Handsworth Bands Book1, Pt1 by METRO Guides/Magazines

THE HANDSWORTH MUSIC DYNASTY BOOK 1

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE The Best High School Jazz Band Program in Canada

Decades of Music Making

2 ~ Welcome!

HANDSWORTH MUSIC

2019

Welcome to Handsworth Music 2019. This first annual edition is truly inspirational. We have included

all the major trips and all the major festivals the music department has taken in

its nearly sixty year history. You will find in-

formation on its legendary directors Bob Rebagliati, Keith Woodward and Peter van Ooyen

plus all the other directors over the years and current

Handsworth music directors David Bradshaw and Sab Kabok. We talk to famous alumni such as Renee

Rosnes and Tom Colclough and even the US big band Secret Society founded by alumnist Darcy Argue. And

of course you will find photos and comments from

lots of Handsworth music grads on almost every page. Enjoy!

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, www.accesscopywrite.ca, 1-800-893-5777 Warfleet Press 1038 east 63rd Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., V5X 2L1 www.warfleetpress.com All photos from the collection of the Handsworth Music Department unless otherwise noted.

Cover Photo: 1986 Bob Rebagliati’s award-winning senior jazz band performing at Expo 86 in Vancouver Cover design by Christopher Best Text design by Christopher Best Edited by Dr. Robert S. Thomson Printed and bound in China

Library and Archives Canada Cataloging in Publication

Best, Christopher 1949 The Handsworth Music Dynasty, Book 1 The Story of the award-winning North Vancouver Handsworth Secondary School Music Program and their music directors who devoted so much of their time to the music education of our youth. ISBN 978-0-9812574-0-2

This book is made possible through the Arthur W. Delamont Foundation and its School Music Book Project.

THE ARTHUR W. DELAMONT FOUNDATION

OUR STORY! For the past three years Christopher Best of Warfleet Press has been compiling two books on the history of the Handsworth Music Program. Back in the 1990s and 2000s, the Handsworth Jazz Band was one of the six top high school jazz ensembles in Canada led by its now legendary founder Bob Rebagliati and later Keith Woodward. For several decades they consistently placed first in music festivals across Canada, the USA and around the world. These books tell the story in color of those days from its beginnings in the 1960s through to the present day. Thanks to Bob Rebagliati’s foresight to have his parent’s committee keep detailed scrapbooks of each year, we have been able to reproduce a detailed accounting of the program from the1980s through 2004. Thanks to Keith Woodward’s digital files we have been able to reproduce the rest of the program from 2004 to 2014 and present directors Dave Bradshaw and Sab Kabok have supplied material through to 2019. As a result, we now have as far as this writer/publisher is aware the only complete books in print of any high school music program in Canada. There were lots of excellent music programs around Metro Vancouver and beyond during this time but unfortunately none of the directors except Bob saw the value in creating scrapbooks of those days. Enter Christopher Best! Mr. Best grew up in Vancouver in the 1960s and was a member of the world famous Kitsilano Boys Band under its leader and founder Arthur W. Delamont. Mr. Best went on to UBC where he earned a Bachelor of Music Degree and then to SFU and became a band director back east but it was a short lived career lasting only six years. He could see potential in other areas and he wanted to explore them but he never forgot the role music and Arthur W. Delamont had played in his early development. The members of that band went on to be very successful in whatever field they went into all due to the lessons they learned in his band. He gave them a taste of success at a very young age and they all wanted to emulate it in later life (His band was promoted as the most famous boys band in the world and made 14 trips to the old country (England), winning over 200 first place awards in a career spanning 50 years, 1928-1978). After spending 30 years as a writer/publisher, Mr. Best was looking for a way to give back to the youth of Vancouver. He also wanted to keep the name of Arthur W. Delamont and what he did for generations of Vancouver’s youth alive and relevant for generations to come. After writing and publishing six books on Delamont and his bands, he figured it out. Mr. Best was well aware of the financial problems plaguing public school music programs from not only the press but from his days as a band director and even from his days in Delamont’s band. Delamont was always threatening to quit if the city didn’t come up with funds for his next trip. The boys knew he never would but it was good type for the papers and he usually got a city donation to cover expenses but it shouldn’t have been that way. So, Mr. Best came up with a way to fund public school music programs called The School Music Book Project. SMBP brings together an alumni and friends group on Facebook and creates a book on the school’s music program. The alumni purchase the book for $50 annually and the program has its own fund raiser but it is much more than just a fundraiser. Each year the graduating class of the music program is included in the book and the book is reprinted each September. The book becomes a year book for the music program. As a year book for the music program, it also becomes a marketing tool for next year’s program. It also becomes a PR tool for the school administration who can boast about the fabulous music program they have when interviewing prospective students and their parents. This is especially good for international students which we are seeing more and more of these days. So, who is going to do all this work of compiling and printing books annually? This is where Mr. Best came up with a way to keep the name of Arthur W. Delamont in the forefront of music education of our youth for generations to come. He has started a non-profit foundation whose goal is to raise funds for public school music programs and it is called: The Arthur W. Delamont Foundation. The two Handsworth Music Books are the first two books to be compiled and published through The School Music Book Project by the Arthur W. Delamont Foundation in collaboration with Warfleet Press.

CONTENTS This year’s publication is divided into decades and years covering concerts, festivals, trips, class lists, newspaper articles and other background material. In between the photos you will find editorial pertaining to each event, the music program, fundraisng, summer music schools, newsletters, awards, thank you letters, invitations, festivals all from that era. ip onolulu Tr H In the back there is a chapter on alumni and another one 2 9 19 ! has copies of important letters. Finally, on the inside back ch of 92 The crun cover is a CD filled with samples of many of the ensembles over the years. 86

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PETER VAN OOYEN.............16

BOOK 1

1988 CALGARY/MUSICFEST...........112

2003 SAN FRANCISCO 2004 NEW YORK/MUSIC FESTIVAL 2005 CHINA - BANFF 2006 PORTLAND - WHISTLER 2007 COSTA RICA - MUSICFEST 2008 AUSTRALIA, BANFF 2009 BANFF, WESTCOAST JAZZ

THE SIXTIES

THE NINETIES

THE SEVENTIES

1990 FLORIDA - SEA WORLD.............122 1991 - EDMONTON/MUSICFEST........136 1992 HONOLULU/PACIFIC BASIN.....152 1993 BANFF/FESTIVAL CANADA......164 1994 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA..........176 1995 CALGARY/MUSICFEST...............188 1996 NEW ORLEANS/RIVERFEST......200 1997 KELOWNA....................................212 1998 ATLANTIC CANADA TOUR.......226 1999 NELSON.........................................240

1970-76 TRAIL, KITIMAT, VANCOUVER ISLAND, THE OKANAGAN................................24 1978 .......................................................34 1979 MOOSE JAW/NATIONALS........36

THE EIGHTIES

1980........................................................44 1981 CALIFORNIA...............................50 1982 WHITEHORSE/SKAGWAY.........58 1983 CALGARY, KIWANIS.................64 1984 TORONTO/NATIONALS............72 1985 QUEBEC CITY/NATIONALS.....83 1986 VANCOUVER/NATIONALS.......92 1987 HONOLULU/PACIFIC BASIN.106 4 ~ Table of Contents

BOOK 2 THE MILLENIUM 2000 CUBA 2001 EDMONTON 2002 CALGARY/MUSICFEST

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THE TWENTY-TENS 2010 KAMLOOPS, BCIJF 2011 2012 BANFF/ROCKY MTN. 2013 ALASKA, WHISTLER 2014 BANFF/ROCKY MTN. 2015 NEW YORK 2016 KELOWNA, SUN PEAKS 2017 CUBA

ALUMNI DESMOND HOEBIG GWEN HOEBIG JANET WARREN

ruary 1 On Friday, Feb Ba sworth Junior Jazz by Mr was conducted

252

FACTS: Handsworth bands and orchestras over the years travelled all over the world: the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, the Far East (China) and to Australia.

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WHO’S IN TH E BAND?

Handsworth Sen ior & Junior Jaz z Bands and Jazz Combos we re given an “O fficial Invitation To Register” at MusicFest Canada (Nation Finals). The Ha al ndsworth Senior Winds were also given an “Official Invitat ion To Register” based on their “Superior” rati ng at the Kiwanis Concert Ba nd Festival at the beginning March. The Sen of ior Wind Ensem ble was one of 12 bands chosen by a panel of adj udicators for the “Official Inv itation To Regis ter.” A total of 55 bands perfor med at the we ek-long Festiva held in Burnaby. l The Strings als o receive an “Official Invitat ion To Register” based on their “Superior” per formance at the Fraser Valley Kiwanis Music Fes tival last year. ncert Band Fes

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DAL RICHARDS............... ARNIE CHYCOSKI.......232 MARVIN STAMM..........232 PAUL BRODIE................... CLYDE MITCHELL...........

BRIAN G’FROERER BRUCE HOADLEY ROGER WECKER MARY HUME

APPENDIX

255

INDEX

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Intermediate Ba nd received an “Excellent” rati ning of March. ng at the Kiwani s Co

HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS

CHINA SR.W INDS/ JAZZ TOUR

a Small Enol year began with The 1993 scho at the Edgeheld January 26 semble Evening was the date 11 y urar Feb atre. wood Road The ert held at the ctacular IX conc of our Sound Spe on began with atre. Festival Seas Centennial The 5 and 6. The y Festival, Februar y the Surrey Jazz next on Februar ic Festival was Coquitlam Mus on Feb.ruwas anis Jazz Festival Kiw The 5. rd 22-2 Mr. Woodwa ch 4, Mr. Reb and ary 27. On Mar for Vancouver Sr. bands set sail oria with the Int. and University of Vict the in ate icip Island to part West Hyack New us The prestigio ch Band Fest ‘93. Mar ch 6. , was held on Mar Jazz Competition d Festival. The anis Concert Ban at 8 was the Kiw held 27, was Concert, April rpopular Just Jazz Cellar. The Inte Blue Note Jazz ff Handsworth’s Ban in ada Can Trip to Festival s mediate Band Revue Concert l fina Our 2-5. 2. took place May June and ) 1 (Junior Evening took place June

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER...18 JOANNIE BYE JOHN MCLACHLAN RENNEE ROSNES DARCY ARGUE THOMAS COLCLOUGH MARK FOLLETT DAVID MALECOT MICHIKO SINGH

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EDITORS LETTER

THIS BOOK HAS TWO PURPOSES - To celebrate the directors and the alumni of the award-winning Handsworth Music Program and serve as an example of what can be achieved in public school music education using the Handsworth model. An integral part of any musical organization should be its alumni yet often the alumni are overlooked. Having your alumni return year after year only strengthens your organization and gives it a living history. It can also be a support group for your concerts, fundraisers and even be a mentoring program.

There is nothing as inspiring for young musicians than to see generations of former students returning year after year to particpate in an alumni concert and to celebrate the present and past history of the music program. A book on your program can serve as a focal point for pulling your alumni together.

Now, through the School Music Book Project a book can be used to raise money for your school’s music program year after year. Your alumni will love to have a copy of a book and relive the good old days. Hopefully they will see photos of themselves and their friends which will only enhance the experience. For every book sold to an alumni member or friend of the Handsworth music program twenty dollars is donated to the program. It doesn’t take

long before the book can become a major source of fundraising for your music program. Five thousand alumni can raise one hundred thousand dollars for the program each year.

DID YOU KNOW? The Kitsilano Boys Band while away on tour usually performed three times a day. The most successful musical groups are always performing.

The Final Element Necessary To Develop An Award-Winning Music Program The program must have the talent and charisma of a Bob Rebagliati or an Arthur Delamont. Most successful programs have a super star director who can inspire his/her students and make them rise to heights even they did not know were possible.

1960S TO THE PRESENT 6 ~ Letters to the Editor

WHAT YOU NEED TO SAVE EACH YEAR TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL SCRAPBOOK ON YOUR MUSIC PROGRAM: For all music directors. (Editorial & Photos) below right

KEY ELEMENTS OF AN AWARD WINNING MUSIC PROGRAM: (using the Handsworth model) (Get yourself a motto and a philosophy) 1. MOTTO: - EXCELLENCE THROUGH MUSIC 2. PHILOSOPHY - The Handsworth Music Program is designed to increase the students’ awareness and appreciation of music. This is accomplished through the classroom experience and other activities such as concerts, festivals, field trips and tours. The teachers of the Handsworth music program constantly encouraged their students to enjoy music and to get the most out of the many facets of their musical experiences. 3. CONCERTS - Set a concert schedule for the first term. The best programs are usually the busiest programs. Handsworth had a concert per month: September - Band Retreat (playing together over a weekend) October - Homecoming Concert November - Jr. & Sr. Nights of Music December - Christmas Concert (Sweet Music) etc.

4. FESTIVALS - Enter as many local festivals as you can. Handsworth always entered: *The Surrey Jazz Festival *The New West Jazz Festival *The Kiwanis Jazz Festival *The Kiwanis Concert Band Festival

*The Kiwanis Jazz Festival *The Coquitlam Music Festival *The Abbotsford Music Festival (later on) It is important for your students to enter festivals so they can hear how other

ensembles their age sound. 5. CONCERTS - 2nd Term January - Small Ensemble Evening February - Sound Spectacular! March - Juzt Jazz Concert April - Trip May - Year end concert and

1. Trip Itineraries - I have put this at the top because I have found that trip itineraries can be extremely helpful. They include dates and places of what your group did on a day to day basis. 2. Music Newsletters - Every program would benefit from having at least two newsletters. If you can have more even better. A newsletter to your students lays out your program for the term. A follow-up newsletter states how you did with your program. 3. Programs with Ensemble Lists - These are invaluable for remembering the students in your ensembles years later. 4. Photos - You should include photos of every performance.

Make one of your band parents your publicity manager Every music program should have a parent as their publicity manager. It is their job to write your newsletters and all your concert promotions. They are also ABOVE: Handsworth’s responsible for compil- Nancy Argue receiving an award. ing your scrapbook. awards night 6. TRIPS - Handsworth always made two trips each school year. One was a trip in B.C. for the junior ensembles and the other an international trip for the senior ensembles.

7. PARENTS GROUPto handle fundraising and to assist at concerts is essential.

Photo: Fraser Valley Kiwanis Festival

Having a publicity manager gives your program the sense of being an actual professional performance ensemble. Every good band has a manager!

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 7

The Handsworth Secondary School Music Program, Book 1 (1960s -1999) The Handsworth Secondary School Music program was consistently one of the top six award winning public school music programs in Canada for over twenty-five years (1976 - 2014). The driving force behind the program was Bob Rebagliati (known affectionately as REB). Bob always strived for excellence and it soon became ingrained in the Handsworth musical family. The Handsworth music program was started by Mildred Twiss in the early 1960s. She was followed by Joe Berarducci and then Brian G’froerer was hired to team teach with Joe. Bob Rankin came in to replace Joe. When Brian left Dave McConchie came in for one year with Bob. sssssss When REB took over the program in 1976 it took him three years to build the program up so it could compete at the national level. In 1979 they took top marks at the

1960s

New Westminster Jazz Festival taking second place from among sixty competitors. The Handsworth Music Program was designed to increase the students’ awareness and appreciation of music. This was accomplished through classroom experience and other group activities such as concerts, festivals, field trips and tours. The teachers of the Handsworth music program constantly encouraged their students to enjoy music and to get the most out of the many facets

of their musical experiences. Tours often coincided with music festival such as their 1981 trip to Anaheim, California to compete in the WORLD BAND OLYMPIC COMPETITION. Handsworth was part of a very fine North Vancouver School District music program nurtured by Bob Rankin. 400 young musicians performed in Handsworth’s third annual Zone Concert in 1982. It was a wonderful opportunity to

Besides bands Handsworth has always had a fine strings program. In the earlier years the strings program was directed by Roger Wecker and later Vic Weins. When Peter van Ooyen took over the program in 1994 he took it to new heights entering festivals

8 ~ Letters to the Editor

see the entire district music program in action. Fourteen bands participated and they called it a Cosmic Concert. In 1983 Handsworth’s different ensembles participated in the Surrey Jazz Festival, the Kiwanis Jazz Festival, the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival and while away on tour the Calgary Kiwanis Festival. The Junior Jazz Ensemble placed first in Surrey and then went on to the Nationals in Calgary where they took second place against all other bands in their age group from across Canada. There were now two more teachers in the Handsworth family: Bruce Hoadley and Mary Hume. In 1984 the same ensemble won Gold at the Canadian Stage Band Festival finals in Toronto. In 1985

the junior and senior jazz ensembles placed first and second respectively at the Kiwanis Jazz Festival. All the concert bands: junior, intermediate A & B and senior, placed in the top three places at the Coquitlam Concert Band Festival. The Junior Jazz Band won a silver medal that same year at the Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City. The following year in 1986 Mr. Reb’s Senior Concert Band was invited to perform for Prince Charles and Lady Diana at the Expo ’86 opening ceremonies. Three Handsworth bands won Gold that year at the Nationals in Vancouver. For the next fifteen years after the departure of Bruce and Mary and with the addition of Keith Woodward, Bob and Keith continued to turn out award winning bands that were always invited to the National finals or MusicFest as it later became known. Bob and Keith travelled extensively each year with their Handsworth bands to far away places like Florida, New Orleans and New York sharing conducting duties and everything else that went along with consistently turning out award winning ensembles year after year. When REB retired in 2004, Keith continued for another ten years taking Handsworth’s bands to China, Europe, Hawaii and even on a performance cruise to Alaska. Today, in 2017, David Bradshaw is still carrying on the Handsworth tradition of excellence.

and going on tour each year. Peter started as well the North Vancouver Youth Symphony which was in existence for a number of years. Today the Handsworth strings program is directed by Sab Kabok.

1999

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 9

FOREWORD: BOB REBAGLIATI Handsworth Music students between the years 2017 and 2027 will reach unheard of heights in their musical abilities. It’s these kids that we want to ensure are aware of the musical legacy that came before them. This first edition of Handsworth’s Music Dynasty is inspired by two major themes: record-breaking performances and pioneering trips. There is no one better qualified to introduce these themes than Bob Rebagliati. A musician, educator, innovator, teacher, adjudicator, conductor and musical pioneer, Bob exists somewhere between all of these worlds. He is the very definition of a musical pioneer taking his ensembles all over the world to music festivals in many different countries and of course bringing home three gold medals at the Nationals here in his home town of Vancouver at Expo 86. We interviewed Bob in Vancouver to learn first hand how he stayed on the cutting edge of music education for so many years, continually turning out first-rate bands.

REB

12 ~ Bob Rebagliati

Bob’s bands performed at least twelve times each year. Every year there were four Junior and three Senior Nights of Music. Two in the fall, one combined night at Xmas, two in the spring, one Night of Jazz and two at the end of the school year. At the senior night of music in the fall his alumni joined in for a designated homecoming concert. His parent’s organization organized and kept an alumni list and also organized a band scrapbook.

