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jack macquarrieLeading Seaman JamesChilton on the didgeridoo.performing on such an instrument in public was beyond my wildestillusions, but there he was. For those not familiar with the constructionor origins of the didgeridoo, it is a traditional instrument madeby Aboriginal craftsmen in Arnhem Land in Northern Australia. Whilethis was a factory-made instrument, the original native Australianinstruments are made from the trunks of eucalyptus trees, the coresof which have been hollowed out by termites. He hopes to get one ofthose “termite crafted originals” in the future. While I once had theopportunity to make sounds on a didgeridoo, I can’t say that I evercame close to playing anything resembling music on it.Traditionally, in concerts, navalbands always play their official “regimentalmarch” Heart of Oak. This time,as a bit of a spoof, all of the participatingmusicians treated us to a vocalrendition of that in four-part harmony.Since the concert at the Naval Clubhad such a significant trombonecomponent, this might be a good timeto recount a story of a special trombonein my life. Many years ago, havingplayed a tenor trombone for most ofmy life, I suddenly had the urge to trya bass trombone. So I visited a dealerto inquire about such an instrument.The price of the new Vincent Bachinstrument that I tried was beyond mybudget at the time and I left emptyhanded.That same evening, duringa rehearsal, a total stranger who hadbeen sitting behind the trombonesection leaned over and whisperedin my ear, “Do you know anyone who would like to buy a bass trombone?”I almost jumped out of my skin. When I asked for details, thegentleman handed me a piece of paper with his name “Tommy” andsuggested that I phone him.The next day I visited him. There it was; a genuine New York Bachbass trombone. For those not familiar with the Bach instruments,Vincent Bach was an Austrian trumpeter who moved to New Yorkshortly after the First World War and set up shop to make trumpetsand trombones. In later years he moved to Mount Vernon and subsequentlysold the business, whereupon the operation was moved toElkart, Indiana. Those early New York and Mount Vernon instrumentsare coveted by brass musicians for their craftsmanship and tonequality. The asking price was surprisingly low. Tommy explained thathe had suffered a stroke and could no longer play. He just wanted thehorn to have a good home. (Some time later he confessed that he hadan ulterior motive. Another individual in the same trombone section,who we’ll call Joe, had been hounding Tommy to buy the trombone.Tommy couldn’t stand Joe and wanted the instrument to be playedbeside him where Joe could eat his heart out.)Over the years I have wondered about the history of the instrument.There is still the name Harry Stevenson — bass trombonist forthe Toronto Symphony for many years — marked on the inside of thecase. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to learn a bit more aboutmy treasure. Tedd Waggoner, the Bach instrument specialist fromElkart, was giving a presentation on the evolution of the early Bachinstruments at Long and McQuade in Toronto. I took my instrumentto show to him. In this presentation he pointed out how Vincent Bachhad maintained meticulous records of every instrument producedwith all specifications, dates and names of customers. Waggoner hadbeen able to convince the current management to retain these individualrecord cards on all of the early instruments. Shortly after hisreturn to his office I received a copy of the card with all of the details.It was completed on April 22, 1941, and sold on January 16, 1945, to aColin Campbell in New York. How and when did it get from New Yorkto Harry Stevenson? Were there other owners? I feel like a genealogisttrying to trace the ancestry of my treasure. Are there any readerswho might shed some light? For the benefit of those who might wishto own such a horn, I already have a list of trombonists hoping to bementioned in my will. Finally on the topic of trombones, the SheratonCadwell orchestras are looking for one or two experienced tromboneplayers to join them. For details visit their website at sheratoncadwell.com.So much for some of the musical events in my life these past fewweeks. What is on the horizon for the summer months? Since therewill not be another issue of TheWholeNote until September, I set out todetermine what would be happening in the community music worldover the next three months. With a few exceptions, the communitybands in this part of the world served up a deafening silence as far asnews of their activities was concerned. With a dearth of informationat hand, I turned to band websites to see what they were reporting. Inone case, the band in question greeted me with the news of their nextgreat performance in October 2012. Another gave all sorts of detailabout their forthcoming trip in September 2010. A third gave a listof every performance in the past three years, but nothing about thefuture. Come on folks, tell us what you are doing.Here’s some of what we do know. Steffan Brunette and thesummertime-only Uxbridge Community Concert Band will beperforming their usual two concerts plus a ceremony with the localbranch of the Royal Canadian Legion. The Festival Wind Orchestra willfeature all movie music in their spring concert on June 22 at 2pm, atCrescent School. The Newmarket Citizens’ Band has a busy schedule,including the Veterans Day Ceremony at the Newmarket Cemetery(June 9 at 1:30pm), the Aurora Canada Day Parade (July 1 at 10am), theNewmarket Canada Day Fireworks Concert (Richardson Park, July 1 at7pm), the Orillia Aqua Theatre (August 4 at 6:30pm) and a ClaringtonOlder Adult Association concert (September 22 at 12 noon). TheConcert Band of Cobourg is offering a Coronation Concert Celebrationseries with performances in Toronto June 2, in Kingston June 9 and inCobourg June 15. As in previous years there will be a series of regularconcerts by several bands at the Orillia Aqua Theatre in CouchichingBeach Park and on the Unionville Millenium Bandstand.While it is definitely not a community band, there is a new smallensemble in Toronto that warrants some attention. Conductor SimonCapet is back in town with a new chamber orchestra with the verymusical name Euphonia. There will be two main differences in theirperformances. They will be performing in small, non-traditionalvenues and will not be wearing any kind of formal attire.Rather than viewing these small venue performances as an innovation,the members of Euphonia consider it a return to the past. AsCapet points out, public concerts in the days when these composerspresented their works were not in large austere concert halls. Theywere lively social gatherings in the taverns of their day, where themusicians were surrounded by their audiences as they enjoyedrefreshments and conversations along with the music. As in thoseearly days, the musicians will be in the centre of the room, not upsome distant stage remote from their audience. Tentatively, theseconcerts will be on the second Monday of every month, with theirnext concert, consisting of music of Mozart, C.P.E. Bach and Haydn, atthe Lula Lounge June 10 at 8pm.Turning to happenings in September, it seems appropriate to returnto naval matters. On the weekend of September 14 the Concert Bandof Cobourg, in their role as the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal MarinesAssociation (Ontario), will be travelling to Plattsburgh, New York. Forseveral years now the band, and a considerable group of friends, havemade an annual trek to participate in ceremonies commemorating theBattle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain. Yes, there was a naval battleon Lake Champlain with no fewer than 30 ships involved. It took placeon September 11, 1814, just before the signing of the Treaty of Ghent,and was the final battle of the War of 1812. I might just make the tripthere myself this year.Definition DepartmentThis month’s lesser known musical term is Antiphonal: referring tothe prohibition of cell phones in the concert hall.Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments andhas performed in many community ensembles. He canbe contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.thewholenote.com June 7 – September 7, 2013 | 31