Music bonds
Debbie Bolton learned how to play the euphonium because of a crush.
The cute guy in the North Vancouver Youth Band played the brass instrument and Bolton asked him for lessons. Although the cute guy never amounted to anything, Bolton’s relationship with the euphonium did.
She continued music studies at the University of British Columbia and Bolton passed her passion along to her son Sean Poole. Today they both play in the North Shore Concert Band.
“It is neat because it is a generational kind of band,” Bolton says. “There are a few parent/children groups.”
The 50-person concert band was formed 23 years ago by North Vancouver Youth Band alumni. It’s since grown to include people interested in dusting off their old instruments and high school graduates unwilling to put their instruments down.
The band recently performed their third annual collaborative concert with jazz and concert students at Windsor secondary school. Intermittently throughout the show there were approximately 100 musicians playing.
“It was great fun,” Poole says.
On Tuesday, May 18, the band is holding its spring concert at Capilano University theatre. The event will raise money to aid the band in paying for its upkeep, a task that’s become more challenging since government cutbacks, Poole notes.
The concert includes a mix of music, everything from popular marches to variations on Korean folk songs. Two pieces by North Shore musician Robert Buckley will also be performed. Buckley contributed to numbers to the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
“It is our spring show, so we try and do a lot of challenging pieces,” Poole says, adding the band’s conductor Tak Maeda doesn’t let anything slip.
The spring concert starts at 7:30 p.m. The suggested donation is $15 at the door. For more information visit www.northshorebands.com.
raldous@northshoreoutlook.com
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