Chris Best: I understand you almost left Handsworth in the 80s? Bob: I was dead tired in 1980 and ready to pack it in unless I got some help. I approached the principal. My request fell on deaf ears. “Maybe I should go somewhere else,” he said. I interviewed in Abbotsford and Summerland. My parents committee got wind of what was going on. I told them I needed help and I wasn’t getting it. “We’ll see about that!” they said. They started writing letters to the principal. I got called into the office one day and was told, “Get them to stop. You’ll get your help.” I took a development day at the Portland School of the Fine Arts. They had a great program. It was a magnet school. One of their successes involved bringing their feeder schools into their secondary

FACTS: The full interview with Bob is available in HEARTS, MINDS & SOULS, B.C. Music Educators Series, Book 1 It is available at www.warfleetpress2.com

curriculum. They team-taught Grade’s five to twelve (Elementary school teachers taught at the high school and the high school teachers taught at the elementary schools). When I returned to Handworth I said, “That is what I am going to do!” Chris Best: Tell me about Hamilton and Hal Sherman. Bob: I began teaching band at Hamliton Junior Secondary School in 1971. I stayed at Hamliton for five years. Hamilton had Grades 8, 9 and 10 and was a feeder school for Carson Graham Secondary. Hamilton was considered an occupational school but it also had lots of strong academic students. I drew students for my bands from the strong pool of

academic minded students. At its height my program had about one hundred and twenty students involved. I established a concert band and two jazz bands, junior and senior. I made two trips with my bands: one to the Queen Charlotte Islands and another to the Reno Jazz Festival in 1973. The trip to Reno was like Daniel entering the lions’ den because the American jazz bands were so good. In 1975 my jazz band won the New Westminster Jazz Festival. One of the adjudicator’s at the festival was the now legendary Hal Sherman from Kent Meridian High School in Kent, Washington. (For fifteen years, Hal headed the Kent-Meridian Collegiate Jazz Festival at the Seattle Opera House, attracting such stellar guests as Clark Terry, Bill Watrous and Dianne Reeves. He was the first jazz educator to receive the prestigious Charlie Bird Parker Foundation Award For Excellence). “You are on the right track,” Hal said to me after the performance. My concert band did well in the Kiwanis Festival as well that year. [Both the Kiwanis Festival and the New West Jazz Festival were competitive festivals in those days.] In 1976 my bands won both the New West Jazz Festival and the Kiwanis Festival. That same year I took my jazz band to Toronto where they won the Canadian Stage Band Festival. This

You are the future. You are going to achieve things that no Handsworth student has done before. Music isn’t the only world for you but it is the first.

festival later morphed into MUSIC FEST CANADA in the mid 80s. By then it included concert band and choir as well. It is still run by Jim Howard. When I returned to Vancouver I left Hamilton. Always leave on a high note. Handsworth was beckoning! Chris Best: The first year you qualified for the Nationals you had some pretty good improvisors in your group? Bob: In 1979 my senior jazz band took first place at the New West Jazz Festival and then I took them to the Nationals in Vancouver where they got a special award for excellence. It was a small big band with only thirteen players but they were all stars: Renee Rosnes, Norm Fischer, Dave Stewart, Terry Madsen, Tom Colclough. Good improvisers! I have a recording of that band.

MUSICFEST ‘91 Bob is passionate about competitive music festivals and devoted his career to entering as many festivals as he could with his bands. Hearing how other bands and musicians sound is an important milestone in every young musicians development and should be done as often as possible.

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 13

INTERVIEW: KEITH WOODWARD If you got into this book that means you really accomplished something during your high school years. Something that pushed you to new heights that not even you thought was possible. As your band director, I was lucky enough to watch you grow! one of his Keith directing ne of his many jazz bands in o for music and poses. His love h. s shines throug teaching alway t directing one When he is no ting another band he is direc t w in retiremen band. Even no ting bands. You he is still direc aving fun. can tell he is h

MUSIC DIRECTOR KEITH WOODWARD I knew by the end of grade 11 that I wanted to be a band director. I had joined Gordon Olson’s Beefeater band. Mr. Olson was always a fair person with a firm hand. There was an energy about him that was hard to explain. He didn’t say very much. He just led and you respected him. We always knew where we stood with Mr. Olson. He was a father figure to all of us. Playing in his band offered a certain stability in our young lives. I feel that Gordon Olson was most responsible for my love of band. I was in his band the longest of any bands. I still have friends from my Beefeater days that I am in contact with but none from my school band days. It was a family. 14 ~ Keith Woodward

If we all had to nominate a musical ambassador to go out and explain the values of a musical education I know we would all choose Keith Woodward. A trumpet player par excellence, a flute player, a tenor saxophonist, a tuba player, a conductor Keith embodies the very best of what it means to be a music teacher. His incredible teaching experience has given him a unique perspective on the value of music to our youth. When it came to profiling a legendary music director in this first edition of the Handsworth Music Book Keith was an obvious choice.

Award winning jazz band The 2007 Handsworth Senior Jazz Band led by Keith Woodward qualified for MusicFest Canada by first winning at the Envison Festival in Surrey. They went on to win a second place at MusicFest Canada in Richmond B.C.

FACTS The full interview with Keith Woodward can be found in the book HEARTS, MINDS & SOULS, B.C. Music Educators Series, Book 1 available at www.warfleetpress.ca

ABOVE: Cantando Music Festival (Whistler)

I interviewed Keith some time ago about mentors and this is what he had to say. Chris Best: How important are mentors when you are starting out? Keith: My fondest feelings of mentors that guided me towards the love of music included my kindergarten music teacher, Dave Pollard, Gordon Olson, Lorne Schemer, Don Murray, and Bob “Reb” Rebagliati. The first influence of a kind teacher on me at a young age had a lifelong effect. My story in music begins as far back as kindergarten at four or five years old. The music teacher was playing piano and I was given a hand-percussion instrument to play in time with her—maracas or some sort of shaker. After the teacher finished playing she told me, and the rest of the class, how well I kept time with her. That’s the first time that I remember being praised for anything. I stuffed that memory in a safe place in my mind. Dave Pollard had come to Windsor Elementary School in Burnaby and said, “Who wants to be in a band?” My hand shot up fast. That was 1963. I still have the letter that was printed on a gestetner machine that I took home to my parents.

He checked to make sure I had all my fingers and my teeth. Chris Best: Did you play in any rock bands growing up? Keith: By grade 10 a bunch of my buddies and I formed a rock band and played Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and Tower of Power. It was called Max Wettig, after the German piano in the room where we practiced in my basement. It’s not surprising that everyone thought our lead singer was named Max.

Chris Best: What does Bob Rebagliati mean to you? Keith: I got this call that Bob Rebagliati wanted to interview me to see if I would be a good fit for Handsworth. A few days after the interview I got this voice mail from Bob saying, “It’s a pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to teach at Handsworth.” I spent the next 25 years in the band office at Handsworth. Bob and I were a perfect fit for each other, with so much in common. He was the perfect mentor for me. In some ways, he was the big brother that I never had. For the first fifteen years I team-taught with Bob. Only 25% of my time was at Handsworth. The rest was in Handsworth’s elementary feeder schools. I started with two elementary schools and then when the budget cuts came it increased to three and eventually four.

“Pursuing things on a daily basis is what it is all about.” www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 15

MAESTRO PETER VAN OOYEN If the students are the heart of the orchestra then Van Ooyen is the soul. As well as directing the North Shore Youth Symphony which he founded, he teaches the highly successful orchestra program at Handsworth and strings programs ata number of elementary schools. Believing that music is an important aspect of our culture, Van Ooyen endeavoured to create a vehicle for music that would be flexible, and poitive, while also optimizing opportunity. The North Shore Youth Symphony (NSYS) was born.

2007 With the Yaletown String Quartet at the finale of the Strings Extravaganza at Handsworth Secondary School.

In the future, Van Ooyen envisions a full range of levels, from beginner to advanced musimaking. He would like to expand the symphony and involve more students in all levels.

2007 Concert in Costa Rica, On March 14, the Handsworth Strings and Choir ventured to Coasta Rica for a one-week tour. While there, they performed in many shows at various locaions in San Jose and Puntarenas but the trip was not all work and no play. It was a great cultural experience and a learning one as well.

1998 STRING TOUR TO CALIFORNIA In early April, forty-three string students travelled to Los Angeles. They participated in a workshop at Disneyland, performed in two schools in the Laguna Beach Area, and toured Los Angeles. It was an exciting and positive trip. The Orchestra took a bus to San Francisco, visiting many local sights and touring Berkley. At Berkley they visited the Crowden School, a Grade 1-8 private school for music students combined with academic subjects which was founded by Anne Crowden. The Crowden School Orchestra traveled to North Vancouver and joined with the local strings students in concerts the next year.

16 ~ Peter van Ooyen

Ice Cream Concert 2010, The Ice Cream Concerts were for the elementary school students.

2005 Dance and Strings Extravaganza, 240 students from the Handsworth Family of Schools performed an eclectic mixture of music. The high school string students performed at a professional level. Over 90 percent of the string students are top acheivers in the school. Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver.

2007 Finale of Strings Extravaganza with massed students grades 4-12. On April 4th the strings of the Royal Strings and Handsworth along with special guests, the Yaletown String Quartet performed.The event features the Royal Strings of Handsworth, Canyon Heights, Cleveland, Highlands and Montroyal schools. The event was held at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver.

2004 Disney World Concert, The Handsworth Orchestra travelled to Florida and performed in a variety of venues which included Tomorrowland, a school tour and a visit to the Kennedy Space Center.

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 17

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER Principal’s Corner is designed for past and present principals of Handsworth Secondary to tell the reader what the music program at Handsworth meant to the school and to the community during their days at Handsworth.

I worked most closely with Bob Rebagliati as Principal of the school from 1994- 2002. Keith Woodward was also part of the Music Program on a part-time basis, as was Peter Van Ooyen, who was in charge of the Strings Program. Bob was the most dedicated and competent of Music Teachers. He revered by his students as a result of his superior skills and incredible patience with them, but he also developed a most enthusiastic Handsworth Parent Music Association. It actively supported the Music Program at the school. These were parents that fundraised, organized transportation, helped out with the organization of music concerts and generally embraced the concept of having their children involved in a dynamic and beneficial music program. Bob encouraged all students to try a musical instrument and supported participation and excellence in his students. He was particularly good at showcasing students who excelled at some aspect of concert music or jazz by featuring them at a band concert or competition. Several students have taken up music as a career, partially as a result of the encouragement and mentorship of Bob Rebaglati. Students very well supported Bob’s music program at Handsworth to the extent that we needed to bring in more staff to meet the subscription of students. That’s when Keith Woodward came into the program as a part-time music teacher and Peter Van Ooyen was recruited to teach a strings section of the music program. It was a wonderful evening of music at the school when both the concert band conducted by Bob and the orchestra conducted by Peter played with a student compliment of full orchestra instruments.

Any program in a school is only as good as the community support, parents, students and of course its leadership. Handsworth’s prestigous music program is no exception, especially for the calibre of students and the leadership of the teachers involved. During my tenure as principal at Handsworth (2002-07), I was fortunate to work with Bob Rebagliati (Reb), one of the three music teachers at Handsworth. His standard for excellence brought out the best in students. It was not uncommon to hear students express their love for the program and their respect for Reb. The program attracted all students, academic and vocational streams. Participation in the music program was a big time commitment but Reb inspired excellence in all areas driving students to succeed in school overall. Reb was an exceptional role model for students in and outside the school. He modelled respect and commitment. Many accolades were earned for Handsworth not only for musical talent and performance but also for student deportment. Academic, social and emotional growth went hand in hand. Olga Woodland

I can honestly say that my day at Handsworth was characterized by a school that was incredibly well rounded and met the needs of the student body and community admirably. Academically the school was highly regarded; the Arts, including Music, Art and Drama, were well supported by students and parents, and the Athletic Program was of high quality. A student who attended Handsworth had a vast array of academic and elective options that I believe helped and inspired them in their lives and careers beyond Secondary School. Thanks for the opportunity to say something about Bob Rebagliati and the Handsworth Music Program. Terry Shaw

18 ~ Principal’s Corner

ABOVE: Terry Shaw

It is my pleasure to write about the Music program at Handsworth during my time as a principal. Among other things, I had the opportunity to travel with the Strings program and see first-hand the many attributes of the strength of the Music program at Handsworth up close. Our students under the guidance of their teacher, Peter Van Ooyen, and the adults who were taken along as chaperones, presented themselves wonderfully. It is no small task to take large numbers of students on such a trip and have no issues whatsoever. This occurs only when the nature of the children and their relationship with the adults is based on respect and trust, and through hours of preparation. I mention this trip only as an example of what I saw every day from the Music program. A program so worthy, that teenagers made the sacrifice of getting up early and/or staying late beyond the normal hours of school to pursue music, and that’s just the regular week of school. I don’t use the word “program” lightly because from the start of the year there was/is a program of team building and support that lays the foundation for excellence during performances. A music performance is only as good as the weakest link and this program has successfully managed to ensure the learning, practice, team building, and support to end up with excellence. And to ensure it is not missed the support is not limited to the teachers and students as the passion that came from the community, largely through the hard work of parents has been wonderful to witness. In reflecting, I’m reminded that I had the opportunity to work with, perhaps, the largest number of music teachers at Handsworth as I saw the transition from the legendary Bob Rebagliati “Reb”, Peter van Ooyen, on to Keith Woodward, David Bradshaw and Sab Kabok. Although I’m no longer associated with the school I know that those long held standards of quality and excellence are still in place. In short, the Music program with all of its, teachers, parents, supporters and, of course, students has long been a major influence on the goodwill granted to Handsworth. As a past principal, I was always grateful for the positive goodwill that came to the school, and am pleased to be able to honor all of those who had a hand in making it so.

Music has always been highly valued by the Handsworth community. Students were instilled with a deep love of music making and were exposed to the real world skills of what it is like to be a musician. Through concerts performances in the community, guest clinicians, attendance at music festivals and exposure to travel and performing on the road, students were provided many opportunities to explore their musical world to the highest of standards and pushed to the limits of their abilities and beyond. David Overgaard

ABOVE: Peter van Ooyen in Victoria

T. Mark James District Principal – Administrative Services

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 19

1968-69

OUR DIECTOR: Joe Berarducci

1968-69 20 ~ The Musical Oliver

Joe Berarducci: When I taught at UBC I used to start my class by asking, “Why do we teach music in schools?” The answer that always came up was it gave me something productive to do and kept me away from the 7-11 and off of drugs.

The Musical Oliver CONTENTS CONCERT BAND

CHORAL

MUSICALS

Chris Best: The sixties were a difficult time for a lot of kids regarding drugs and the times. I understand you were able to help out a lot of kids who might otherwise have gotten lost in the system so to speak. Joe Berarducci: I could not do today what I did back then. Two boys came to school drunk one day. I took them to my apartment and told them to get sober. They would have been expelled if discovered at school. When I returned I took them to their parents. Another young fellow ran away with his girl friend. They were staying in a hippie house at the foot of Lonsdale. They got kicked out and had no where to go. I picked them up and took them home until I could sort things out with their parents. Couldn’t do that today! Another time a young girl who was the daughter of the Chairman of the school board called me early in the morning. She said she was at a party and there were drugs. She wanted me to argue against her taking them. If I say don’t take them she would call me an old fuddy-duddy. If I tell her to take them she would say Mr. B told her to take drugs. I said,” If you do not think you are going to feel good in the morning that you took them then don’t do it.”

Joe Berarducci: Another guy I used to pick up and bring to school in the morning. The bus schedule was terrible. Two of the guys I helped out both live now in Kelowna. I met them at a pub one time and they both thanked me for what I did.

1968-69

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 21

1968-69 Chris Best: I asked Joe Berarducci who started teaching music at Handsworth in 1969 if he knew how the music program started at Handsworth. Joe Berarducci: My first year of teaching was at Delbrook. Al Stables was the Principal. He was asked by the North Van School District to go to Handsworth and clean it up. He asked four or five teachers from Delbrook to go with him. I was one. When I arrived in Septemeber ‘68 I had a band and a choir. Between both there were about sixty kids. That first year I put on a musical Oliver in the gym. It was very successful. The next year the program mushroomed to over two hundred kids. That’s when Brian G’froerer was hired. I went off the next year to the DND and then they hired Bob Rankin. When I came back from the DND in 1974 Brian had decided to leave. He was a good teacher. I stayed for two more years. There were ninety kids in my choir. It was a boy’s choir. Soon Bob left to go into the District office as Music Supervisor and I hired Dave McConchie. When I left so did Dave. Chris Best: Tell me about Mildred Twiss.

1968-69

Some kids who I taught went on to careers in music. Doug Irwin was one. He became a music educator. Gwen and Desmond Hoebig of course went on to professional careers.

22 ~ The Musical Oliver

Joe Berarducci: Before me there was Mildred Twiss. She went into the board office as a learning helper teacher after I arrived. She was a powerhouse. She started the elementary strings program. She brought ETM, Education Through Music, Mary Helen Richards into the school district. She was very instrumental at energizing the music program from underneath. I was told she had been a paratrooper during the second world war. I enjoyed her energy. Chris Best: Tell me about the Parent’s Association. Joe Berarducci: When I arrived Carson Graham was getting a lot of financial aid from the school board. It was a new school. The parents couldn’t understand why Handsworth seemed like a have not school. They decided to start a parent’s association and it took off. It was very successful. Once the program started to grow Handsworth was viewed as a have school. The parents were instrumental in getting the program more funding. Wally Oatway Steve’s dad was one parent who helped a lot. Another was named Chisholm.

Chris Best: What do you think your legacy at Handsworth would be? Joe Berarducci: My legacy I feel would be the three musicals I was involved with during my time. One was Sweet Charity with Brian. Another was Once Upon A Mattress. They were lots of fun to put on. I had a whole bunch of guys from the football team in Sweet Charity. The principal told me many years later that he had to defend me with the parents. Sweet Charity was on the cutting edge apparently. Chris Best: What made you leave: Joe Berarducci: What I didn’t like about high school teaching was that I always felt like I was constantly preparing for a concert or a trip. I didn’t feel I was really teaching. I felt it wasn’t what I signed up for. That was my last year of teaching high school. Chris Best: Did you continue teaching? Joe Berarducci: Yes, I continued teaching piano privately. We adpoted a girl. I realized that I needed the benefit package teachers receive so I asked Bob Rankin how much I would have to teach to get what I needed. He got me on halftime. I taught classroom music. I was trained in Orff. I taught at Sherwood Park until 1999 about five hundred kids. Then, I had a heart

attack. I realized I couldn’t keep that pace up anymore. I taught eighteen years in North Vancouver. I also taught at UBC in the Department of Educatin from 1983 through 1999. I still teach today about forty-five to fifty piano students here in Kelowna. Chris Best: Were there any other teachers at Handsworth in the beginning teaching music? Joe Berarducci: There was another man named Burt Turvey in the District. He was teaching at Balmoral. He was trying to energize the band program. So in the early sixties it would have been Sherwood Robson, and Burt. Sherwood though was the Music Supervisor in the Board office. Another guy Doug Terry may have done some choral wok in the district. Chris Best: Anything else you would like to add about the program back in your day? Joe Berarducci: When I left there were about four hundred kids in the program. A lot of them were doing choral. We had something in North Vancouver in those days called Music 44. It was a week long set of concerts at the North Vancouver Community Centre, All the schools joined in. It was a performance venue. The seats were always full. The biggest challenge has been how the music identity has been hampered by the Department of Education. Trying to convince people of the validity of music education in the schools. In our day music was supported. Our advocates were the Music Supervisors. They have all gone. There is no advocating for music at the board level on behalf of music programs in the schools anymore. Chris Best: Thanks Joe! Joe Berarducci: You are welcome!

The modular system was and is a phenominal benefit to any music program. The modular system at Handsworth started in 1970 but is not in place today. It was started by Al Stables the Principal. Kids would come at anythime all day if they had free time. It was great!

