Incredible music heard at Idaho Jazz Festival

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. 

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.

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. 

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 The Nearness of You. Michael Addy (Bass) and Devon Barker (Drums).

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.

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 Geoff Keezer, vocalists Sheila Jordon and Rene Marie, the Seattle based vocal jazz ensemble Groove For Thought, a stunning young 21-year old saxophonist/vocalist Grace Kelly, the Grammy award winning instrumental combo Yellowjackets, veteran composer/saxophonist Benny Golson and vibraphonist Jason Marsalis who soloed with the Lionel Hampton Big Band. 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 www.uidaho.edu/jazzfest 

Main Stage at the Lionel Hampton Festival

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. 

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.  

Thanks to Sarah Falls and her wonderful students for taking me along. I had an absolute blast!

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.

Here ADSS vocalist Arlene Oldale performs the ballad Misty. Alberni Valley student Erin Netzer was also selected to perform her version of Dream a Little Dream which she sang in French. Other Alberni students receiving honourable mention were George McNally (trombone) and vocalist Danil Sim.

Photo above: Grandson Nathan also performed as part of a piano trio with Michael Addy (Bass) and Devon Barker (Drums).

Photo above: A bronze statue of bandleader Lionel Hampton occupies a corner of the main stage during festival 

January - Overture to another year

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.

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 It’s a Wonderful Life. 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. 

Sunset on Jan 3rd, 2014 at Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino

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 Netflix. For those who may not be familiar with Netflix, 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 Netflix popular is that the user is always in control, able to 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. 

For a movie junkie such as myself, Netflix 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.

Films I viewed in the theatre this past holiday season included The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Captain Philips (all nominated for Best Picture Oscars), The Hobbit, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. One film I particularly enjoyed seeing with Pat was called Saving Mr. Banks. The movie tells the story of how Walt Disney acquired the rights to make the classic film Mary Poppins. Set in the 1960s, the author of Mary Poppins 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.

At home on Netflix I’ve been watching Season 1 of a TV series called Homeland, 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.

In November Oxford Dictionaries announced selfie as their international Word of the Year 2013. A selfie 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.

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 – Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway: The Canadian Pacific, VIA Rail and Shortline Years (1949-2013) by Robert Turner & Don MacLachlan and The Land of Heart’s Delight: Early Maps and Charts of Vancouver Island 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.

As previously mentioned, Pat and I spent four days out on the west coast staying at Pacific Sands Resort. 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 Wild Pacific Trail 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. 

Rocky Bluffs - Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet

Our beachside suite at Pacific Sands Resort 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. 

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 The Shelter. We went twice due to its funky west coast atmosphere and wonderful Fish & Chips served up on a wooden plank.

Railway Vandalized near Port Alberni

As volunteer conductors during the summer months on the Alberni Pacific Railway, 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.

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 APR 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. 

Have bomb packed and ready to travel 

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.  

Quick trip to the big city:

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.

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. 

And yes, I did see a few more first run movies while on the mainland - namely August; Osage County and Dallas Buyers Club, 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 Shadow Recruit. 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. 

I viewed Shadow Recruit in Silvercity Metropolis’ new Ultra AVX theatre. 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.

Curling’s getting hot

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.

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^th Ave in Port Alberni. I loved the game and played competitively for three decades before drifting away from it for reasons that escape me.

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.” 

Perfect Pitch from a Pill

I was reading in the National Post 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.

Musicians call this rare and strange phenomena Perfect Pitch 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, relative pitch. Simply put, this means when one has identified, say one note on a recording, one can deduce what the other notes will be. 

The National Post 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.” 

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. 

Christmas concerts coming to a close

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Dec. 20 at 7:00 pm and Dec. 21 at 3pm and 7:00 pm Tickets available online www.porttheatre.com or by phone 250.754.8550.

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. 

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. 

(Photo above): Some of my collection of railway dining car silverware.

(Photo above); My favourite Christmas photo shows my brother Terry and I looking over our new electric train setup on Christmas morning. 

(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.

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. 

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 barrysblog@hotmail.com.  

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 The Quiet Fight. 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.

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.

DR. A.P. MILLER MEMORIAL HANDBELLS

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.

