committee’s second mandate was to determine if community support could be generated to construct a new performing arts centre, either as a stand-alone facility or in conjunction with the new ADSS school. With help from theatre consultant Sandra Thompson, who had been involved with the construction of Nanaimo’s 800-seat Port Theatre, it soon became clear that building a similar facility in Port Alberni would cost well in excess of ten million dollars.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Alberni Valley had, over the years with taxpayer support, constructed wonderful sport facilities. However, with the downturn in the forest industry we realized a city referendum for a performance theatre, akin to one that had seen a new hockey rink recently constructed, would have little chance of success. I recall writing on my blog at the time a quote from Peter Gzowski’s hockey book <i>The Game of Our Lives </i>in which a chapter was dedicated to the unique talents of Wayne Gretsky. Gzowski wrote, “the joy of it all is that we have found him, that the game is so much a part of our lives that when a Wayne Gretzky is born we will find him. The sorrow is that there may also be Wayne Gretzkys of the piano or the paintbrush who, because we expose our young to hockey so much more than to the arts, we will never hear about.” I digress.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was at this point becoming quite discouraged. It was becoming clear I had to accept the inevitable. The community would lose the old auditorium that had served the valley performing arts so well for over 50-years and likely it would be replaced in the new school with a multi purpose classroom. </span></div>
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Suddenly a ray of sunshine appeared. At one of the committee meetings the
school board representative brought the news that funds expected from the sale
of the property on which the old school stood could be earmarked towards a
theatre in the new school. Although one or two citizens urged me in
letters-to-the-editor to the AV Times not to abandon my original hopes that the
ADSS Auditorium be saved, I’d come to the conclusion that the costs of
preserving the old structure were obviously prohibitive and with no local arts
group willing to own and run the original auditorium independently, a
compromise was offered as a way forward. Taking into account available
funds and some creative planning by the architect, a 500-seat
configuration was affordable. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Decreasing the number of seats from a 700 or 800 configuration meant it
would be unprofitable for a national or international star with high fees to
play the theatre. However, the majority of committee members felt that the
benefits of having a fitting performance venue for student and community
productions plus the potential visiting professional groups who would book a
500-seat theatre, far outweighed not having a proper theatre with a raked floor
as part of the new school.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In my opinion supporting a 500-seater under the circumstances was not
only the right choice, but, the only choice. Port Alberni now has a
state-of-the-art theatre that will serve the school and the local artistic
community and their audiences for years to come. <span style="font-family: Cambria; letter-spacing: 0px;">For all those involved in pursuing the goal that a proper theatre be part of the new school, I suggest a standing ovation is in order, to celebrate this wonderful achievement.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately we had to leave at the end of the ceremony and missed the luncheon. I had to scoot back over the hump to play an afternoon performance of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular and Pat had a number of piano students waiting for her return. More on our Christmas concerts in my next blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; letter-spacing: 0px;">Photos from the Open House:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLmudrWeAeRHB-z4p0svgqhGq0md3YVdMaqGZp9dI1vY8xpGbMHFERLZQlEJC8BM0heorSRJXUXUkUbjqzMS5AnpG3XSTZT4YVFY8j-0O0vB9MCgBG17AsMhdcOr7wHdk0U-25_Feardy/s1600/ADSS+Theatre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLmudrWeAeRHB-z4p0svgqhGq0md3YVdMaqGZp9dI1vY8xpGbMHFERLZQlEJC8BM0heorSRJXUXUkUbjqzMS5AnpG3XSTZT4YVFY8j-0O0vB9MCgBG17AsMhdcOr7wHdk0U-25_Feardy/s320/ADSS+Theatre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Photo above: The new ADSS Theatre chamber has comfortable soft seating with wide access to seats, a large stage area with an extensive apron, sizeable dressing rooms plus state-of-the-art lighting and digital sound system. My personal preference would have been an open sound booth at the back as it will be difficult for those running the equipment to hear exactly what the audience is hearing. Currently there is only one sliding window in the booth and consideration will need to be given to, at the very least, getting the other two windows to slide open as well.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTwx7Y_sqBebjo0bUAR_w1Ms78w9FZQVsKHgQxSvhI3wdNMLE4hmQZTWtgzqM6VCogKmMdXBAcyyZpAtCansk7MeO61APbElwoqiQiUC7nhMVRzSfguKawo_wQsfCBbn8RhiWFskR68Jy/s1600/ADSS+Theatre+Stage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTwx7Y_sqBebjo0bUAR_w1Ms78w9FZQVsKHgQxSvhI3wdNMLE4hmQZTWtgzqM6VCogKmMdXBAcyyZpAtCansk7MeO61APbElwoqiQiUC7nhMVRzSfguKawo_wQsfCBbn8RhiWFskR68Jy/s320/ADSS+Theatre+Stage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>The ADSS stage band under the direction of Sarah Falls tunes up before the official opening on Friday. The large screen in front of the band drops down for video and movie presentations. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvqaTCePyWhf0g6_hCBNcekOO1CKyf_6vLZxSIj4NQSAvije3YGza0RNPjr2ZyabpiXE6KThiEjBzxpuUe2ZLdm2aN3wyPrTcCEcIycpxw5vyd1V6Z7fH4Z-NJR_SJTzAbNMDnZjQRx43/s1600/ADSS+Dance+Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvqaTCePyWhf0g6_hCBNcekOO1CKyf_6vLZxSIj4NQSAvije3YGza0RNPjr2ZyabpiXE6KThiEjBzxpuUe2ZLdm2aN3wyPrTcCEcIycpxw5vyd1V6Z7fH4Z-NJR_SJTzAbNMDnZjQRx43/s320/ADSS+Dance+Team.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>The ADSS Dance Team performs “Make You Pop”.</b></span><br />
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Barry Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496546509276356539noreply@blogger.com0