1968-69

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 23

1970-1976

Band Trips to Trail,

OUR DIECTORS: Brian G’froerer Joe Berarducci Bob Rankin Dave McConchie

1970-76

Brass personnel during the mid-1970s included Steve Oatway, Chris Bocking, Richard Chisholm, Don Fairey and, Craig Drew on trumpet and Rob Alexander, Neil Nicholson, Peter Mehling, Bruce Smith and Doug Bocking on trombone. Ron George on French Horn. The rhythm section rocked as hard as they swung and featured Mark Woodside

24 ~ Band Trips to Trail, Rossland, Kitimat,Vancouver Island, Revelstoke and the Okanagan

Rossland, Kitimat,Tofino,Revelstoke and theOkanagan CONTENTS CONCERT BAND

CAPILANO STAGE BAND

PEP BAND

CHORAL

WHO’S IN THE BAND TRIPS

The stage band at Handsworth was really happening in the mid-1970s. Under the direction of Brian G’froerer (1973-74), Joe Berarducci (1974-75) and Dave McConchie (197576) the approach was greatly influenced by jazz-rock groups such as Blood, Sweat and Tears and especially early period (i.e. pre-1977 Terry Kath era) Chicago. In fact, a number of Chicago classics became part of the stage band’s repertoire during these years: “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” (1974 and 1975); “Loneliness is Just a Word” (1975), “Where Do We Go From Here” (1975) and “While the City Sleeps” (1976). By 1976 the influence of jazz fusion groups was seen in the incorporation of long free-form style instrumental solos. guitar, “Juicy” Bruce Faulkner drums, Dave Boddington bass. Saxes included Brian Anyon (tenor) and Tod Elvidge (Bari), (71-73), Lynn Widdifield (1974), Peter Diamond (1975), and later Lennart Henriksson (1976) on electric piano, Craig Trunkfield played bass, Andy Hartle soloed on guitar, and Dan Scheidt (1974) and Gordon Farr (197576) held down drums.

1970-76

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 25

1970-1976 Brian G’froerer was just beginning his teaching career in 1970. There was an opening at Handsworth so he jumped at it. Chris Best: Tell me about Joe Berarducci. Brian: Joe Berarducci was the music director at Handsworth and the music program was expanding, so now there was room for two teachers. Joe was a great guy to work with. He had been at Handsworth for a couple of years before I arrived and was everything

1970-76

Concert Band that I wasn’t at the time: off-the-wall, inspirational, and related well to the students. The early seventies were a difficult time for many kids because of drugs and often the accompanying psychological/social problems. Joe was a wonderful counsellor, mentor and motivator for the students, as much as his being a great music educator. I, on the other hand, was an overconfident neophyte, but Joe quickly helped me find my feet and become more assured in my new role.

The district was filling up with great talent: Bob Rebagliati started the same time, Janet Warren went to Argyle to teach choral and vocal jazz and Rob Karr went to Carson Graham.

26 ~ Band Trips to Trail, Rossland, Kitimat,Vancouver Island, Revelstoke and the Okanagan

Bob Rankin’s full interview can be found in HEARTS, MINDS & Souls, B.C. Music Educators Series, Book I on the following website, www,warfleetpress.ca. Brain G’froerer’s entire interview will be available in spring 2020 in the book AND THE ANGELS SING, B.C. Music Educator’s Series, Book III on the same website.

Joe left in 1971 for a DND position in Germany and Bob

couldn’t find my scores, as he’d cleaned up the space. Still, we had a great time

Rankin came on board. Bob and I shared the same small office, but since Bob was more organized than I, sometimes I

working together.” In the summer of ‘71 Bob Rankin was at UBC completing his degree.

He was told that the North Vancouver school district was looking for

everyone in those days. There were a lot of headhunters. Bob

band directors so he applied. “Bob Rankin, where have you been?” is what he heard when he called the district office. Everyone knew of

was hired to teach band/choir at Handsworth. He stayed from 1971 through 1975.

One fun ny mem ory of th stands o ose yea ut for m rs e . I was tw when I enty-fiv started e teachin young-lo g, but w as so oking, a nd the d so casu ress cod al, that e o n e day wh walking ile I wa down th s e hallw ing distr ay, the v ict supe isitr v is o r stoppe said “W d me an here are d you goin I replied g”, to w , “To th h ich e staff r a spare” oom. I h . He sa a v e id, “You From n teach he ow on, re? wear a tie!” BG

. Together they created the North Vancouver Music Educators Association. Bob became its president. It became a very cohesive unit during Bob’s time there.

1970-76

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 27

1970-1976 Chris Best:Tell me about the Capilano Stage Band. Brian: I started the first stage bands at Handsworth and they were pretty good, I think, given my commercial experiences that I could share, though the bands had rather unorthodox instrumentation some years. Several people developed pretty good transposing skills by reading parts written for other instruments. In my last year there, I formed an extra-curricular group called the Capilano Stage Band, which was made up

Capilano Stage Band

of senior students and a few grads who still lived in the area and wanted to continue playing. We did a very memorable concert in West Van Secondary’s theatre, along with my wife’s choir, the Capilano Girls’ Choir, made up of kids she had worked with in the West Van school system. Chris Best: Why did you leave Handsworth at the end of 1974? Brian: Interestingly, my wife Laverne (and I both left teaching at the end of the

ABOVE: Brian conducting the Capilano Stage Band .. which was an extra-curricular jazz band made up up current senior students at Handsworth, plus recent grads of the program. This concert was performed at West Van Secondary.

On trom bone in this pho R to L, to are fr Bruce S om m it h, Rob A Doug B lexande ocking r, and Joh On trum n MacM pet, L to il la n . R, Rich isholm, ard ChDon Fa ir e y, Bryan and Ste McDick ve Oatw en ay. Stan behind d in g slightl Richard y and Do Scheidt, n is Dan adding a d lib eff Putney ects on synthes the izer. Le on pian n H enriksso o. n

1970-76

Other music educators at that time on the North Shore were Garth Williams at Carson Graham Secondary, Dave Henderson at Windsor, Lloyd Burritt and Janet Warren at Argyle, Barry Rector at West Vancouver Secondary, and of course, Bob Rebagiati at Hamilton Jr. Secondary. I played on a commercial

28 ~ Band Trips to Trail, Rossland, Kitimat,Vancouver Island, Revelstoke and the Okanagan

HANDSWORTH FACTS: Bob Rankin offered a small electronic music program using a Putney synthesizer.

year, 1974, me going to the VSO and her going to the Vancouver Opera Chorus (as well as having our second child). She’d left her mark on a great number of West Van students through her music program at Cedardale Elementary, some whom she still sees. I’m still in contact with several of my former students, too, and they still call me Mister G! Chris Best: I heard you had some notable student teachers pass through. Brian: Several student teachers came through Handsworth during my days, one notably being John White, who undoubtedly knew more about teaching bands than I, as he’d already been teaching in the

(l to R) Don Fairey, Bryan McDicken, Steve Oatway. hinterland for several years on a Letter of Permission, but I had my own strengths because of my extensive professional performance background. Other notables during that time were Mary Howland, Dave McConchie and Rob Karr, who all went on to wonderful careers as music educators.

ABOVE: Trombone player: Bruce Smith. Trumpeter Bryan McDicken watching trombonist Bruce Smith soloing. This extra-curricular band gave young musicians a chance to expand on their skills learned in the Handsworth program.

Back (L to R),Tod Elvidge (Bari) and Brian Anyon (Tenor). Front (L to R), Joanne Morrison and Chris Cameron.

Handsworth’s modular system of 20 minute mods worked amazingly well for the music program. You could combine several to have long choir or band rehearsals, have shorter combinations for smaller sectionals or musicianship classes, or even be able to slot kids into a practice room whenever they had a single mod free.

rock-band LP during my university days called Cantata Canada, with a band out of Edmonton called Privilege. “The songs were all about significant dates/happenings in Canadian history, and I was able to use this recording when having to teach a Canadian history class one year. It both saved my bacon and made me a ‘cool’ teacher.”

1970-76

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 29

1970-1976

Pep Band

Below: John Mutter and Bob Rankin

1970-76

After leaving Handsworth in 1974, I then spent thirty-four wonderful years with the VSO, six as Assistant Principal and the rest as Third/Associate Principal, as well as teaching horn at UBC, the Vancouver Academy of Music and various colleges around the lower mainland, plus I was for eight years the horn coach of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. BG

30 ~ Band Trips to Trail, Rossland, Kitimat,Vancouver Island, Revelstoke and the Okanagan

I spent a lot of extra-curricular time with the Handsworth Pep band at football and basketball games (The Beat Goes On and Hawaii Five-O were the big tunes), so on occasion when I asked the Vice- principal, Leagh Farrell, if he would like to take my band class so I could play a daytime rehearsal, he was happy to compensate me for my extra hours. Anyway, he loved conducting the band. Principal Pat Bell and Admin-Assistant Lorne Schemmer were the two other administrators who were very supportive of the music program, plus the school’s staff-members and the students’ parents were always eager to be involved with the musicals. BG

Chris Best: Tell me alittle about the highlights of your program. Brian: While competitions were not high priorities for our program in those years and we did little of that, we played many concerts at the school or at Centennial Theatre, plus community events, such as one on top of Grouse Mountain in the snow and cold. There were a couple of band/choir trips, one of them to Calgary, with an overnight (nuts) bus trip, and which included a morning stop en route in Golden where we were supposed to play a concert at the high school at the beginning of the day. We were at a restaurant in Golden, having breakfast, and I called the band teacher, John Mutter, at the school to let him know we had arrived. “You had better get over here quick,” he said, “The principal is breathing down my neck.” We’d forgotten about the one-hour time change at Golden and their students were already in the gym, waiting, so we played a severely truncated program for the school and got out

of town quickly. We also stopped in Trail on the way back, playing at the high school there. On another trip the bands and choir went to Tofino on Vancouver Island. We produced two records in those years, Sounds 72 and Sounds 74, with the bands, choirs and stage bands. Listening to them today, I’m still struck by the great skills and dedication of those students. Heady times! Chris Best: Was it hard to leave? Brian: Around 1973/74, I started to question my life in public school teaching. I felt that I needed to back up and deal with things I didn’t know, like how to better teach the younger students (we were also doing the elementary feeder-schools for a time) the more basic skills or deal with the less-motivated students. I was okay working with students with more developed abilities, but the others were often a challenge for me. My Bachelor of Music degree had not fully prepared me, and I realized that (Continued below)

I was just being more of a conductor than a teacher, so it was either substantially upgrade my teaching skills or, alternately, go back into professional playing full time. Providentially, an opening came up in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Assistant Principal horn chair, for which I auditioned and won, so my decision was made.

1970-76

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1970-1976 NEWSLETTER Compared to most of the other departments at Handsworth, the Music Department should be written thus: MUSIC. Responsible for the stature of this department was Mr. Berarducci, on whose shoulders rested this staggering burden. This year he received (1971) some well deserved help. First was Mr. G’froerer who relieved Mr. B of some of the burden, the concert band, stage band and the pep band (extracurricular) were all placed in Mr. G’froerer’s capable hands. Two student teachers also came from U.B.C. and brought with them some different, fresh ideas which helped bolster a growing enthusiasm for music among the students. A total of twenty courses were offered to the students. Many of these courses were introduced for the first time this year. They ranged from Musicianship to Guitar, as well as five different bands. As a result of this increased size they received another portable classroom. Continued bottom right

Choir & Theatre

RIGHT: Handsworth Choir on tour in Calgary in 1972. The last few years at Handsworth have witnessed the development of what many consider to be the finest musical program on the North Shore. We were particularly pleased this year to have been invited to play publicly on a number of occasions. These included performances of our bands and choir on the mall at Park Royal. In Music from ‘44, the perennially successful display of young talent to elderly residents of guest homes; to spectators at athletic events, and to our local community at various school functions including the Pancake Breakfast, Spaghetti Dinner, and the final weeks of the year at our recent barbecue, and at the ‘Sounds 72’ performance, a sell-out audience enjoyed an evening of music performed entirely by Handsworth students. The

positive reception which this performance elicited is evidenced by the advance sales of stereo recordings soon to be released. The record “Sounds ‘72 Highlights” features our stage band and our senior band and choir. It must be mentioned that the success of our music program is in no small part due to the active interest and encouragement given our teachers, Mr. B. G’froerer and Mr. B. Rankin, by our Music Parents’ Auxilary. Raising funds to enable two busloads of students, their teachers and parent chaperones, to undertake the recent Calgary trip was a massive task. We are greatful for the support lent our students by the local community for ventures of this nature.

Handsworth’s band, was installed. It had never seen better days. As a result this stepped up interest in the Music Department which is now receiving more support from the student body than ever before.

ABOVE: Brian G’froerer LEFT: Rob Karr one of the student teachers in 1971.

1970-76

About 1975 Sherwood Robson took ill and the position soon became available for District Music Supervisor. “You should apply for the job,” Bob Rebagliati told Bob Rankin and he did!

32 ~ Band Trips to Trail, Rossland, Kitimat,Tofino, Revelstoke and the Okanagan

LEFT: “Once Upon A Mattress” was presented by students of Handsworth Secondary School February 27-28 and March 2-3. Some of the students involved were L to R: Joan Faulkner, Princess Winnifred (The Woebegonne); Amy MacGilvra, Big Bird (Nightingale of Samarkand); Jamie Steenson, Prince Dauntless (The Drab); and Valerie Melling, Lady-ofthe-court.

ABOVE :J duced th oe and Brian p ro e in 1971 musical Sweet , then B C harity ob Brian la ter prod Rankin and uc Upon A Mattres ed Once s). Rob Ale xander Minstre l in Onc played the eu tress, H e was in pon a Mate narrato r and a very act, as ctor!

LEFT: The cast of Handsworth Secondary School’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress” which opened last night at the North Vancouver Centennial Theatre includes Joan Faulkner, Mike Millard, Russell Wheatley, Jay Titerie, Lennart Henriksson, David Fanthorpe, Chris Cameron, Brian McDicken, Lynn Widdifield, Jane Hamilton and Cathy McLellan.

LEFT: Joe Berarducci

Bob Rankin and Brian produced the musical Once Upon A Mattress.

1970-76 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 33

1978 Top mark was recorded by Handsworth Secondary School’s senior jazz ensemble, under the direction of Bob Rebagliati, at the recent New Westminster Jazz Festival. Band took honors for technique and placed second in the overall competition of sixty bands from all over B.C. and the USA. Handsworth trombonist Bruce Nicholson was chosen top brass player in the festival and received a full scholarship to a summer jazz training camp.

Bob: In 1978, I was wearing the senior band uniform which consisted of white shirt, white pants and white shoes and royal blue blazer. People said we looked like ice cream salesmen. We always got complements from the adjudicators on how good we looked.

BELOW: Handsworth jazz Ensemble recently achieved a rarelevel of success when they took top marks for technique at the New Westminster Jazz Festival. Under the diretion of Bob Rebagliati, Handsworth finished second out of 60 bands in overall placing. Trombonist Bruce Nicholson was chosen top brass player of the festival.

HAND SW HOSTS ORTH N JAZZ F ORTH VAN E On Octo STIVAL ber

16, ba jazz gro ups from nds and Vancou five No ve rth perform r high schools ed: Arg yle, Win Balmor dso al, and Han Carson Graha r, m dsworth

1978 34 ~ 1978

OOM PAH PAH Handsworth’s band entertained on October 21st at the second annual Oktoberfest.

OKTOB ERFES T Some o f our stu d ents wa tables, c ited on leaned u p and gen helped erally to look after tho so nece s e details ssary to a good Close to p a r ty . $900 w as raise music p d for th rogram e . Our Ty hats are rolean raised to Mrs. Pa olson an t Nichd our ba nd pare nts.

Oktoberfest. A good crowd danced and partied into the wee small hours and everyone agreed it was a fine night. Mr. Reb was the proverbial one-armed paperhanger, direting, awarding spot dance and door prizes and even singing (not bad at all Reb!)

ABOVE: The 1978 senior jazz band. Bob: I came to Handsworth in the 1976-77 year. I was still paddling up stream getting the old guard to do things my way. The following year in 1977-78 they started doing things my way. Pat Nicholson started the first Parents Association. She would be over 100 if she was still around. Her son Neil Nicholson is a professional musican these days. Bob is standing in the back on the right. Neil Nicholson departed Handsworth and went over to Carson Graham for his Grade 12 year. He found Bob’s structure in his program not to his liking. Norm Fisher was another who went to Carson Graham for Grade 12. They are both professional musicians today.

Nearly $900.00 was raised for our music program from this years Oktoberfest. Many thanks to Pat Nicholson and our band parents for their hard work.

1978

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1979

Parent meetings were held every 6 weeks at someone’s house and Bob was always there. His parent’s organization had its own bank account which made life easier from a funding point of view. Well, maybe not always. When he tried to request funds through regular school channels he was often told, “You don’t need our help. You have your own money and bank account.”

36 ~ Second Place in New Westminster Jazz Festival

Second Place in New Westminster Jazz Festival CONTENTS FESTIVALS

MOOSE JAW TRIP

CONCERTS

OUR DIECTOR: Bob Rebagliati

Handsworth Secondary School’s Senior Jazz & Junior Jazz ensembles under the direction of Bob Rebagliati, received top marks at the New Westminster Jazz Festival. The band took honors for technique, and placed second in the overall competition of sixty bands from all over B.C. and the USA. Handsworth trombonist Bruce Nicholson was chosen top brass player in the festival and received a full scholarship to a summer jazz training camp.

Bob always maintained sectional rehearsals for all his bands which he ran himself. “You will never get the same success letting students run their own sectionals,” he told me. “They have to be run by the teacher.”

1979

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1979

Concerts Bob told me he had given himself three years to see what he could accomplish. Chris Best: Tell me about your first three years at Handsworth. Bob Reb: One of the first things I did was establish a Parent’s Committee BPAC. Pat Nicholson was the Chair. Her sons Bruce and Neil were both in the band. Bruce Nicholson has gone on to be a fine bass trombone player in Big Bands around Vancouver. I continued a senior jazz band and started a junior jazz band. I also ran guitar classes and a vocal jazz group. In the 1978-9 school year my concert band with only 27 players placed first in the Kiwanis Festival. “When you only have 27 members everyone has to play like a soloist. There is no place to hide. They were great kids,” I borrowed a catch phrase from a mentor in Kelowna

ABOVE: The Senior Jazz Band performing in the Capilano Mall in North Vancouver.

HOMECOMING CONCERT will be held on June 12 at 7:30. This is the big band reunion of the year. We expect a large attendance so come early.

1979

KSS, Brian Todd: EXCELLENCE DEMANDS DEDICATION! I always strived for a culture of excellence. Handsworth was well known for its modular timetable in the 70s and 80s. It was like a private school. Math was booming! Sciences were booming! Fine Arts were booming! Sports were booming! Everyone was dedicated. It was an incredible place to be. The Fraser Institute Analysis one year placed Handsworth third in the province only behind two private schools. When Bob started only 35 players came back to the music program. Eventually he built it up to four concert bands: Grade 8, Grades 8 and 9, Grades 9 and 10 and Grades 11 and 12. The number of players in each concert band was quite small but the quality went through the roof. The 11 and 12 band was playing mostly at the Grade 5 level. Bob always maintained two jazz bands and sometimes he would organize a jazz combo if there were any over achievers in his group.

Seven outstanding student performers were selected from over 1,000 students to perform in the National All-Star Stage Band: Tom Colclough, saxophone (Handsworth); Monica Jacob, brass trombone (Carson Graham); Terry Madson, flute &

38 ~ Second Place in New Westminster Jazz Festival.

MODULAR TIMETABLES Handsworth used a wonderful modular timetable. Because of this Bob was able to schedule small group sectional rehearsals throughout both his concert and jazz band programs. A mod was 20 minutes. He could schedule a small group for 40 minutes, a medium size group for 60 minutes or a larger group for 80 minutes. There was tons of flexibility!

NEWSLETTER

The Handsworth Senior Jazz Combo can be heard at the National Jazz Festival, Bayshore Inn from May 3-5 and again at Handsworth’s Homecoming Concert on June 12.