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.  

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.   

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: 

Hi Mike

This story was not humorous at the time but over the years has moved to that category.

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!

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.

Prelude to Christmas

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.

PHOTO (above) - 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

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 Bublé showstoppers, a nostalgia tribute, as well  as many classical hits and Christmas favorites.

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.

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.

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.

Tickets for the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular performances in Cedar and Nanaimo can be purchased through the Port Theatre Box Office (250.754.8550 - www.porttheatre.com). The Courtenay shows are handled through the Sid Williams Theatre Box Office (250.338.2430 - www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.

Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular’s website is www.yellowpointchristmasspectacular.ca

PHOTOS (above) Turning the Cedar Community Hall into a seasonal wonderland for the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular is a massive undertaking.

PHOTO (above) - 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.

PHOTO (above) - My 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.

My December Blog will feature more about this popular seasonal event.

“Arts Groups reeling from lack of  gaming grants” 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.

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.

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.

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.

Sadly it 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 .

Under the 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.

I recently read a disheartening article in McLean’s magazine that David 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.

Did recording have some political spin?

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 pieces of scrap lumber I’d squirreled away, thinking it might come in handy someday. 

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 British Columbia Suite - 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. 

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: “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.” Bennett went on to say that Nelson Riddle was a very special visitor to BC, a “personality able to convert what he saw in British Columbia into music.  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.”    

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. 

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. 

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 “Now here's the Deal. ” It was 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. 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. 

Cartoon caption: 

BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett is explaining to Lester (Mike) Pearson and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson: “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." Pearson and Johnson appear so terrified they seem prepared to cede the territory to get out of the car.

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.

Inside the record jacket of British Columbia Suite are twelve unaccredited photos tagged with extensive text. The photos coincide with each cut on the record.  Side One - 1. Route of the Haidas shows a BC Ferry plying the Inside Passage, 2. Peace River has the northern BC river meandering its way through the adjacent prairie, 3. Victoria shows the capital city’s Inner Harbour and Parliament Buildings 4. Cariboo - we see a cowboy sitting abreast a horse as he lights up a cigarette akin to the Marlboro Man, 5. Valley of the Swans portrays the bird sanctuary at Creston Flats in northeastern BC, 6. Government House highlights the baronial Victoria residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of BC. 

Side Two – 1. Vancouver Nights shows the city’s evening skyline, 2. Okanagan features a fruit laden peach tree high on Penticton’s east bench, 3. Buchart Gardens displays its famous Sunken Garden, 4. Barkerville has a stagecoach making its way down the town’s dusty main street, 5. Garibaldi Mountain shows a skier carving his way down the mountain, and in conclusion, 6. Moving Ahead has a photo of the Vancouver Planetarium with a radiant yellow Jaguar parked in front. 

The photo captions are all written in the syrupy touristy descriptive style of the era. For example the text of the final cut Moving Ahead reads: “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.” 

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, British Columbia Suite 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. 

More musical memorabilia 

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.

Timbre! Choir of Port Alberni announces concert season

Patricia Miller

Timbre! Choir with musical director Patricia Miller will present two concerts this season. Both concerts will held in the new ADSS Theatre on Roger Street.

The first, titled A Christmas Celebration, will take place on Sunday, December 15 at 2:30 pm and will feature a diverse selection of seasonal music. The concert has 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. 

Piano accompanist for A Christmas Celebration 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 

years and is also well-known for her intimate lecture recitals in smaller venues such as the lobbies of Nanaimo’s Port 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!

Sarah Hagan

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 A New Year Carol 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 White Christmas. 

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 www.timbrechoir.com.

Timbre!’s second concert is titled The Peacemakers 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.

Instead of being part of the audience - Why not sing? 

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.

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.

Timbre! Tenors

Timbre! Sopranos

Timbre! - A Christmas Celebration 

Music Director - Patricia Miller

ADSS Theatre in Port Alberni 

Sunday, December 15 at 2:30 pm

Advance Tickets on sale during November at the regular outlets and at the door (if available). Concert capacity is limited to 500 seats. 

Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance.

Adults and Seniors $15, Children and students $5