Apple - One More Bite

The first computer my wife Pat and I ever purchased was an Apple 11e. Back then, buying a computer wasn’t easy as it entailed traveling to the mainland and visiting a store specializing in the product. In this day of $400 lap tops it’s hard to believe that we paid over $3500 for a little green-eyed screen encased in an apricot-coloured plastic shell which could only process three or four type written pages at a time. However, like a growing number of parents at the time, I blindly believed the prevailing hype that owning a computer guaranteed a child’s educational success. 

It wasn’t long before school districts, backed by a truckload of targeted funding from the Ministry of Education began moving “big time” into the world of computers. Any teacher who could figure out a way to integrate a unit into their classroom was automatically earmarked the recipient of the cascading cash.  

As a high school band director, each year I submitted a budget for musical instruments. Some years I’d receive funding for a needed instrument while other years, fair being fair, money would go to another department. Computers however changed the budgetary landscape. 

Suddenly there was a new kid on the block, a capital item that ate up a budget like there was no tomorrow.

Having had my request for the purchase of an oboe and a bassoon turned down one year, I decided I needed to figure out a way to tap into the school district’s technology account which was being force-fed annually by the department of education. I joined the herd after the “new money” and placed myself firmly aboard the computer bandwagon. 

So into the new world of the microchip I plunged, programming an entire Broadway score into an Atari computer to use alongside conventional instruments, as supplementary accompaniment for the school’s fall musical. I hadn’t received the funds for my wished for oboe and bassoon but did have a machine that could produce the sounds of those instruments, albeit rather thinly. However the exercise did keep funding flowing and teaching colleagues acknowledged I was on the “cutting edge” of the technological tidal wave. Happily in the end common sense prevailed and budgetary balance did return, enabling the purchase of needed acoustical musical instruments for my program.  

However, computers did make a huge impact in the music program and continue to do so in my personal musical life. I no longer lay pen or pencil to paper to write a music score, using instead software called Sibelius that instantly plays back my arrangements with sampled sounds that rival real acoustic instruments and neatly prints out the sheet music band members need to play from. I pack my own digital piano and synthesizer to gigs, never having to rely on a house piano that hasn’t been tuned for eons. 

Recently after decades using PC’s built by the likes of Samsung, eMachine, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba, I’ve returned to my roots, an Apple computer. Both our sons Cory and Brock have Macs as does my brother Terry. They were constantly praising the merits of the new Apple products so I decided recently to purchase a MacBook Pro Laptop. To say I’m hooked would be an understatement.  I absolutely love it. Hours of jazz recordings are stored aboard plus movies and entire TV series. It also inspired me to get into writing a blog.

It’s been a bit of a learning curve to absorb the new platform. Last week’s blog is a case in point. As part of the blog I had included a dozen photos taken at rehearsals leading up to the opening night of the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. Unfortunately I failed to do something I’d automatically done when working on my PC – reduce the resolution size of the photos. The result was some readers experienced excessive download time. I apologize to them for not getting into the photo section of my 4-inch thick Apple laptop manual in advance of clicking the send button. However, I’ve now mastered the process with a little help from one of my blog readers in the Canary Islands, and I’m confident future mailings won’t plug up anyone’s mailbox. 

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Timbre! in Port Alberni - A Valley Christmas (L to R Michelle Weckesser, Wendy Nixon-Stothert, Dale Graham and Jennifer Forsland). The vocal quartet Swing Set from Courtenay will be special guests at the Timbre! choir's Christmas concert on Sunday at 2:30 pm in the ADSS Auditorium. Tickets available at regular outlets in the Alberni Valley and at the door.

Nanaimo Concert Band

Blog reader François Bouchard emailed to ask if I’d mention a concert taking place this weekend with the Nanaimo Concert Band. François is one of the band’s two musical directors. The Hub City ensemble is recognized as the oldest continuous community band in Canada having been established in 1872. An interesting fact - the band has played every Remembrance Day Ceremony since World War One, without fail. The concert takes place on Dec. 12 at 2:30 in the Beban Park Auditorium. Admission is by Non-perishable Food Donation to the Salvation Army.

Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular Opens

After an intensive 10-day rehearsal period, the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular opened last night to a full house and was an instant hit. This is my 4th season playing piano in the orchestra and although I don’t get to see the show visually out front, I can tell you the extravaganza of music and dance will kick your Christmas season into high gear. 

With a professional cast of 14, the show takes place in the Cedar Community Hall south of Nanaimo which has been transformed into a Christmas wonderland with thousands of lights and decorations. This year the big production numbers include a scene from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera and a tribute to Motown. Even Frank Sinatra makes an appearance. I could be prejudiced but I sensed a crowd favorite last night was an orchestra number called Csardas which featured our musical director James Mark on violin and Susan Bullock on clarinet. Wow is it fast.  It goes without saying, the show is loaded with Christmas favorites. 

With 16 more performances still to go (including two nights in Courtenay), I encourage you to drive to Cedar and take in one of the afternoon or evening performances. Tickets can be reserved by phoning the Port Theatre Ticket Centre in Nanaimo at 250.754.8550. Tickets can also be ordered on the internet at www.porttheatre.com