Retreat A most successful Senor Band retreat was held at Paradise Valley September 28-30. A lot of hard work, fun, fresh air, and exercise provided a most worthwhile two days.

friends can sign up for student services: baby-sitting, Junior bands will leaf-raking, window washcombine with Handsworth Choir to present a ing, etc. Funds earned will be credited toward the indifall evening of music. A vidual student tour expense. most enjoyable evening Here’s a great opportunity to is promised and a warm welcome is extended to all complete your fall cleaning, and at the same time support Handsworth parents and the band program. friends. The ingredients Tuesday, December 18 of a good concert are two– Handsworth Christmas fold; a great effort by the music students and a large concert, 7:30 pm at Handsworth School Festive eveappreciative audience. Bring along your relatives ning of music and carols. and friends and let’s pack the gym. To add interest to the evening the students have devised a unique fund raising scheme called “Rent a Student”. During intermissions, parents and

BELOW : The tr umpet s tion of th ece 17-pie c e Hand sworth Jazz En semble in tune g e ts for the Christm show to as be held Decemb 18 at 7: er 30 p.m. Left to r are, Ca ig ht m Bleac kley, Stu Palidor, a r t Janet G reen, Pe Sabour ter in, and Tom Ha milton.

Band Day Band Day is coming up on November 13 to publicize the fall concert which will be held the following evening. At the moment a contest is underway to choose a T-shirt logo. These shirts will be worn by band members and will be available for sale at a later date.

saxophone (Handsworth); Gary Mussatto, drums (Carson Graham); Bruce Nicholson, trombone (Carson Graham); Renee Rosnes, piano (Handsworth); and Dave Stewart, guitar (Handsworth).

1979

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1979

Festivals

ABOVE: Senior Concert Band members in Moose Jaw.

Stage Band Festival Handsworth Jazz Combo, Mr. Bob Rebagliati –1st place – Kiwanis and New Westminster Festivals – Handsworth Junior Jazz Ensemble (Mr. Rebagliati) – 1st place – Kiwanis Music Festival; - Best junior in all categories, New Westminster Stage Band Festival Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble (Mr. Rebagliati) –Highest points – Kiwanis Music Festival; - Best senior in all categories – New Westminster Stage Band Festival.

JAZZING IT UP! On October 16, bands and jazz groups from five North Vancouver high schools performed before large audiences in our gym. Argyle, Windsor, Balmoral, Carson Graham and Handsworth participated. Unprecedented success as Handsworth High School won the sweepstakes trophies in the Junior and the Senior Band divisions of the New Westminster Jazz Festival. Mr. Bob Rebagliati led the Junior & Senior mixed Jazz Esemble to first place in their class of thirteen entries. In the finals which represented twenty bands, Handsworth won the Best Overall Band (regardless of school size) Senior Sweepstakes Trophy over thirty-six bands! Renee Rosnes, keyboard, was awarded the Best Jazz Soloist Scholarship. Handsworth Combo, the only players in this category, received excellent adjudication.

1979

Handsworth Concert Band (Mr. Bob Rebagliati) – 3rd place – Kiwanis and Coquitlam Music Festivals.

40 ~ Second Place in New Westminster Jazz Festival.

NATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL Reb and his hard-working students came out winners from across the country. Your Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble (photo below left) received a special citation, second only to a large eastern band. Again we heard the adjudication emphasize “This band knows how to play Jazz!” Solo players and backup received excellent comments. It was most exciting to hear the names of four of 25 players out of some 1200 students announced to receive interesting prizes, to rehearse and to perform at a Final Concert with the All-Star Honours band under nationally-known leaders! We are specially proud of them.

Approximately 1200 students congregate for this largest single Jazz Band festival in B.C. Schools throughout B.C. as well as many American High Schools are represented annually in New Westminster. Adjudicators included Lisle Cruise (California), Garry Guthman and Bobbie Hales (Vancouver), Hal Sherman and Pat Thompson (Washington). The unusual Handsworth double success is a direct tribute to Mr. Rebagliati’s leadership.This year marks a culmination of constant winnings which began in 1973 when he conducted the Hamilton Band for the first Sweepstakes Trophy at the first New Westminster Jazz Festival.

The Senior Jazz Band and the Combo from Handsworth School may be heard at the National Jazz Festival, Bayshore Inn

from May 3–5 and again at Handsworth Homecoming Concert June 12. ABOVE: Bob and Renee

“Senior jazz and concert bands with 1st place awards from Moose Jaw Kinsmen International Band Festival. Renee Rosnes (front row with tall trophy) won best Sr Jazz soloist award, and went on to become a world-renowned jazz pianist!” After all that, Reb had to sit down!

The stage bands from Handsworth and Carson Graham were among 70 bands across Canada invited to participate in the Canadian Stage Band Festival. The Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble was given a special award for “the most significant contribution to jazz”.

1979

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1979

Trips to Vernon & Moose Jaw

Thirty-two hour ride worth sweet success By Glenn Millar of the Times-Herald Getting to Moose Jaw from Vancouver with 28 youngsters, an assortment of luggage, musical instruments and band equipment in tow is not without its challenges—especially when it involves a 32 hour trip. But that was what Bob Rebagliati, director of the Handsworth School band did to take part in the stage and concert –band competitions at the Kinsmen International Band Festival which started here Wednesday. One of the most harrowing experiences was loading all of the equipment which Rebagliati valued at between $5,000 and $6,000 onto the train. They had to do the loading themselves. Rebagliati said, using old loading carts that looked

1979

like they were once pulled by horses. “Our hearts were in our mouths,” he said as they watched the carts teeter back and forth as they rolled toward the loading platforms with their valuable cargo abroad. What do you do during a 32 hour train ride? “We bought games,” said Reb. Chess, mastermind, scrabble and cards were the most popular diversions, says R.who learned how to play backgammon during the marathon train trip. Trumpet player Greg Kerr-Wilson said they developed team chess during the 1½ day ride. It consists of two players trying to play a game with five or six others giving advice. Kerr-Wilson’s younger brother, David said he amused himself on the trip by consuming $7 worth of Coca-Cola. Les Westerrelt, who says he suffered a

twinge of agriphobia (fear of wide-open spaces) when they came out of the mountains and onto the Prairie, spent the trip taking photographs. He said he thought he had some good ones “if they turn out.” Glenn Janzen, a tenor saxophone player, holds the Guinness World Book record for hand clapping on the return trip. The current record is 20 straight hours but Janzen says he figures he can clap for 30 hours if he can learn to clap in his sleep. He said he would do the 30 hour stint barehanded. Reb said the trip was hard on some of his charges because they had trouble sleeping during the trip. And because of a late arrival Wednesday they didn’t get to sleep until about 12:30 a.m. After checking with the band office for Thursday’s schedule R. said he had to wake them up about an hour later to tell them they had to be up at six. Some of them looked a little sleepy when they met at 7 a.m. for breakfast Thursday. Others like Jim Dorsey, who joked that he was “campaign manager” for one of his fellow band members, seemed awake though. What was his friend running from? “Reality,” Dorsey shot back without a moment’s hesitation. The North Vancouver band may be new to Moose Jaw but they’re not new to competition. In April the stage band took top honors in the B.C. competition held in Vernon, Reb said. When they went to the Canadian championships they placed a close second and received a special award for the most significant contribution to jazz.

Renee won best soloist after playing the most incredible solo I’ve ever heard. Tom Colclough It was absolutely amazing! I also remember the look of surprise or perhaps wonder on her face when she finished and looked up to both the audience and the rest of the band going nuts over it. Greg-Kerr Wilson

42 ~ Second Place in New Westminster Jazz Festival.

This year was very rich in musical talent in Reb’s senior bands: Many went on to become accomplished professional musicians and I’m sure would echo that their education in Reb’s bands contributed to their careers. I know that Renee Rosnes (piano) is now an award winning jazz pianist (won a Juno this year) and recording artist playing out of New York with some of the world’s top musicians. Tom Colclough (alto sax, clarinet in school) is a sought after

Reb may be building a dynasty in jazz-band competition. His junior band also won at the B.C. championship and placed third in the Canadian championship. Maybe that makes up for the 32hour train trips. RIGHT: Renee Rosnes, of North Vancouver is awarded the T.V. Centre Trophy for the best single performance during the competitions by Peter Symenuck. I recall sitting on the train while winding through the Fraser Canyon on the way home trying to sing harmony on a song with Michelle Jarvis, and in between attempts (or perhaps after giving up) listening to Renee try to convince Reb that he ought to organize a trip for the jazz band, or some part of it, to the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzwerland - to play. Greg Kerr-Wilson

west coast saxophonist and clarinetist with a wide portfolio of recording and performance experience on the professional stage, and I believe Norm Fisher (bass) played and may still be playing with Bryan Adams’ band. There may be other students such as Neil Nicholson (trombone) and Dave Stewart (guitar) in this group that possibly made music a career too... and then there are others like me that play in jazz bands as a hobby to this day as a result of the musical training and experience Reb gave all of us in those years. Steven Town Trips to Vernon and Moose Jaw Handsworth stage band – Guest of Honour at Jazz Festival in Vernon. Senior Jazz – Tied for first place in the Kinsmen International Band Festival in Moose Jaw Senior concert band – placed 3rd.

Photo of the 1978 Handsworth jazz band in Moose Jaw. Renee Rosnes on keys. Norm Fisher on bass. Neil Nicholson on trombone. Steve Town on alto. Ron Culver on drums and Terry Madsen on bari. Bob Rebagliati leading. — with Greg Kerr-Wilson, and Dave Stewart.

I remember the trophy being bigger than most band members, and Terry Madsen rolling around at night on the floor of the train (asleep) as we went through the Rockies! Steven Town

1979

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1980

Senior Jazz plays for B.C. School Administrator’s conference at Vancouver Hotel

44 ~ Annual Fall Dinner & Concert

Annual Fall Dinner & Concert CONTENTS FESTIVALS

TRIPS CONCERTS

CARNIVAL

OUR DIECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley

THE BAND will put on a show, dinner will be served, and a good time will be had by all, when the Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble performs October 30 at Handsworth School. The Handsworth Music Program is designed to increase the students’ awareness and appreciation of music. This is accomplished through classroom experience and other group activities such as concerts, festivals, field trips and tours. The teachers of the Handsworth music program constantly encourage their students to enjoy music and to get the most out of the many facets of their musical experiences.

Senior Jazz plays for the Canadian Stage Band Festival’s Super band concert and worshop tour at New Westminster Secondary School.

1980

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1980

Concerts After Bob Rankin became the District Music Supervisor in 1975, North Vancouver became one of the most progressive districts for music education. They had all the stars and now they had support from the top. Handsworth was right at the forefront with Bob Rebagliati and his new lieutenant Bruce Hoadley who was hired in 1980 just as promised. Bruce taught the intermediates and junors and Bob the seniors.

NEWSLETTER: On Thursday, October 30, Handsworth will hold its annual dinner and concert. The dinner will be an informal affair the whole family will enjoy. The musical part of the evening will feather approximately one hundred students in the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Concert Bands, and the Junior and Senior Jazz Ensemble, directed by Bob Rebagliati and Bruce Hoadley. A special treat of the evening will be a Trombone Concerto solo by Bruce Hoadley.

In his role as the President of the North Vancouver Music Educators Association Bob learned that an organization needs to: function cohesively, set standards, be ready to make their case and be ready to fight for what they believed. These were the three principles that Bob brought to his position of District Music Supervisor. He streamlined music purchasing for all so it was fair. Formulas were worked out based on the size of each program. Standard purchasing orders were issued. Bob had a full time secretary to help him with his duties.

y, FebSaturda n O . e m armoniz ands fro Let’s H noon, b to 0 :3 muat 10 l hold a il ruary 9 w l o o h which orth Sc ram to Handsw g o r p n e reciatio end. Th sic app d to att e it v in n ia s are e music th families e d lu will inc ht: Dalft to rig program le m o r , here. F n Kerry pictured p; Kare r a h to x a ; ton, au , bari-s ic c a las Hin v o K tromDennis Roper, is vocals; r h C , pet oodford Kevin W , on trum y r r e K d Scott bone an

1980

Valentine concert :Parents, students and friends are invited to the Valentine Dinner and Concert to be held at Handsworth Secondary School, 1044 Edgewood, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 14.

46 ~ Annual Fall Dinner & Concert

ABOVE: Junior Gold Band with Bruce Hoadley who was new to Handsworth this year. ABOVE: Senior Concert Band

PHOTO: This bands Red Velvet vests were made by Norm Fisher’s mother. She was a wonderful seamstress. One of the boys Rob Marr and ken Hoffman went on to be professional musicians.

We look forward to the final opportunity to present Handsworth’s band and guitar students: Wednesday eve, June 11th in our large gymnasium, 7:30 p.m.

1980

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1980

Fundraising I was interested in how Bob Rankin got his love for music. Chris Best: What is your early musical background Bob? Bob: I grew up in Ontario where my parents were officers in the Salvation Army. A lot of people with an SA background went into teaching music. I started as a kid in the local SA Band. My family’s social life revolved around the SA. My family moved every four years. I started taking lessons on the cornet at age seven and then moved on to the alto horn and then the tenor

horn. As a teenager I played the baritone/ euphonium. When I came out west everyone knew me as a euphonium player. My parents also started me on piano at an early age around 1951. Today, piano is my principle instrument. I was always asked to play in groups that needed a piano as I could sight read at a high level. In my late teens I started to conduct the SA band. In Vancouver, I became the bandmaster of the local SA band. At UBC

ABOVE: This was a school fundraiser. The principal is being dunked in a dunk tank. This fundraiser went on year after year. This was held in the courtyard of Handsworth School and the school’s annual Fair. Lee Farrell is the principal. Bob got his chance to nail the principal but in the process he hurt one of his back muscles whch still plagues him today.

1980

There was always lots of fun at Handsworth not only in the music department. The above is a fundraiser for the school where principal Lee farrell got dunked in the dunk tank.

48 ~ Annual Fall Dinner & Concert

I took a math/science degree and played in local bands. I soon realized I was not doing what I loved and switched to Education with a special music/math major because of my music background. It was now 1964/5.

The Ha ndswor th Band is very program fortuna te to have a B Parent A and dvisory Commit commit te e. This tee inclu des vario endeavo u s areas of r such a s unifor tion and m o r g anizafund rais ing orga A great nization number s. of paren involve ts becom d in BP e AC and is greatl their he y appre lp ciated b students y both th and the e school.

ABOVE: Our first flute player Michelle Jarvis in the dunk tank. She also played alto saxophone in Bob’s jazz band.

The musical facilities at Handsworth include: a main rehearsal room, four practice rooms, a Kawai 6’ grand piano, an upright practice piano, and amplifier, a Roland guitar amplifier, an Acoustic 370 bass amplifier, an E. M.S. synthesizer, a stereo system, two drum sets, a large record and magazine library plus many other instruments and equipment for student use. Our latest acquisition is an electronic concert vibraphone, the type many professionals use.

Valentine Concert - Parents, students and friends are invited to the Valentine Dinner and Concert at Handsworth at 6:30p.m. Thursday February 14.

1980

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1981

The annual Handsworth Zone Concert took place at Handsworth on March 17. They are wearing the handmade red velvet vests without crests. Steve Towne on the far right on tenor sax played in a community band called the Jazz mechanics.

50 ~ The California Trip

The California Tour CONTENTS CONCERTS & FESTIVALS

CALIFORNIA TOUR

EXCHANGES

VANCOUVER ISLAND TOUR

THE PROGRAM

OUR DIECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Hume Roger Wecker

CALIFORNIA TOUR Our Senior Jazz Ensemble is off to California. This tour will be an opportunity and a learning experience of a lifetime for our students. Their performance tape has been accepted by Disneyland and they will be playing four concerts: at Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Newport Beach Harbour School and in Anaheim where they will participate in the WORLD BAND OLYMPIC COMPETITION. A possible follow-up from this tour may be an exchange visit from Newport Beach Harbour School. An Intermediate Band Tour is also in the planning stages.

In North Vancouver, programs at Handsworth (under Bob Rebagliati) and at Carson Graham (under Peter Taylor and Rob Carr) are regarded as among the best in B.C. Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun, January 20, 1981

1981

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1981

Concerts & Festivals

HANDSWORTH’S SENIOR CONCERT BAND will be just one of six bands performing at the school’s Spring Night of Musiic on Monday. Concert will include a horn concerto and Haydn’s Farewell Symphony. Music and Handsworth School seem to go hand in hand. On Friday, May 22nd at 4:00 p.m. the school held a joint concert with bands from Beaver Valley Junior Secondary from Fruitdale, B.C. and Newport Harbour High School from Los Angeles. Now it’s the turn of the jazz bands at the school’s musical homecoming. (Terry Peters photo)

The band room has been the scene of hectic activity in the past few weeks as the bands practiced in preparation for the Kiwanis Music Festival held at John Oliver Secondary School on March 30, 31, and April 1 and 2. Hats off to Mr. Rebagliati for his hard work, long hours and his dedication to our bands. With five bands competing in this particular festival, it has been a busy schedule indeed. Congratulations to the Junior Jazz Ensemble, first place winners in their category! Faced with stiff competition, sometimes with only one point difference in standings. Both the Senior Jazz Ensemble and the Junior Concert Band placed fourth in their respective classes. We are indeed proud of their achievement. The Intermediate Concert Band tied for second place in its class. Mr. Hoadley and Mr. Reb both conducted

a selection played by the Senior Concert Band bringing it to a second place win in its class, a mere one point away from first place. Well done, band students! The Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble is competing in the 12th annual New Westminster Jazz Festival on Friday, April 3rd. We wish them luck and anxiously await results of their efforts. Eliminations will be held during the day with first and second place winners from the various classes performing again in the evening concert. Featured in the concert will be guest trombone soloist Rob McConnell from Toronto accompanied by Vancouver’s own Bobby Hales Band.

In the week of March 16–20, Handsworth halls will vibrate with the sounds of jazz, guitar groups and concert music, as students focus on the value of music in the schools. Throughout the week small groups will perform at random in the halls and cafeteria, and band parents and friends are invited to sit in any of the music classes. On Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30 pm, band students from the feeder elementary schools will join Handsworth’s band groups in an annual zone concert. This concert gives an excellent overall picture of the district band program. The concert will be under the direction of Bob and Bruce Hoadley. A school assembly on Wednesday, will give the bands a chance to perform for their fellow students. The musical production of “Our Town”, under the direction of Cam Dagg will be presented March 20–21, a great ending to Handsworth’s “Music in the Schools Week”.

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Concert An early season hit! On October 27 and 28 over 100 musicians put on an impressive an exciting show for a very appreciative audience. The Junior Evening bands and ensemble performed everything from “Thanksgiving March” to the finale “Blue Bones”.

Summer Music Camps are being planned by the North Vancouver School Board at Outdoor school again this year. Senior band students will act as music counselors.

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Congratulations to Canyon Heights Mount Royal Elementary Festival Band. This band placed third out of eleven bands entered in Concert Band Level 2 at the Kiwanis Music Festival. They were also the only elementary band in the class and competed against secondary schools at the 8, 9, and 10 levels. Congratulations also to their band director Bruce Hoadley!

Our next big musical evening will be the Christmas Concert on December 16th.

Intermediate Band Tour (May 13–16) HOMECOMING CONCERT Handsworth graduates will join with the senior bands to provide us with an evening of fine musical entertainment on June 8, 1981 in the annual homecoming concert. See you all there. All the bands will be represented in this final concert of the year. Senior Concert band and Senior Jazz Band will also be playing for the grad ceremony and the awards assembly.

Plans are well underway for the intermediate and students to travel by bus to Vancouver Island. On their tour they will visit Qualicum, will be playing in Ucluelet and Tofino, and will tour Long Beach.

Big band evening set for Handsworth It’s big band evening at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver on Tuesday December 16, when the Performing Arts Department present a festive concert of Christmas music. All six of the department’s bands will be participating together with the Handsworth chorus under the direction of Cam Dagg. The audience will be invited to add their voices to the more than 150 students in the bands and chorus for a lively sing-along to wind up the evening. Also featured will be a bake sale of Christmas goodies. And refreshments will be available during the intermission.

