Volume 16 Issue 5 - February 2011

to enlist their help and support.These included local musicteachers, Arts Milton, and othercommunity groups. When theyfelt that they were ready, theycontacted the local paper andmanaged to get an article printed.Soon they had 20 musicianswilling to join and they werescrambling for a place to rehearse. place in February 2007, squeezedinto a small meeting room at alocal hockey arena. By June 2007four performances had been linedancewas for Milton’s 150th Anniversary Street Party. This wasquickly followed by performances at the local hospital’s StrawberryFair and a meeting of Arts Milton. By July 2007, they had hostedseason. Interest in the band continued to grow and they moved toa new permanent home at the Lion’s Club Hall in Milton MemorialArena, with plenty of space to accommodate more musicians. It wasSince then the group has grown to 45 members and now hosts8 to 10 public performances a year. Under the tutelage of MusicDirector Resendes, in the short span of three years the band hasgrown artistically and is now a vital arts organization in the community.Equally importantly, the members have become a familymusical challenges. They are very excited about the possibility ofmaking use of the new Milton Art Centre next season and the opportunitiesthat may provide.Joseph Resendes rehearsing the Milton Band.In January of this year theposedseries of concerts for Deaf/Blind Ontario at the Bob RumbleCentre in Milton. This innovativeperformance was designed toallow people with varying degreesof hearing and/or vision lossto experience music in an “upcentre’s clients will hold balloonsto amplify the vibrations of theinstruments and will be invited tointerpret the experience throughan art project. Both the bandand the clients are very excitedabout this opportunity. We look forward to hearing more about thisinitiative.The Silverthorn Symphonic Winds (SSW) was established inSeptember 2006 by a group of local musicians who wanted anopportunity to perform more challenging music. Composed ofadvanced amateurs and semi-professional musicians, the groupis conducted by Andrew Chung, a graduate of the University ofToronto as well as universities in Hong Kong and Freiburg Germany.Andrew also serves as Music Director of The Brass Conspiracy andthe Chinese Canadian Choir of Toronto.Thanks to a three year grant from The Ontario TrilliumFoundation, the SSW have embarked on an Artist in Residence programand are expanding their activities in York Region. The Artistin Residence for the 2010/2011 season will be clarinetist Peter Stoll,a member of the Talisker Players, principal clarinet of the TorontoPhilharmonia Orchestra and a member of the Faculty of Music,University of Toronto. As artist in residence he will be the featuredsoloist and host at two concerts in the Richmond Hill Centre. InPHOTO JACK MACQUARRIEFebruary 1 - March 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 23