Senior Band tour The senior band tour is going ahead as scheduled. Students will be on their way on April 10. Parents are reminded to check their medical coverage. If need be, additional coverage may be purchased for $6.00. Forms can be obtained from Mr. Reb and must be submitted to Pavlik Tours by April 9. We wish the senior students an enjoyable and successful tour to California.

Two elementary music camps and one Junior High camp are offered during the month of July. Information can be obtained from Mr. Rankin, Coordinator of Music, North Vancouver School Board.

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The Senior & Junior Tours

The Senior Band Tour to California was organized by Denise Jarvis in conjunction with Pavlik Tours, this trip will remain in the students’ memories as a rewarding, educational and unforgettable experience. The tour started out on Monday, April 20 with the bus ride to the Vancouver International Airport rendered hilarious by Glenn Chilton’s running commentary on the “scenery”. A lovely, though bumpy breakfast flight via Western Airlines transported us to hot, humid, tropical Los Angeles where we were met by a waiting bus and taken to Westward Ho motel. The students immediately left for Disneyland while Mr. Reb, Mr. Hoadley and Denise Jarvis worked on final arrangements for Thursday and Friday. The students’ thirty-five minute performance at Disneyland on Tuesday looked and sounded great. They also performed very well at Knotts Berry Farm on Wednesday on an outdoor stage with no cover, unfortunately to a transient audience! Both days were very hot but the work of unloading the trucks, setting up equipment and reloading after the performance was made bearable by a swim in the motel pool afterwards and the fun rides at both Disneyland and Knots Berry Farm. Thursday, April 23 was another very early day as the bus was loaded by 7:30 a.m. to go to Savana High School. Three band classes were treated to performances, two by the Sr. Concert Band and one by the Sr. Jazz Band. After lunch in the school cafeteria everyone returned to the motel for a swim, with the rest of the day free. On Friday we all went on an hour long bus trip by public transit to Newport Beach. It was a cool and cloudy day with a small surf rolling on the long, long sandy beach. Five boys rented a sailing boat for the Intermediate Concert Band and Junior Jazz Band Tour On Wednesday, May 13 we travelled by ferry to Nanaimo and then drove to Mt. Klitsa Junior Secondary School in Alberni where we spent the night in the gymnasium! After a performance the next morning at Mt. Klitsa we went to Long Beach where some hardy souls actually went swimming! That evening we played to a very small group at a Tofino Community Concert, then spent the night in Ucluelet Senior Secondary School gymnasium. Friday morning we performed at Ucluelet Secondary. The local elementary school came to hear us; they were a most appreciative audience for a very good concert. After our return to Tofino and a performance at Wickaninish Elementary School we spent another glorious afternoon on Long Beach. Back in Ucluelet again, we gave a

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afternoon and some of us rented boogie boards, too to the surf and had a marvelous time riding the waves as the sun came out. Sunburned, we took the van to Newport Harbour High School for 5:30 p.m., a beautiful old school with a strong Spanish influence in its architecture. We showered and changed in the change rooms, were met by teachers and students and given a royal welcome. The cafeteria was decorated with huge signs and Handsworth colours. After a delicious spaghetti dinner we were escorted to a beautiful auditorium where the Handsworth Concert and Jazz Bands played their best performance yet to a very appreciative audience. The students changed into their civy clothes and went out into the Spanish courtyard decorated with Japanese lanterns for a dance to taped music. It was a chance to mingle with the hosts and get to know the Newport students. Midnight found us back at the motel after a long wonderful day. No visit to L.A. would have been complete without a guided tour of N.B.C. studios where we saw many TV sets including the one for the Tonight Show. It was an interesting ride through Los Angeles to Universal Studios where we had a guided tour through old movie sets. After lunch on a patio high above the valley we saw three shows: “Stunt Man”, “Airport 77” (live audience participation) and “Dracula”. Sunday, April 26, the final day of our tour we were allowed to sleep in till 9:00 a.m. before check-out time. In the afternoon we had a bus tour of L.A. city, Mexican shopping street (Olvero), the street of stars, Hollywood around Beverly Hills, U.C.LA. and a shopping stop at Marina del Rey before heading out to Los Angeles airport for a 6:15 flight home. In all, a lovely tour! Denise Jarvis fabulous performance on the grass beside the harbor in the sun. A lot of people listened some showing their appreciation after each selection by tooting their horns. We spent Friday night at the Peninsula Inn, a welcome change from high school gymnasiums. Saturday morning we went on an extremely interesting guided tour of Long Beach, then back into our bus and across the island to the ferry with a stop to admire the majestic trees of Cathedral Grove. Our tour was made more pleasurable by Allen chapman, our friendly, affable bus driver from Maverick Coach Lines. Also, special thanks to Terry Nelsen for driving the family van to take up the overload of equipment and instruments and to Scott Jones, our efficient sound crew. We are grateful to the Peninsula Inn Restaurant where we ate all our meals in Ucluelet; they provided us with terrific food and service, not to mention the bag lunches they prepared for us.

The Intermediate Concert Band and Junior Jazz Band gave five concerts while away on tour, three of them in one day.

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ABOVE: The rails were made of rubber just in case anyone was wondering. Bob cannot recal where it was taken. Must have been between gigs.

members. Members are chosen by audition. 5. Senior Concert Band members should re-elect, Senior Concert Band. The music, experiences and challenges are different each year so there should be no concern regarding repetition of material. 6. Senior Jazz Ensemble is usually for a selected two dozen (approximately) band students who want the added challenge of the jazz idiom. Ordinarily, consultation with Mr. Reb is required before selection of this course takes place. Some students (particularly those going into grade 11) become concerned as to whether both bands (Senior Concert and Senior Jazz) can be worked into their timetables. In almost all cases, both bands can be handled. Many students find they can manage nine courses, some even ten. It always seems to involve ‘working’ or reworking the timetable so that the desired courses finally fall into place. Occasionally, course conflicts will be allowed (by consenting teachers). UPCOMING EVENTS

Navigating the Music Program At this time of year students are asked to submit course request forms for the next school year. Occasionally, some students or parents are a little unsure of which bands should be chosen or whether the band course can be fitted in with the academic subjects. The following is a brief set of guidelines for parent’s reference. 1. Handsworth Beginners should sign up for Junior Concert Band. 2. Handsworth Junior Concert Band members should sign up for Intermediate Concert Band. 3. Handsworth Intermediate Concert Band members who are in grade 8 should sign up for another year in Intermediate Concert Band. Those in grade 9 should elect Senior Concert Band although there will be a few exceptions to this. Exceptions will be notified. It is the plan of our program to have as few grade 10’s in the Senior as possible in the near future. Junior Concert Band will be for grade 8’s, Intermediate for grade 9’s and 10’s. 4. Junior Jazz Ensemble is mainly for grade 9’s and 10’s although some exceptions do occur. Please speak to Mr. Hoadley or Mr. Reb if you are interested in the Junior Jazz Ensemble. Enrollment of the jazz bands is limited to approximately 20

June 10-12 The taping of some of Handsworth’s bands. Casettes will be available, see band students for details. Groups taped will be Senior Concert, Senior Jazz, Intermediate Concert, Junior Jazz and Junior Concert Band. June 19 - PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS NIGHT This “Academy Award” style evening features awards and scholarships to deserving students in the P.A.D. There is also representative entertainment from Drama, Music Theatre and Band. Showtime is 7:30 pm.

As promised, Bob, was given a third teacher that year, Mary Hume. Today she is known as Mary Bachun, having married, Morrie Bachun, of the Ward’s Music family (1). (1) Ward’s Music was a long established retail music store in downtown Vancouver dating back to before 1931 when a young Arthur Delamont came into their store and said,” I want to order Haute Monde and make it fast. We’re going to the band festival at the CNE in Toronto and we are going to make them eat their hats,” and he did! That was the birth of another dynasty the Kitsilano Boys Band which lasted for fifty years and set the bar for what could be achieved by youth bands. It also was responsible for kick starting the youth band movement across Canada.

“Something Old, Something New” is a celebration of the Christmas season encompassing traditional and modern music presented by the two hundred students in Handsworth bands, the Stringed Ensemble, and the Handsworth Chorus on Wednesday, December 16

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Exchanges

Bands on Exchange Visits to Handsworth May 22 was a busy day at Handsworth with two bands visiting. The Beaver Valley Junior High School Band from Fruitvale, returning a visit by our Intermediate Band and Junior Jazz Band last year were first on the program. Starting with ‘O Canada!’, they proceeded to give an interesting and varied performance. Next, the Stage Band played a selection of challenging music. We were indeed impressed by their performance, many of them Grade 8 students with only a year’s experience behind them. They obviously enjoyed playing ‘2001’ as their rousing finale. WE wish the Beaver Valley Junior High School band much success in their future musical endeavors. Also on an exchange visit was the Newport Harbour Concert Band from Newport, California. Under the direction of Jacquie Paquettte.

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Respondent in their black uniforms trimmed with gold braid and gold and white stripes, this very disciplined band played selections from ‘Sweet Charity’, marches, and a jazz selection. One notable march was the ‘Colossus of Columbia’ which they dedicated to the Handsworth School. This band is a parade band as well as a concert band. A support group of girls dressed in smart short pleated skirt outfits performed an impressive and colourful long flag routine. ‘Anchors Away’, not only the U.S. Navy song but also the Newport harbor song was accompanied by three of the girls with a short flag routine which was greeted with enthusiastic applause. After witnessing these flag routines, it became obvious to us why the girls sported so many bandaged knees!

The Handsworth Senior Brass Ensemble under the direction of Bruce Hoadley played for the opening of the District Professional Day at Argyle School on October 30 and the Senior Concert Band played for the Handsworth Remembrance Day Assembly.

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In all this was a splendid concert. Both bands were a pleasure to listen to, to quote Mr. Reb. The concert was followed by a dinner arranged by Terri Nelsen and her able helpers. From all reports, it was a great success. It was a pleasure to have Mr. and Mrs. Rebagliati and their child in attendance. At the dinner Handsworth presented the Newport Harbour High School with an attractive plaque incorporating a totem pole carving in commemoration of the exchange. Newport Harbour presented Handsworth with some Commemorative mugs. Last but not least on the evening’s program was a dance for all the band students. Music was provided by two groups of Handsworth musicians; they were ‘Mickey Rat’ with Bruch Hill, Len Cornett, Glenn Chilton, and David Hill (most recently of Carson Graham) and ‘Karmic’ with Ryan Volberg, Stu Bell, Rob Marr, Kurt Palme, Dave Kuyek, and Chris Roper. From all reports, a good time was had by everyone, including the visiting Quebec exchange students.

A message from your band director Dear Band Parents, Our fall term is now in full swing and I’d like to take the opportunity to relate a little of what’s happening in our classrooms. Bruce, Mary, and I have spent the first three weeks listening to each of our students on an individual basis. This activity is to designed to acquaint us with each player’s stage of development, evaluate and set immediate and long range goals for each player and also to place each player within their respective groups (first clarinet, second trumpet, etc.). These sessions have taken place during our sectional rehearsal time. As you know, Handsworth’s system allows the three of use to teach our specialties (a rare and rewarding opportunity!). At full rehearsal time, the four concert and two jazz bands have been sight reading new music, while we make adjustments in seating, instrumentation and assignments (a little like the preparation of a sailboat before a voyage; trim here, adjust there and so on). Shortly, we will begin preparing the program for our first evenings of

music, October 27 and 28. By now, all band members must have on file in our office (and a copy for themselves) a yellow practice routine form. This form not only outlines a proper method of practice but helps each student organize their individual practice session either at home or in one of our four practice rooms in Music A. It also contains some excellent thoughts concerning the value of proper practice and positive thinking. Please do your part to help your son or daughter maintain their regular practice and, to the best of your ability, determine that the practice time is used constructively. If you are not sure about these, please don’t hesitate to call one of us. Our strings teacher, Roger Wecker, reports that the Intermediate String Ensemble is already making beautiful music. He is really enthusiastic about the start of our strings program (violins, violas, cellos, bass). It is one of the few in the province and promises great things in the near future. In two or three years we should be able to boast of a complete “Handsworth Symphony Orchestra”. We have changed our policy regarding the sale of music accessories. We will be selling off all reeds, valve oil, strings, etc. very soon. Students will henceforth be asked to visit our neighbourhood music stores for their accessories. The exception will be prepaid boxes of reeds (which, after we have received the funds from clarinet or sax players, we will have sent to the school). We would like to express our delight and satisfaction at the results of our first band parents meeting. It was gratifying to make new acquaintances and renew old ones. Our band parents committee is truly one of the finest and deserves all the support and encouragement possible. Their efforts are of direct benefit to use and all the young musicians in our program. Mrs. Ann Thomas gave generously of her time to dispense all the uniforms to our bands. These garments have cost us a great deal; please help to ensure that your students handle them responsible. Please record the numbers on the garments so that they may be easily identified for return in June. We look forward to welcoming you at the fall evening of music. Sincerely Bob Rebagliati.

There was a joint performance by the Handsworth Senior Concert Band, the Senior Jazz Band and the entertainment crew of the luxury liner “Odessa” at the North Vancouver Centennial Theatre on November 16, 1981. This evening was sponsored by the Folkfest Committee of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

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Handsworth Elementary Honour Band has been invited to present a series of concerts at the B.C. Music Educators conference February 18-20.

58 ~ The Whitehorse & Skagway Trip

The Whitehorse & Skagway Tour CONTENTS FESTIVALS

WHITEHORSE & SKAGWAY TOUR

CONCERTS

ASHCROFT, 100 MILE HOUSE & PRINCE 63 GEORGE TOUR OUR DIECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Hume Roger Wecker

HANDSWORTH ZONE CONCERT From the tremulous notes of the beginner bands to the confident, disciplined exciting sound of the seniors, 400 young musicians performed in Handsworth’s third annual Zone Concert. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the entire music program in action. Fourteen bands participated and they called it a Cosmic Concert. Special mention should be given to Handsworth’s Elementary Honour Band under the direction of Bruce Hoadley. This band is made up of some very talented elementary music students who are looking for a challenge.

Seven concerts in three cities in four days. That was the itinerary for the Intermediate Concert and jazz Bands’ recent tour of Ashcroft, 100 Mile House and Prince George.

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Concerts & Festivals

JAZZ BAND Gordon Axford (foreground) - alto sax and Jamie owens - tenor sax.

Handsworth Elementary Honour Band has been invited to present a series of concerts at the B.C. Music Educators conference February 18–20 in Kamloops. The band is made up of the best music students from five North Van elementary schools. Tuesday, February 9th, marks a program of small ensembles presented by a number of Handsworth’s band students. The concert will be held in our band room and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and coffee will be served. Mary Hume: I was always in awe of Bob Rebagliati and his jazz bands. I graduated from UBC Music in ’81. There were very few music jobs available. A couple of opportunities came up in other districts, but then I got a call from Bob Rankin (the District Music Supervisor for North Vancouver) saying they were starting an elementary band program. The timing was perfect.

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Our Handsworth Zone Elementary Honor Band is making fine progress under the direction of Mr. Hoadley. They have been chosen to represent the Handsworth Zonal concept and the North Vancouver School District at the British Columbia Music Educators’ Convention in Kamloops Feb. 18–20. HOMECOMING CONCERT A June 8th finale to the musical session at Handsworth will be presented by all students in this year’s band program and grads from previous years in a 7:30 p.m grand Homecoming Concert in the large gym at Handsworth Senior Secondary School.

Music Coordinator, Bob Rankin, the Master of Ceremonies, ended the Zone Concert on the note that budget cuts notwithstanding, somehow a way must be found to continue this worthwhile program.

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Music Festivals The Festivals that year proved to be a positive learning experience for all those involved. Intermediate A Concert Band came third in the Coquitlam and Kiwanis Music Festivals. The Junior Jazz Ensemble was honored to reach the finals at the New West Jazz Festival and was runner-up in the “BB” category.

ABOVE: Giving Direction to the Capilano Elementary school band is music director Mary Hume. The band was participating in the third annual Handsworth zone concert. Mary Hume: When I was hired at Handsworth in the FALL of ‘81, Bruce Hoadley had just been hired the year before. Both Bruce and their now legendary director Bob Rebagliati interviewed me. The Handsworth music program now had four full time music teachers. Bruce was also heavily involved in playing in Salvation Army bands as well.

The progress made by our musical groups has been, as usual, rather amazing. This was certainly in evidence at the Spring Evening of Music as well as the music festival performances. In three festivals and over twelve entries, Handsworth’s large groups and small ensembles place generally in the top three. We look forward to “dazzling” everyone at our final concert on June 8.

The plans for the Intermediate Band and Senior Band trips are almost complete. Prince George has expressed an eager desire to have the Intermediate and Junior Jazz Bands visit sometime during the beginning of May. May 10–14 is also their Band Festival Week. The seniors are preparing to venture north to the Yukon, Whitehorse in particular. Concerts in Whitehorse and Skagway, Alaska are being planned as well as a thrilling excursion as a thrilling excursion on the famous Yukon and White Pass narrow-gauge railway. This trip will take place April 19–22.

Handsworth band students will welcome spring on March 9 (Junior night) and March 10 (senior night) with a dinner and band concert. MARY HUME: Bob Rankin hired me to teach in the North Vancouver School District. Part of my job interview consisted of teaching a class of Ken Osterreicher’s at Argyle.

Bands from Canyon Heights, Capilano, Cleveland , Highlands, Montroyal and Handsworth participated in the annual Zone Concert. This program has doubled in size over the lasts two years and is still growing. This great success is due to the interaction and cooperation of three fine directors—Mary Hume, Bruce Hoadley, and Bob Rebagliati.

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Senior & Junior Band Trips Senior Band Tour The Senior Band Tour to the Yukon and Alaska got off to an early start on Monday morning April 19 as we assembled at Handsworth at 5:00 a.m. Certain airport officials threw up their hands at the amount of equipment accompanying us. Since our flight was late arriving in Whitehorse, the school bus driver had to stop and pick up her morning kindergarten class en route to F.H. Collins—one small child for each senior lap! One of the first sights to greet us was the sternwheeler S.S. Klondike sitting majestically beside the Yukon River which was still partially jammed with thick ice. Jazz Band students will remember the afternoon elementary school concert as they were besieged by young pupils clamoring for autographs. Billets took us home for dinner and then to Takhini Hot Springs for a delightful evening swim while we watched a remarkable Yukon sunset. Tuesday morning, 5:30 found us all down at the White Pass and Yukon train station, all of us, that is, except one or two late sleepers who had to be rounded up. This was a much earlier departure than was anticipated due to the danger of avalanches in the pass. The parlor cars are still the same as used in 1900 with oil burning stoves at either end for the warmth and comfort of the passengers. The only site of wild life was three coyotes on the ice of Lake Bennett eating the remains of a moose. At Bennett we were treated to a much appreciated lunch of beef stew, backed beans, dark bread and apple pie. Two feet of snow had fallen in the pass overnight so we faced a long delay while it was cleared. We toured the old snow train engine with its huge boilers and gigantic circular blade that used to be used to clear the tracks in the days of ’98 and walked in deep snow up to see the old log church built by the Presbyterians in 1898 and abandoned when all the prospectors left for the trip up the lake and on up the Yukon River to the Klondike. Weather on the southern part of the route was not condusive to sightseeing but we did get a glimpse of spectacular trestles and switchbacks. The Klondike Hotel tour bus was waiting for us in Skagway and took us to the school and then to the Northern Light Café for dinner. Even one of the trainmen was present at the concert that evening before a most appreciate audience. Wednesday morning was another early start at 4:00 a.m! The train trip back to Whitehorse was uneventful but an experience we wouldn’t want to have missed. The remainder of our stay was a round of performances and sightseeing, a much too hasty tour through the McBride Museum and the S.S. Klondike. All of us were impressed by the hospitality extended to us by our host families. Most left the Yukon with the desire to return for a longer stay some day. There were some tearful good-byes as we boarded our flight back to Vancouver, a sign that it had indeed been a memorable tour! --Margaret Rose

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Mary Hume: The first band trip I went on at Handsworth was to Whitehorse and Skagway in the spring of ’82. It had been a dream of Bob’s to go to Whitehorse. One of his close colleagues was working in Whitehorse. He was a jazz guy whom Bob respected. It was a tough sell to the kids but as the trip went on they embraced it especially the train trip from Skagway

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Intermediate Band Tour Seven concerts in three cities in four days. Sounds like the booking schedule for a professional group. But it isn’t. That was the itinerary for the Intermediate Concert and Jazz Bands’ recent tour of the interior of B.C. The brass and percussion sections became very efficient at loading and unloading equipment for concerts at Ashcroft, 100 Mile House and Prince George. All the groups were appreciated by elementary school children and adult audiences alike with one performance by the Intermediate A Concert Band applauded with an intermediate spontaneous standing ovation. “Never heard it played better” was the adjudicator’s comment after a selection by the Junior Jazz Ensemble at the Prince George Jazz Festival. The students and parents of Kelly Road Secondary were excellent hosts. It was hard to decide what the real highlight of the tour was. Either the dinner and live band dance or the snow ball fight in May. A good time was had by all. --Bruce Hoadley Senior Band Retreat by Jamie Leigh On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 24, 25 and 26, the Senior Band held their first social activity of the year, the Senior Band Retreat. This year the retreat was held on Gabriola Island, at Camp Miriam. Being situated out of the way surrounded by trees, and very close to the ocean, Camp Miriam was the ideal spot for a weekend of music and enjoyment.

Of special interest to the students was the food which was to be eaten during the retreat. After lengthy discussion, it had been decided that the students would cook their own food. Different groups cooked different meals, and except for having a few left-over hamburger patties, it turned out to be a great success. The menu varied and everyone enjoyed “homecooked” meals. Mr. Reb, Ms. Hume and Mr. Hoadley accompanied the students for the musical aspect of the trip. Playing the pieces of music when the bands first assembled, was a special challenge to all members. Saturday evening proved to be memorable. Many skits wee performed around the campfire and Mr. Reb came up with a very interesting puzzle to which everyone had their solution. Stu Bell proved his ability to entertain a crowd as he performed admirably underneath a big blue sleeping bag—a bag which he would never wear in a shower. As the trip came to a close, Mr. Reb proved his driving skills as he raced to the Gabriola ferry dock with a truckload of musical instruments and tired students. We missed the ferry by two minutes! After an one-hour wait for the next ferry, the return trip was over quite quickly. One added surprise for nine students was the privilege of a tour of the bridge of the Nanaimo ferry.

LEFT: ROGER Wecker conducts the Handsworth School Youth Orchestra Saturday at Park Royal North, Santa also began his regular appearances marking arrival of the Christmas season. The HANDSWORTH Orchestra is part of the North Vancouver Youth Symphony which will be appearing in concert at Carson Graham on December 5.

to Whitehorse. The moose stew was good too! I remember Bob and I exchanging looks at one point when we were staring out the window at the vast open spaces and then back at the kids who had managed to find other ways to entertain themselves.

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On Tuesday night, April 25, the Senior Band members began our four-day tour through Edmonton, Calgary and Banff in Alberta.

64 ~ Superior Rating in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival

Superior Rating in Calgary Kiwanis Festival CONTENTS FESTIVALS

EDMONTON, CALGARY & BANFF TOUR

CONCERTS

70 HARRISON HOT SPRINGS, LOGAN LAKE, KAMLOOPS, SALMON ARM TOUR

OUR DIRECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Hume Roger Wecker

The Spring schedule was heavily weighted with Nights of Music, festivals and successful competitions. Wow! Can these kids produce music! This year Handsworth’s different ensembles participated in the Surrey Jazz Festival, the Kiwanis Jazz Festival, the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival and while away on tour the Calgary Kiwanis Festival. Back home then there was the New Westminster Jazz Festival. The Junior Jazz Ensemble placed first in Surrey and then went on to the Nationals in Calgary where they took second place against all other bands in their age group from across Canada.

If ever there was a whirlwind tour of the BC Interior, this Intermediate tour was it. For the most part, time between engagements proved to be filled with preparing for the next performance.

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Festivals “Over 3000 talented young musicians from all across Canada took part in the festival, each band having first placed in regional competition at some time. Special comment was made regarding our band’s ability to ‘double’. In other words, saxophone players were also able to play other instruments such as the flute, clarinet and bass clarinet. This is an unusual ability for junior players who are only in grades eight, nine and ten. There are 24 kids in the band and they were all really excited at being at their first nationals – even more so when they came second in the country and were awarded a silver plaque.

HANDSWORTH Junior Jazz Ensemble took second place at the 11th Annual Canadian Stage Band Festival National Finals held in Calgary, May 16-21. Their Director, Bruce Hoadley talks proudly about their accomplishment.

The New Westminster Jazz Festival with over 70 bands from Vancouver Island, Washington and the Lower Mainland saw two proud winners from the North Shore. Carson Graham won first place in the senior AAA category and Handsworth won first place in the Junior BB category. In addition, Carson won the senior sweepstakes and Handsworth the junior sweepstakes which enables each band to participate in the Canadians held in Calgary in May. One of the selections Handsworth chose to play in the competitions was Summer Rain, written by a North Shore teacher and composer, Brian Fairholm.

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On March 26, Handsworth Junior Jazz Band placed first in the BC Regional competition at New Westminster Jazz Festival. This win earned them an invitation to the National Stage Band competition in Calgary on May 15-21. With hopes high and funds low, the Junior Jazz group focused on Calgary and took on extra fund raising. A Saturday Blitz on Bottles and a Car Wash Caper netted a bundle. Our local MLA, Angus Ree, was approached for government funds and plans developed for one of the best concerts ever.

1st Place Trophy at the Abbotsford Concert Band Festival

66 ~ Superior Rating in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival

“We have a team of three band teachers at Handsworth and our band programming has doubled in the last three years mostly because of a strong elementary program. We have bright hopes for three or four jazz bands next year. In fact, next year we are going for the gold in Toronto at the Nationals.”

EXTRA!! EXTRA!!

Junior Jazz ensemble wins 1st Place trophy at the Surrey Jazz Festival. Senior Jazz wins 2nd Place trophy at the Kiwanis Jazz Festival. All bands participated in the Coquitlam Concert Band Festival and Kiwanis Concert band Festival. Senior Concert Band receives Superior Rating in Calgary Kiwanis Festival. Junior Jazz wins 1st Place in the New Westminster Hyak Festival. A concert to raise funds for a jazz band should feature jazz artists – and it did! The Senior Jazz Band wooed the audience, Colclough/Rosnes/Town/ Stewart shook them loose, and when the Junior Jazz wound up the programme, the audience was ready to carry them on their shoulders to Calgary.

Handsworth Junior Jazz Ensemble wins the “Canadian Stage Band Festival’s Silver Award,” May 17, 1983 at the Jubilee Theatre, Calgary, Alberta. The competition was fierce and the band members handled themselves fantastically well, both on and off the stage. They also appeared on the 8th Avenue Mall in downtown Calgary and did a fabulous job of entertaining the lunch-time crowd. They literally stopped traffic! To all the wonderful people who lent their support in every way, especially to Helen Davis and Arlene Parente who knocked themselves out preparing “care packs” which they canvassed from local merchants, we say … “Thanks for the Memory!”. Phyllis Rabiner

Superior rating in the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival in Calgary.

1983 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 67

1983

Concerts

Handsworth Junior Jazz Ensemble wins the “Canadian Stage Band Festival’s Silver Award.” May 17, 1983 at the jubilee Theatre, Calgary, Alberta.

Mary Hume: In 1983 we travelled back to Calgary, my home town, for the National Stage Band Festival. I wasn’t involved with the jazz band but I participated in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival with a small concert band. I was directing the concert band. And Bruce was leading the Junior Jazz Ensemble. Bruce was amazing! He was a force to be reckoned with. In addition, he was a great trombonist! Bob’s level on keyboards and percussion were second to none. Bob also played a pretty mean clarinet. Having Bruce and Bob on brass and percussion was phenomenal.

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Mary Hume: Bruce was leading the Junior Jazz Ensemble. Bruce was amazing! He was a force to be reckoned with. In addition, he was a great trombonist!

68 ~ Superior Rating in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival

It is gratifying to see the number of Handsworth Zone Elementary Band students and Handsworth school band students signed up for summer music study. Handsworth has the highest number of participants in School District 44: something we’re very proud of! If your son or daughter is wondering about spending a week making music, please have them see me soon for music camp brochures and details. Bob Reb

Mary Hume: Bob was so obliging. I showed him one piece and he said, “Sure, let’s do it!” We played Alfred Reed’s, Russian Christmas Music. I brought in some ringers to play some of the key parts. I really wanted to raise the technique level of all the players. Mary Hume:: For me as a young teacher working with Bob and Bruce was incredible. They were so generous and always treated me as an equal partner. My goal was to bring the woodwinds up to their level. I wanted to play music that I had played as a high school student in my programs and thus bring the standard up.

90 minu te of the B s est of Bands p re senting Canyon He igh Clevela ts, nd Highlan , ds, Montro ya Handsw l and or March 1 th , 1983

Handsworth’s Senior Jazz Ensemble, which took second place honours in the senior jazz competitions at the Kiwanis Festival last week, will be one of the bands performing at Handsworth’s Spring Concert this week – March 9 (Junior Night) and March 10 (Senior Night). Tickets available at the door prior to 7:30 curtain time.

June 7th is the final Junior Night of Music and the 8th of June will be the Handsworth Homecoming Concert.

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1983 Trip to Harrison Hot Springs Logan Lake Kamloops Salmon Arm Kelowna

If ever there was a whirlwind tour of the BC Interior, this Intermediate tour was it. For the most part, time between engagements proved to be filled with preparing for the next performance. However, all was not work and no play. Our first concert was at the Harrison Hotel where we played to a good crowd of Hotel guests. Afterwards, the Hotel allowed us to use the three pools available in the Hotel for some fun and frolic. After such luxury, we bedded down for the night in the Agassiz school gym. The next morning put us on the road bright and early, travelling to the mining community of Logan Lake. We played for an enthusiastic high school audience and even the music coordinator for the Kamloops school district came to hear the bands perform. Beautiful weather accompanied us to Salmon Arm where we spent the evening rehearsing and relaxing. The next day we played a concert for the school and loaded quickly to travel to Kelowna and play a concert at Dr. Knox Junior Secondary. A number of parents of band members attended this concert as well as Mr. and Mrs. Rebagliati, Sr., parents of Bob Rebagliati! Little did we know as we played for this school that their Jr. Jazz Ensemble was also a contender in the upcoming Canadian Stage Band Festival National Finals. Our last evening was spent together at Scandia games and mini-golf. It’s questionable who had a better time; the students or Mr. Hoadley (curse you, Red Baron)! All in all, it was a memorable experience, filled with happy memories and good performances. Fortunately, gym floors aren’t all that bad, as long as you don’t snore! “Anonymous” TOURING IS A PRIVILEGE, NOT A DIVINE RIGHT – GUARD THE PRIVILEGE WELL!

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Saturday, March 19 – Handsworth Band’s Giant Craft Fair and Flea Market, 10:00 am -4:00pm. Some tables still available for flea market or craft items, $15.00 Rental, phone 985-6395.

70 ~ Superior Rating in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival

Trip to Banff, Calgary and Edmonton SR. TOUR ‘83 On Tuesday night, April 25, the Senior Band members began their four-day tour through Edmonton, Calgary and Banff in Alberta. I think we’d all like to forget the endless hours on the bus that first night. We spent Wednesday night in Edmonton in a school gym after a high school performance and a productive rehearsal. One of the highlights of the tour was earning a rating of Superior in the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival in Calgary on Thursday. The weather was beautiful there and that night we visited the waterslides with our billets. Before setting out for Banff the next day, we spent a few leisurely hours at the Calgary Tower, the Glenbow Museum and the Calgary zoo. We also squeezed in a concert at an elementary school. We arrived in Banff in the late afternoon and settled down to some serious lounging. We went swimming and explored the large, beautiful Banff Springs Hotel. We left for home on a snowy Saturday morning and for some the long bus ride induced a sleep that would last until Monday. Tina Gilbertson

GETTING IN PRACTICE for Saturday’s car wash to raise money for their trip to the Canadian National finals in Calgary, are Handsworth Band members (from top right clockwise) Nick Steele, Danna Johnson, Dawn Statton, Peri Mainwaring and Michelle Rankin. They’ll be washing cars 10am to 4pm at the Edgemont Chevron and the Shell station at 13th and Lonsdale.

Photo Left: Ken Hoffman on saxophone and Neil Wong who became a band director in Kelowna, Rob Marr on bass. Senior Jazz Band

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HANDSWORTH Junior Jazz Ensemble, which took first place at the West Coast Jazz Festival in Victoria, now goes on to compete in the Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto May 17 to 21.

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Gold inCanadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto CONTENTS FESTIVALS

SEATTLE TRIP

CONCERTS

MUSIC EDUCATION IN OUR SCHOOLS A PARENT’S 254 VIEWPOINT JOHN NIELSONPRESIDENT HMPAC WHO’S IN THE BANDS?

OUR DIRECTORS : Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Backun Roger Wecker

TOGETHER AGAIN are Ron George, Brian G’froerer and the Handsworth bands. George, a Handsworth grad (1973) is with the VSO this year as Acting Principal Horn, on leave from his regular position as Principal Horn with Orchestra London (Ontario). G’froerer, George’s former band teacher at Handsworth (1970-74) is the Third and Associate Principal Horn with the VSO and Principal Horn of the CBC Chamber Orchestra but is on leave from the VSO this year, so the performance of Handel’s Concerto for two horns with the Handsworth Band is an opportunity for the two to work together.

Handsworth Junior Jazz Ensemble walked off with the gold medal in the Junior Secondary Band category out of 15 best bands across Canada at the recent Canadian Stage Band Festival held in Toronto.

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Festivals HANDSWORTH Junior Jazz Ensemble, which took first place at the West Coast Jazz Festival in Victoria, now goes on to compete in the Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto May 17 to 21. In order to help pay for this trip, a Jazz and Dessert evening will also be held tomorrow 7:30 pm at the school.

The new champs THE OILERS may have the Stanley Cup, but Handsworth school’s 22-piece band has the trophy for being the Canadian championship junior jazz band. The ecstatic band members were greeted by parents and friends at Vancouver International Airport Monday night after flying home from their winning performance at the Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto and a day spent taping Mary Hume: I fit well into the Handsworth music philosophy. I liked music festivals. I have talked to Bob about this. I think it is a shame that the need to water something down to be non-competitive so you are not threatening other groups is completely missing the point. We don’t do that for sports teams. We don’t say, “Everybody come out and we will play a little basketball and whatever happens happens.” I think there is room for both. How are you going to learn if you don’t hear levels of excellence?

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The Handsworth Senior Jazz Ensemble captured first place in the Surrey Jazz Festival.

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their triumphant tunes for CTV for broadcast later this year. At the recent Canadian Stage Band Festival held in Toronto Handsworth Junior Jazz Ensemble walked off with the gold medal in the Junior Secondary Band category out of 15 best bands across Canada. This talented group directed by the energetic and dedicated Bruce Hoadley were invited to participate after taking first place in the West Coast Jazz Festival in February. Two students from this group; saxophonist Chris Lilly and trumpeter Pat Reid, were chosen to participate in the Intermediate All Star Band. Two All Star Bands and all the winning (right)

February 22, 1984 – North Shore News RIGHT: SENIOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE of Handsworth Secondary School poses with their first place award from the Surrey Jazz Festival. The group also captured three solo awards won by students Ian Duke (drummer), Bob Jarvis (trombone), and Jeff MacDonald (trumpet). The group will be part of Handsworth’s annual spring concert spectacular tonight at 7:30 pm at Centennial Theatre. Tickets are $3 for adults, $1 for students and seniors.

Western Canada dominated the National Stage Band Festival as 20 of the 33 awards presented went to the Western provinces; 10 to BC Nanaimo District Secondary School won three gold awards in the Senior Dixieland Band, Senior Stage Band and Combo categories. Mountain Secondary School from Langley took the gold in Senior Jazz Choir and silver in the Intermediate Stage Band. Wellington Junior Secondary from Nanaimo won the bronze in the Junior Stage Band and Magee Senior Secondary took the bronze in the Senior Stage Band category and silver in the Senior Jazz Choir.

bands were taped for an hour special to be telecast on CTV in the fall. The National Finals in Toronto involved 2500 musicians under 20 years of age for 5 days. This festival received a stronger educational focus this year. There were over 52 hours of clinics, seminars and workshops planned.

Mary Hume: I took part in a music festival in Vienna in ’76 which was competitive. It was fantastic. We got to work with William Revelli before we left for Vienna. It is not about crushing the spirit. It is about opening minds and allowing sharing to take place.

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1984 Ron George was such a good player in high school that keeping him interested was a challenge. He was in both the concert band and stage band, so in each stage band class I would have him play whatever part was missing that day due to illness, and his transposition skills became quite good, a real asset for professional horn players who have to sight-transpose many different keys. Brian G’froerer

Concerts

Mary Hume: I remember in’84, Ron George coming back to play at the Centennial Theatre in Handsworth’s Sound Spectacular concert in February with Brian G’froerer. Brian and I played together in the CBC Orchestra for many years. He is a sublime musician.

The Concert Spectacular takes place February 22 at 7:30 pm at Centennial Theatre (23rd and Lonsdale). Anyone not familiar with the excellent strings program offered in the North Vancouver schools will be amazed to hear the polished sound of the Handsworth Orchestra.

Mary Hume: ‘84 was the year Bruce’s juniors won the Nationals in Toronto. Boy was he proud! Jenny Eby was in that band on trumpet and Nooshin Khoshkhesal. I am not sure if Michiko Singh was still there or not. Bruce always felt the jazz side of the program was seen as Bob’s baby so it was one of those defining moments. That is not to say that Bob made him feel that way. Bob was beside himself with glee. He couldn’t have been happier.

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Mary Hume: ‘84 was the year Bruce’s juniors won the Nationals in Toronto. Boy was he proud!

76 ~ Gold in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto

Outdoor small group that Bob played in at Edgemont Village. In the wintertime. Every Christmas Bob took volunteers down to play Christmas music for donations.

The National Finals in Toronto involved 2500 musicians under 20 years of age for 3 days. It included 52 hours of clinics, seminars and workshops. Western Canada dominated the festival as 20 of the 33 awards presented went to the Western provinces. 10 to B.C., Nanaimo Districk Secondary won three gold awards

Mary sitting in with the Intermediate Blue Band. She played great flute which shows her versatility. She was a clarinet player who also doubled on saxophone as well as flute.

Mary Hume: By ‘84 we had a good solid few years with the team at the elementary school with strength and numbers showing through. We had a schedule to die for with not only full band rehearsals but sectional rehearsals. Whoever gets to do that again? I don’t know why more schools don’t use the modular system. I think it has something to do with needing to schedule more core programs these days.

Ron George was finished his studies back east and in Europe (with Herman Baumann) and was playing in Orchestra London (Ontario) as Principal horn, when asked to come to Vancouver as the VSO’s Acting Principal for a year. Great to be able to perform with my former student! Brian G’froerer

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Seatttle Trip Mary Hume In ’84 I went to Seattle with David Overgaard who was a student teacher at the time. Claire Sparks was also a student teacher. Bob was sick and couldn’t make the trip to Seattle. Claire brought forward the choral side of the program. I wound up co-conducting the string orchestra with Roger Wecker. The Seattle trip was the first trip that I ever planned on my own. We performed at a couple of schools and in a couple of malls.

Mary Hume: I met my future husband, Morrie Backun, in the fall of ’79 back in Calgary. We met when he visited the University of Calgary to present a clinic on clarinet and flute via the sponsorship of Ward Music in

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Vancouver. At that time, Morrie was running the repair division at Ward Music and would travel giving clinics on instrument repair.That was his first love. He studied flute making with, Jack Goosman, in (right)

Mary Hume: I loved music in high school but I did not originally pursue music as my major in university. I started out in the field of mathematics and in addition I took some music courses in the fall of’76.

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Ontario. That and playing were his two passions. He and Bob MacDonald worked together for a long time at Ward Music. It is fair to say that the reason I came to Vancouver was because I had met Morrie. Morrie and I got married in 1984.

Chris Best: When I interviewed Mary for this book I told her that I had heard she played in a military band in Calgary. This is what she had to say. Mary Hume: I played with the Kings Own Calgary Regiment Band giving me some militia background as a musi-

Cont. from above: cian. It was run by two men who resurrected the band in 1976, Peter Murray, and Jack Tilmans. They went around to the various high schools and recruited. It was a good experience and a different one. When I came out to Vancouver in 1980, it was prior to the introduction of women into the field bands. Fortunately, this has changed!

Mary Hume: It was the head of the department, Dr. Stanley G. Finn, who changed my mind and I then switched my major to music. Dr. Finn was my clarinet teacher and he was a wonderful teacher and coach of music.

1984

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1984 JUNIOR CONCERT BAND ARNESON, Bruce BIRCH, Karen BOURKE, Timothy COZENS, Michael DERKACH, Susan BIRD, Ian DUNBAR, Scott ELLWYN, Meghan GOLDBERG, Peter GRIFFITHS, Wiley HALLER, Mike HENDERS, Kevin HIGGINS, Melanie HOBSON, Jeff HUMPHREY, Linda HUTCHINSON, Jenny JOBES, Kirsten JOLLYMORE, Richard KARLGREN, Roland KENT, Laura KURZ, Ryan MATHESON, Catherine MATHESON, Rochelle MORE, Gordon MORSON, Brad NURANEY, Asim RUSSELL, Dean SHEARD, Danny SHELLENBERG, Blair WADE, Cory WEINBREN, Gary WING, Julia INTERMEDIATE B CONCERT BAND ADLER, Colin AHLEN, Karl ASHTON, Chrissy ASHTON, David ATKINS, Tom BERTRAM, Darcy BIRCH, Chris BOGARDUS, Jonty BRYDON, Candace BULOWSKI, Chris CAMPBELL, Shawn

CHERNOV, Tenya DAWON, Eric DAWON, Michelle DIROM, Fiona DORMAN, Marie DUKE, Cameron EBY, Jenny FOX, Sharon FRY, Barb SIMENS, Diane SIMPSON, Chris SMITH, Craig SMITH, Kevin TAPP, Sven THORBURN, Ryan GILBERT, Lin GUISTINI, Carla HERSCHMILLER, Sean HIGGINS, Carole HORVATH, Susanne HUGHES, Stephanie INKSTER, Tommy JAKOBSEN, Michelle KASSAMALI, Jamshyd LANCASTER, Deana LILLY, Barbara MACKIE, David MALECOT, David MURPHY, Bridget NELSON, Brian PATENTE, Jodie PASSMORE, Linda PISTAWKA, Jason QUINN, Janna RANTZ, Sandra SENENKI, Barbara VAZZOLER, Kolin WELLS, Andrew WITHERS, Gord WOHLGEMUTH, Tony WOOD, Kathy

80 ~ Gold in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto

INTERMEDIATE ‘A’ BAND MEMBERS FLUTE Lana Parente Shellie Fentiman (piccolo) ChiyokoKakino Christine Keitel Sandy Kunz OBE Alex Panton CLARINET Alexandra Carr* Stephen Bourke Colleen Gray Alan Jonsson Tracy Josling Lara Lynn Charlene Wall ALTO SAXOPHONE Sian Johnston Mark Hewett Rob Maingot BARITONE SAXOPHONE Chris Lilly TRUMPET NooshinKhoshkhesal Lars Ahlen Jan Manning Steven Quelch Pat Reid TROMBONE TimoIkavalko BARITONE Torben Sherwood TUBA Danna Johnson PERCUSSION Frani Booth Kelly Kavanagh

Greg Matheson TENOR SAXOPHONE Brad Lawrence Doug Nelson *Concert Mistress ORCHESTRA MEMBERS VIOLIN Annette Borek* Ann Marie Drewa Michelle Easto Pam Gray Sandy Gillis Derek Gordon Marni Heed Jennifer Harris Andre Kroecher Janet Laking Erin McConnell Ingrid Morse Sonya Muller Caroline Nielson Andrea Philpotts Margaret Pope Shari Thorson Julie Walchli Billie Walia Stephen Wurz PERCUSSION Tina Gilbertson Julie Vanderspek FRENCH HORN David Smart Brad Wing TROMBONE Wendy McMorran Bruce Hoadley VIOLA Andrew Duckles Nancy Ferguson Ashley Kroeche

Who’s in the Bands and Orchestras ? Helen Willoughby-Price CELLO Jason Duckles Holden Jung ShareenSayani FLUTE Katie Milligan OBOE Dean Noel CLARINET Daphne Deans AnaarSajoo Elizabeth Smart BASS Bob Rebagliati PIANO Roger Wecker BASSOON Ella Ferman TRUMPET Pam Desrosiers Rick Robson *Concert Mistress

HOPKINS, Nancy JARVIS, Bob KEE, Barb KEE, Kathy KING, Owen KLASSEN, Stephen LEIGH, Jamie LEUNG, Ada MACDONALD, Jeff MARR, Rob MCLENNAN, Ken MCMORRAN, Wendy MORSE, Philip NASSEFAT, Mani NEILSON, Chris NELSON, Deirdre NOEL, Dean OLSON, Barb PEARCE, Mike RANKIN, Michelle RICHTER, Chris SHANDRO, Matt SHEARD, Heidi SIMENS, Karen SMART, David STEFANYK, Novalei STRATTON, Dawn TOOLAN, Sandy TOWN, Cathy WING, Brad WONG, Neil WOOD, Lesley WOODCOCK, Brian

JUNIOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE AHLEN, Lars ASHTON, Chrissy BIRCH, Chris BOGARDUS, Jonty BOOTH, Frani DORMAN, Marie DUKE, Cameron EBY, Jenny FRY, Barb HEWETT, Mark IKAVALKO, Timo JOHNSON, Danna KAVANAGH, Kelly KHOSHKHESAL, Nooshin LILLY, Chris MAINGOT, Rob NELSON, Brian PARENTE, Lana QUELCH, Steven REID, Pat SIMPSON, Chris THORBURN, Ryan

SENIOR CONCERT BAND DEANS, Daphne DODDS, Pat DUKE, Ian FERMAN, Ella FERRY, Jane GILBERTSON, Tina GORDON, Shawn HARRIS, Julie HEED, Janik HENDERS, Kim HOFFMAN, Ken www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 81

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OUR DIRECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Hume Backun Roger Wecker

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The Senior Jazz Ensemble placed first at the Surrey Jazz Festival on February 2nd. Junior Jazz placed second.

82 ~ Silver in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City

Silver inCanadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City CONTENTS FESTIVALS

CONCERTS

CAMP MIRIAM

SECONDARY CHORAL VIEWPOINT STEVE 254 WOODYARD

At the U.B.C. Concert Band Festival the following Handsworth musicians were chosen for the two honour bands: Phil Morse, Ken Hoffman, Neil Wong, Daphne Deans, Ada Leung, Janik Heed, and Bob Jarvis. The junior and senior jazz ensembles placed first and second respectively at the Kiwanis Jazz Festival on February 18 & 19. All our concert bands: junior, intermediate A & B and senior, placed in the top three places at the Coquitlam Concert Band Festival. The senior and junior jazz emsembles placed first and second at the New Westminster Jazz Festival where Chris Neilson won a scholarship for outstanding solo work.

Both Handsworth jazz ensembles were invited to the Canadian School Jazz Championships in Quebec City, May 15-20. Only the senior jazz ensemble will be attending thanks to the fundraising efforts of our parents organization.

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1985 Camp Miriam - Band Retreat Senior Band Retreat The 1985-86 Handsworth Music Program began with a very successful Senior Band Retreat held September 27-29, at Camp Miriam on Gabriola Island. The amusing skits along with the famous scavenger hunt, stood out as memorable camp events … as well as the great music, fun and “camaraderie” shared by all.

Morrie was the guest director at Camp Mirian where we went every September. I couldn’t afford to go to the North Van School District Outdoor School. The price was low for Camp Miriam on Gabriola Island. They had to do everything ourselves. I organized kitchen teams. We bought our own food. It was true retreat. We had a cleaning team. Great for cameraderie!

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Mary Hume Backun: In September ‘85 my husband, Morrie, was invited by Bob to Camp Miriam to be a guest conductor. The camps were amazing. Prior to teaching at Handsworth, I hadn’t been involved in a program that went away for a weekend just to bond with the students. Morrie was still involved with Ward Music at this time and it had probably the largest selection of sheet music and band music departments in town. Morrie’s family purchased Ward Music in the early sixties. His grandfather, Abe Fratkin, and his uncle, Dick Fratkin came out to Vancouver to run the business. Morrie was only six when his mother and family moved to Vancouver (after the death of his father) from Moose Jaw to join the family business. He has vivid memories of growing up and being a part of the family business at Ward Music on Hastings Street. The Fratkin/ Backun family really expanded the breadth of knowledge that became the trade mark of Ward Music.

Mary Hume Backun: Morrie was still involved with Ward Music at this time and it had probably the largest selection of sheet music and band music departments in town. Morrie’s family purchased Ward Music in the early sixties.

84 ~ Silver in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City

Camp Miriam on Gabriola Island was an annual retreat for the band and often included guest artists. But mostly it was a chance for the members of the program to bond and begin to work together for the coming year.

Band rehearsal at Camp Miriam. Brass sectional. Bob did his own brass sectionals. Morrie likely took the woodwind section. Morrie was married to Mary by this time. Morrie was a talented musician and had a lot of good advice for the kids.

Bob caught with his mouth full. Rick Robson with his wife Sandy in back on right. He was a band director who came along to help. Rick taught band in the Handworth feeder program Canyon Heights and Cleveland. The staff was all very knowledgeable and it was truly a family affair. Morrie left the business in 1999 to form his own clarinet company. Morrie does a lot of travelling still today with his company Backun Musical Services. He met Woody Allen one time in a clarinet factory in France. Morrie was trying out a clarinet and when he finished he

started talking in English. Woody swung around because he hadn’t expected to hear an English voice and said, “I am sure glad I am not competing against you.”Morrie without losing a beat said, “I‘m sure glad I am not competing in a comedy festival with you.”

Mary Hume Bachun: Morrie does a lot of travelling still today with his company Backun Musical Services. He met Woody Allen one time in a clarinet factory in France.

1985

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1985

Concerts

ABOVE: Handsworth Senior Brass Ensemble playing in the Capilano Mall in January 85. Rick Robson (upper left) assisted for a couple of years at Handsworth but not officially on the timetable.

ABOVE: Mary Hume Backun conducting at the Christmas Concert 85.

LEFT: Senior Concert Band performing in the Night of Music. Chris Best: I asked Mary where she started playing in a band. Mary Hume Backun: I began playing instrumental music in the grade seven band at Bishop Pinkham Junior High School. My first band teacher was Mary MacLachlan. In addition to teaching, she held a position as a violinist with the Calgary Philharmonic. I only studied with her for a year but it was the beginning of a lifelong love for music. I also had the privilege of working with Marilyn Massey for a year in grade eight before another very influential teacher came on board named, Michael Klazek.

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Girls always wore vests and the guys wore jackets. The vests might have been optional, Bob cannot recall.

86 ~ Silver in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City

The Handsworth Christmas Concert was always a big deal but this year it seemed to be a really big deal with every group performing.

ABOVE: Senior Jazz playing at the Christmas Concert. Percussionist Chris Neilson. Chris was an enthusiastic percussionist and always did a good job. His family was always very supportive of the program as well.

BELOW: JUNIOR GOLD performing at the Christmas Concert.

ABOVE: SENIOR JAZZ in concert placed second at Musicfest that year.

Handsworth’s Senior Jazz Ensemble, which took second place honours in the senior jazz competitions at the Kiwanis Festival will perform at handsworth’s Spring Concert March 9.

1985

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1985

Concerts At the Handsworth Spectacular II Concert held in February the orchestra was directed by Mary Bachun and Roger Wecker. Senior Concert Band was directed by Mary Backun and Bob Rebagliati. One of the pieces they played was Harlem Nocturne with David Branter as the alto saxophone soloist. Mary Hume: Dave Branter has such a soul to his playing. Dave has a connection through his music and also through his words when he talks about jazz that really resonates. He was a guest soloist and played Harlem Nocturne at the Handsworth Sound Spectacular Concert at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver in February ’85. Both David and his wife Julia Nolan bring a real strength to music education. Dave still teaches at Vancouver Community College and Julia is Head of Saxophone Studies at UBC and also now at Kwantlen University.

ABOVE: Prelude Concert Chris Best: I asked Mary what the music department at the University of Calgary was like when she attended. Mary Hume Backun: The University of Calgary had a small music department in those days but it has grown. I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance in 1980. During my time at the university, I partici-

r II ectacula p S th r o enior Handsw worth s s d n a H g the est alto featurin stra. Gu e h c r o nd Branter. bands a t David is lo o s e n ver ’s Vancou saxopho th r o N t , y 26 a Bachun Februar e. Mary tr a e h T ial iate A Centenn ntermed I e th f o bson, director Rick Ro . d n a B t Concer tor conduc t studen pated in the bands and orchestras. Ray McLeod conducted the wind ensembles. He was another mentor. He was a strong advocate for music and of young people.

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Mary Hume Backun : My passion for band music started with my school music program in Calgary. The junior and senior high programs were phenomenal. There were both wind ensembles and marching bands in the Central Memorial High School program, as our director, Robert Eklund, was from the American tradition.

88 ~ Silver in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City

ABOVE: The Handsworth Orchestra playing a piece called The Typewriter with Fran Booth playing The Typewriter. Fran is a band director in Squamish. WE tried to do a novelty number at least once

ABOVE: Awards Night, Ken Hoffman playing soprano saxophone.

a year.

Chris Best: I asked Mary which instruments she plays professionally and she said, Mary Hume Backun: Though I started as a clarinetist in high school, I took up the flute as well. My main professional instrument is the clarinet, though I do play flute and some saxophone as a doubler in musical productions. Back in Calgary I also took part in the Calgary Youth Orchestra.

l clariprincipa e th m y, I a Opera, Currentl couver n a V e r th ompany netist fo ith the c w n e e b e as the and hav erform p o ls a 86. I s Gate since 19 or Lion f t e in r l cla Symprincipa Pacific e th d n a o had le. I als Sinfonia b m e s n Wind E ond phonic ying sec la p f o ilege CBC the priv with the t e in r la its sc 1985 to and bas m o r f a rchestr Radio O ar final ye

Robert Eklund had a keen vision for his program and we were able to travel abroad and participate in some memorable trips.

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1985

Festivals

Since Christmas our bands, orchestra and choir have been successfully involved in many competitions. In the Surrey Jazz Festival on February 2, the Senior Jazz Ensemble placed first, while the Junior Jazz Ensemble placed second, and both rhythm sections won their respective competitions. As the outstanding soloist, Ken Hoffman won a $2,000 scholarship to the Berkley School of Music. At the UBC Concert Band Festival the following Handsworth musicians were chosen for the two honour bands: Phil Morse, Ken Hoffman, Neil Wong, Daphne Deans, Ada Leung, Janik Heed and Bob Jarvis

The BC Music Educators Convention selected Ken Hoffman and Neil Wong for the Provincial Honour Jazz Ensemble.

The Senior & Junior Jazz Ensembles placed first & second at the New Westminster Jazz Festival where Chris Neilson won a scholarship for outstanding solo work. Both bands were invited to the Canadian School Jazz Championships in Quebec City, May 15-20. The Senior Jazz Ensemble will be attending, thanks to the fund raising abilities of our Music Parents

1985

The Senior & Junior Jazz Ensembles placed first & second at the New Westminster Jazz Festival. Both photos of 1984-85 Jazz ensembles

90 ~ Silver in Canadian Stage Band Festival in Quebec City

The Junior & Senior Jazz Ensembles placed first and second respectively, at the Kiwanis Jazz Festival on February 18 & 19. All our concert bands, Junior, Intermediate A & B and Senior, placed in the top three places at the Coquitlam Concert Band Festival. All groups played well at the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival April 15-18. The Intermediate B Concert Band placed second, the Junior Concert Band tied for second, the Saxophone Quartet placed first and the Senior Woodwind Ensemble received a first place certificate. Many individual Handsworth students performed exceptionally well at the Kiwanis Festival: Ken Hoffman and Blair Schellenberg placed second in the duet competitions; Ilga Grants placed first in the very competitive flute solo;

Stephanie Finn placed first in the cello competition; Jane Farrow won two firsts and one second in the voice competition. Congratulations to all musicians and singers who have performed so well over the past year

Winning jazz band back home HANDSWORTH Senior Jazz Band under the direction of Mr. Bob Rebagliati returned home this weekend with the Silver Medal Award for their outstanding performance in the Canadian Stage Band Festival held in Quebec City. The Festival consisted of competitive bands from throughout Canada and the United States, plus the performance of top quality professional musicians. Four members of the Senior Jazz Band were chosen to join the “All Star” band which consisted of outstanding musicians chosen for their individual skills. They are: Ian Duke, drums, Bob Jarvis, trombone, Ken Hoffman, alto saxophone and Chris Neilson, vibraphone. Next week the public will be given the opportunity to hear this band and other award winning Handsworth bands at the high school.

HANDSWORTH Senior Jazz Band under the direction of Mr. Bob Rebagliati returned home this weekend with the Silver Medal Award for their outstanding performance in the Canadian Stage Band Festival held in Quebec City.

1985

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1986

OUR DIRECTORS: Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Mary Hume Backun Roger Wecker

1986

Handsworth’s bands and orchestra participated in a Salute to the Royals at the Ontario Pavilion on May 2nd, 1986.

92 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

Gold at Nationals inVancouver’ at Expo 86 CONTENTS FESTIVALS

EXPO 86

CONCERTS

NATIONALS

100

DENNY BOYD

102

B.C. HONOUR BAND

104

Handsworth won the intermediate gold and three other golds, put five soloists in the jazz and concert idioms on all-star bands and a Handsworth Grade 11 student, Nooshim Khoshkhesal won a medal and a $1,500 scholarship for her lead and solo trumpet ability. That’s right, I said her. Nooshim is a girl of Iranian extraction who, they say, can pin you to the wall with her trumpet. Denny Boyd Mary Backun, one of two Handsworth band teachers, says, “Jazz has always been a successful idiom at Handsworth, thanks

“Jazz is becoming more of an accepted music in high schools. And we really do play jazz, we aren’t just reading notes when we solo.” Jenny Eby

1986

to the enthusiasm of Bob Rebagliati, who started the program. What we are seeing now is kids striving for a professional standard, beyond what you’d expect of them.”

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 93

1986 Festivals Mary Hume Backun: By ’86 we consciously made the decision if we were going to make the Handsworth music program be for all the students not just the jazz students then we really needed to build up the concert bands. There were many good music programs in the schools of North Vancouver at Argyle, Carson Graham and at others. Bob Rankin instilled the feeling in us all that we were on the North Van team, not competitors.

n for a shingto a W to n ront row nd dow yer in f k the ba la o p to e n b o o B mb pestry ion. Tro s for Ta s k r r e o iv w d w quick french who no tually a ssmore c a a P is g t e r e mp is G l on tru . The gir . o Singh ic s u M Michek d e m a n yer horn pla

1986

ABOVE: Westerrn Washington Jazz Festival

94 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

Gold awards for both the Senior jazz and Senior Concert Bands and six students selected for the All Star Bands at the national Finals.

ABOVE RIGHT: Handsworth Secondary jazz bands have got the music in them. The bands won seven trophies at the recent Surrey Jazz Festival. Both the Junior and Senior bands, conducted by Bob Rebagliati, were considered best bands in their respective age class. Above, Michiko Singh on trumpet and Donna Johnson on bass guitar give a tune. The other band members and the school’s haul of trophies from the Festival are in the background.

ABOVE: The New Westminster Hyak Jazz Festival

1986 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 95

1986 ALL STARS Chosen for the All Star Choir from Argyle were Linnea Sharples, Derrick Christian and Georgia Tyrrell. Mike Parr made first trombone in the intermediate All Star Band from Argyle and David Pay was selected first alto saxophone in the junior

The students were performing in front of Expo crowds, which numbered over 100,000 that day.

All Star Band. From Handsworth the six students selected for the All Star bands included trumpet players Nooshin Khoshkhesal and David Ashton, trombonists Jeff Seddon and Bob Jarvis, tenor saxophone player Blair Schellenberg and clarinet player Mike Eby. Khoshkhesal also won a $!,000 Berklee College scholarship.

1986

ABOVE: Another view of the harbor with the yacht on the next page getting ready to let Prince Charles and Diana depart.

96 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

Music students from Handsworth, Argyle and Carson Graham Secondary Schools competed against 7,800 others from across Canada.

Expo 86

Handsworth music teachers are Bob Rebagliati and Mary Bachun. At Argyle the music teachers are Janet Warren and Ken Osterreicher, and at Carson Graham the music teachers are Rob Karr and Peter Taylor. Rob Karr, one of the festival organizers, said the schools did “extremely well,” and North Vancouver was better represented than any other region in Canada at the invitation-only awards festival. “It’s really a credit to the music programs in North Vancouver,” he said. “The size of the festival was really phenomenal, and it was the first time a national music festival has gone on at a world festival. We literally had world famous adjudicators.”

The performance venues included the Plaza of Nations, 86th Street, Waves Cabaret, Flying Club, the Xerox Theatre and the Kodak Bowl.

The band was playing for the arrival of Prince Charles and lady Diana.

Prince to had o h p p to said he Yacht in on board. Bob re but : E V O AB na s the and Dia . and wa Charles ey knew the b were on board th t y doubted sure knew the while the yach g d rt yin the ban to depa and pla ls b a y e o th R Below is ed to allow the er manouv a of Nations. laz at the P

1986 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 97

1986

Concerts

Sunday, October 5, 1986 – North Shore News Handsworth holds fashion fundraiser HANDSWORTH SCHOOL Senior Concert Band has been invited to represent Canada in the Pacific Basin Band Festival held in Honolulu, Hawaii. The band will be one of 12 international groups participating, and the only one from Canada. The festival takes place from March 25 to 29, 1987, at the University of Hawaii. Parents and students are embarking on fundraising activities to raise money to attend the festival. The first event will be a fashion show at Handsworth School 7:30pm on October 7 in the large gym. HANDWORTH SECONDARY School’s Senior Stage Band’s horn section let loose at Centennial Theatre last week as part of a fundraising benefit. The money raised will go towards the band’s operational costs. Both the 20-member senior stage band, directed by Bob Rebagliati, and the 15-member junior jazz band performed.

HANDSWORTH PENNY DRIVE

ABOVE: Band members Barb (with flute) and Nooshin (with trumpet) model Elimar Fashions by Ninna Sherwood. The band is presenting a fashion show fundraiser Oct. 7 at 7:30 pm.

1986

Music students raise funds THE PENNIES are beginning to pile up in Handsworth Secondary’s collection jar. The jar is always present now at the performances given by the 250 or so students in the school who are involved in the music program. And with two jazz bands, four concert bands, an orchestra and choir, there’s plenty of opportunity for Handsworth students to become involved in music. Led by department head Bob Rebagliati and Clara Sparks, the music students also are assisted by a parents’ advisory committee. “This is a strong group of parents who work very hard to organize tours, uniforms, busing and the other details for the kids,” says Sparks. The penny drive and collection jar were ideas the parents came up with to help raise the funds needed for the students to participate in various musical activities. Sara Congdon, A Grade 12 bass clarinet player whose mother Rebecca Congdon is head of the parents’ advisory committee, enjoys watching her progress and that of fellow players from year to year. “I’ve learned a lot, travelled to competitions, and met a lot of interesting people,” says Congdon.

HANDSWORTH SCHOOL Senior Concert Band has been invited to represent Canada in the Pacific Basin Band Festival held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

98 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

HALLOWEEN DANCE Oct. 29 . 7:30 to 10:00 Admission – Food Item & Costume Come join the gang!

A PERFORMANCE by the senior choir was one of the highlights of Handsworth Secondary’s Senior Night of Music, held recently at Centennial Theatre. The event helped raise funds for the school’s music program.

Many thanks for your letter and tickets for the Handsworth School Homecoming Concert. Please also extend my congratulations to the students for their excellent performance and recognition at the National Festival at Expo and for the invitation received to appear at the Pacific Basin Band Festival. As you indicate this is a great honour for the students and both they, the band and orchestra leaders and the parents can be very proud of Handsworth’s accomplishments. Mayor, Marilyn Baker

Public performances by the Handsworth bands will be taking place at Handsworth School on Tuesday, Oct. 28 (Junior Night of Music) and Wednesday, Oct. 29 (Senior Night of Music).

A cake was donated by the Super-Valu in the Edgemont Shopping Centre to the music department for all the fine music they supplied the mall with over the year. 28-5-86, thanks to the band parents association.

Handsworth Spectacular III, Centennial Theatre, February 26. featuring Gene Ramsbottom, clarinetist.

ABOVE: Junior Gold Band with Mary Backun conducting on a band trip. Two adjudicators of the Senoir Band were Phil Nimmons and Tommy Banks for the Expo Festival.

1986

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1986 THREE North Vancouver schools took top honors at the National Music Festival held at Expo Sunday. Mary Hume Backun: Expo 86 put Vancouver on the map and the Nationals put the whole breadth of the Handsworth music program on the map. It was exciting to see it all unfold before us. To see the celebrities and royalty was great fun as well. It made me feel like a kid again so I can imagine how it made the kids feel. I also felt immense pride at the growth of those students at the time we were working towards that goal. Bruce left at the end of that year. There was such a feeling of pride between all four of us Handsworth music teachers. I left at the end of ’86 to go on maternity leave.

1986

Mary Hume Backun: Expo 86 put Vancouver on the map and the Nationals put the whole breadth of the Handsworth music program on the map.

100 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

National Stage Band Finals HANDSWORTH GOLD Competing against 27 other bands, Handsworth Senior Jazz band and Handsworth Senior Concert band both won a gold award in the 17 and under age group. Handsworth Junior Jazz band came first out of 14 bands and Handsworth Intermediate A concert band also won a gold award in the 15 and under age category, competing against 27 bands. From Argyle Secondary School the 18-member Senior Jazz Choir took the highest honor in its category, competing against 12 other choirs. A gold medal was also awarded to the 15-member Junior Jazz Choir, competing against three other groups. The four-member Argyle School vocal combo was awarded a gold medal for its rendition of the Kirby Shaw arrangement of Girl Talk, competing against eight other groups. The Carson Graham Secondary silver award and from its band, drummer Paul Townsend, bass player Richard Ernst, soloists Elena Kirchner and Jeff Harris were selected to play in the jazz honor ensemble. Bass trombone player John Collins and lead tenor Marci Cole were also selected to the honor ensemble from the Carson Graham jazz band.

Competing against 27 other bands, Handsworth Senior Jazz band and Handsworth Senior Concert band both won a gold award in the 17 and under age group.

1986

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 101

1986 High schools hot on jazz DENNY BOYD I was standing in a soft drizzle near the BC pavilion open stage when 22 kids in crisp white shirts and blouses took places onstage, fiddled with valves, reeds and strings and then just flat out exploded into a rolling jazz sound. They went into a ballad and a kid with an alto sax stood up and rooted fondly among the chord structures of the piece, immersing himself in it, getting it all over his hands and face. I figured them to be one of the big schools from Ontario, maybe a West Vancouver high school. But somebody said, “Summerland.” Summerland! A population of 7,500, 9-1/2 pages in the back of the Penticton phone book, yet they’ve got a jazz band I’d fight my way through a legion of heavy-metal rockers to hear. The band from Chinguacousy High School near Toronto bit delicately into the Stan Kenton arrangement of Here’s That Rainy Day. It’s mostly a brass chart and one trombone talking out of turn can create cacophony. The sound drifted smokily to the adjudicators table, where two of Canada’s best old big band leaders, Tommy Banks and Bobby Hales were sitting. Hales looked at Banks and said, “God help us,” in the manner of John Wayne to Ward Bond on seeing thousands of well-armed Sioux coming over the rise at them. Jazz, frequently written off as stone dead, has been vibrantly, healthily alive in Vancouver the past two weeks, nursed to glowing vitality by high school kids whose musical horizons have pushed them beyond the pursuit of a Kiss T-shirt. The Canadian Stage and Concert Band Festival and the Canadian Vocal Festival held were held at Douglas College and spilled onto the Expo grounds. They had 400 bands, combos and choirs from all over Canada and the US gathered for juried competition, workshops, concerts and informal jam sessions. BC kids did wonderfully well. The graceful Chinguacousy band from Ontario was the gold medal winner for senior high school bands but Nanaimo Senior Secondary, a previous gold medal winner, took the silver and Robron Secondary of Campbell River won the bronze. Handsworth of North Vancouver won the intermediate gold and three other golds, put five soloists in the jazz and concert idioms on allstar bands and a Handsworth Grade 11 student, Nooshim Khoshkhesal won a medal and a $1,500 scholarship for her lead and solo trumpet ability. That’s right, I said her. Nooshim is a girl of Iranian extraction who, they say, can pin you to the wall with her trumpet. Mary Backun, one of two Handsworth band teachers, says, “Jazz has always been a successful idiom at Handsworth, thanks to the enthusiasm of Bob Rebagliati, who started the program. What we are seeing now is kids striving for a professional standard, beyond what you’d

1986

Handsworth of North Vancouver won the intermediate gold and three other golds, put five soloists in the jazz and concert idioms on all-star bands.

102 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

Denny Boyd trumpet on three of the Handsworth medal groups and she said, “Jazz is becoming more of an accepted music in high schools. And we really do play jazz, we aren’t just reading notes when we solo.” Jenny’s brother Mike, a Grade-niner, made the junior all-star band on clarinet and sax. Hales backs Jenny’s claim. “High school bands have always been good on ensemble work but what is emerging now is mature solo work. These kids can read changes and they can play ad lib jazz. Nanaimo had great soloists, so does Campbell River. I tell you, it’s a shock. Some of the bands are so good I’d panic if they asked me to sit in with them.” A month ago, on cable television, I saw the Nanaimo senior band and was impressed with a tenor sax player, a redhead who looked like Ronny Howard in his Opie era. His name is Eric Likkel. He was trained on classical clarinet but a year ago he told Nanaimo band teacher Brian Stovel he wanted to learn jazz. Stovel handed him a tenor sax and a stack of Coleman Hawkins albums and said, “Here’s your homework.” Likkel made the Canadian all-star band this year as did band-mates Sean Stovel on trombone and drummer Billy (Sticks) Hicks. And so did Nick Scherzinger, that alto sax player from Summerland.

ABOVE: Senior Concert Band with Mary Backun conducting.

RIGHT: Junior Jazz at Expo 86 at Canadian Stage Band Festival after winning first place. Micheko Singh is on the right.

Handsworth Grade 11 student, Nooshim Khoshkhesal won a medal and a $1,500 scholarship for her lead and solo trumpet ability.

1986

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1986

B.C. Honour Band

Mary Hume Backun: For me as a teacher coming into the Handsworth program was like winning the lottery. It was such a gift to work alongside really established musicians and feel that I could share my voice and it would be heard. We were all really close friends at the time as well. It doesn’t always happen. North Vancouver was a pilot program in terms of music. Bob Rankin had a vision and the schools all had strong directors. The support from the district was way ahead of its time in allowing things to mature. I remember Norma Wilson was an enormous boost to getting the strings program up and running in the district in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Norma and Vic Weins were very influential. The introduction of team teaching also played a big part in the program’s success district wide.

1986

104 ~ Gold at Nationals at Vancouver’s Expo 86

Mr. B. Rebagliati Music Co-ordinator Handsworth Secondary School 1044 Edgewood Road NORTH VANCOUVER, BC V7R 1Y7 Dear Mr. Rebagliati: I would like to thank you on behalf of our Council members for the complimentary tickets we received to attend the “Year-End Concert” featuring Handsworth’s National Gold Medal Winners held on May 26th and May 28th. Congratulations on having such a successful year – keep up the good work! Yours very truly,

ABOVE: Phil Nimmons talking to the Handsworth Senior Jazz Band.

Marilyn Baker MAYOR

ABOVE: Phil Nimmons just after giving his adjudication of our band. His comments were, “I am not sure where you designed your climax in your ballad.” Bob’s comment, “We still came first.”

1986

www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 105

1987

12 international groups participated in the festival in Honolulu and Handsworth was the only one from Canada. They were invited to represent Canada. March 25 to 29 at the University of Hawaii.

106 ~ Pacific Basin Band Festival in Honolul

Pacific Basin Band Festival in Honolulu CONTENTS

OUR DIRECTORS Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Gwen Sparks Roger Wecker

FESTIVALS

110

HONOLULU

106

CONCERTS

108

Held in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Pacific Basin Music Festival is widely regarded as the premier event of its kind throughout the Pacific Islands. Attendees come from all over the world to participate in juried musical performances and hone their skills in seminars and workshops run by industry experts. Additionally, the festival provides musicians with a unique opportunity to network and collaborate with peers. 1987 will be the 12th anniversary of this long standing festival and promises to be a incredible year. Festival activities include an adjudicated group festival performance, workshops, group reading exchanges (Instrumental Groups), Select Choir (Choral Groups), as well as clinics, seminars, recreational activities, and many opportunities for international exchange through social functions and music. Exchange opportunities for music educators and group directors are also part of the festival, including a social event for

While on tour in Hawaii the band toured several of the local sites besides playing in the festival.

1987 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 107

1987

Concerts

Chris Best: Claire Sparks joined the Handsworth music program in 1987 when Mary Hume Backun left on maternity leave. She had a lot to say about some ground breaking trips she went on and much more. Claire Sparks: The first year I was at Handsworth we took about ninety kids in the Junor Band to Haida Gwaii. That was a defining moment for me. It is not a place one would think to go for a band trip but it was brilliant. Not all the parents were thrilled about it. We would be staying in people’s houses. North Vancouver was fairly affluent compared to where we were going. Our first night in Masset we all slept on the gym floor. Then we were billeted.

1987

ABOVE: Clayton James

Claire Sparks: The first year I was at Handsworth we took about ninety kids in the junor band to Haida Gwaii. That was a defining moment for me. It is not a place one would think to go for a band trip but it was brilliant.

108 ~ Pacific Basin Band Festival in Honolulu

Another amazing trip was to Salt Lake City. We visited the Mormom Tabernacle. Bob and I stayed with the band director at his home. He was a lovely man. There was one day we had to get up early. He didn’t want to wake his wife so he said he would take us out for breakfast. We didn’t have time to change. We both put on our conductor’s uniform, mine was a black and white tux. He took us to a truck stop just off the freeway. There were truckers everywhere. It was a great place for breakfast. The portions were big. I remember we walked into this truck stop and everyone looked

up. It was one of those moments. You could have heard a pin drop. It was very funny. We had lots of fun. I enjoyed the retreats as well. We did a retreat every year at Galiano Island, Camp Miriam with the kids in September. There was a bunch of kids who got some chewing tobacco and ate it. I caught them all doing something but I didn’t know what they were doing. They were all chewing the tobacco. When they saw me coming they swallowed the tobacco to hide the evidence. There about five of them. We were just getting on the ferry. We had to take a

convoy of taxis to go between the two ferries to get home. Bob was in one and I was in the last taxi with the five kids. I was in the front seat and they were all in the back. Soon they said, “We don’t feel so good.” I still didn’t know why. They were complaining of stomach pains and feeling sick. I was worried whether I was going to have a band. I was afraid it was food poisoning. One of them threw up on the back of my neck when he leaned forward. Continued on page 104

BELOW: UBC Honour Band Ensemble

Claire Sparks: Another amazing trip was to Salt Lake City. We visited the Mormom Tabernacle. Bob and I stayed with the band director at his home. He was a lovely man.

1987

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1987

Festivals

At this point I am feeling sorry for them. We pulled the taxi over to the side of the road and they were all sick on the grass. It wasn’t until we got back that we discovered it was chewing tobacco. I was livid and so was Bob! Bob phoned the parents of the boy who threw up on my jacket and had them pay for the dry cleaning. After that whenever the kid misbehaved I just told him to, “Go and have a chew!”

1987

Claire Sparks: We did a ton of festivals. Mary was both a friend and a mentor. There were not many women in the profession at the time. I remember one festival Bob and I went to. We shared the senior band. I would conduct a piece and then Bob would conduct. One of the adjudicators said, “You are not a bad conductor for a woman.” I couldn’t believe it! Bob was livid! I think they thought I was his assistant. He had quite a conversation

with the adjudicator, “She’s a colleague, she’s a teacher, she’s equal to me.” He was super that way. But there wasn’t a lot of women in the profession in those days. Even afterwards there still were not that many. I didn’t conduct in a skirt again. I started wearing a tuxedo looking outfit. I didn’t think it was an issue until that happened. I don’t think he meant to be offensive. It was just not very politically correct. Bob was a huge supporter of mine.

Claire Sparks: We did a ton of festivals. Mary was both a friend and a mentor. There were not many women in the profession at the time.

110 ~ Pacific Basin Band Festival in Honolulu

Chris Best: I asked Claire Sparks to tell me about her journey to Handsworth. Claire Sparks: I basically took over from Mary. She was my sponsor teacher on my final practicum. That’s how we met. I was teaching in West Vancouver at the time. She knew I was looking for something else. She brought me over. I graduated Eric Hamber and went to UBC where I studied music and education. I took one of my practicums at Handsworth. When I arrived Handsworth was considered a fabulous place to be for a new teacher. It was a bit of a machine for band. Bob was already a legend both locally and nationally. We team taught all the time. I stepped into what Mary had been doing when she went on maternity leave. I did all the concert bands and elementary feeder schools. We continued building on what was already a great program.

Claire Sparks: I graduated Eric Hamber and went to UBC where I studied music and education. I took one of my practicums at Handsworth. When I arrived Handsworth was considered a fabulous place to be for a new teacher.

1987

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1988

Handsworth senior music students attended Camp Miriam Retreat on Gabriola Island at the beginning of the school year in September.

112 ~ MusicFest in Calgary

Musicfest in Calgary CONTENTS CAMP MIRIAM

114

CALGARY

118

CONCERTS

116

RENEE HOOKS UP WITH JAZZ GREATS

120

MusicFest Canada is a competition festival, established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival (CSBF) in Toronto, in 1972, by Robert Richmond (founding president), Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner.

In order to qualify for MusicFest a band has to win a local festival either one of the Hyak, Surrey or Kiwanis Festivals. This band won the last first place trophy this festival awarded. As of 1989 there were no more first, second or third place

OUR DIRECTORS : Bob Rebagliati Bruce Hoadley Gwen Sparks Roger Wecker

1988

Bands and choirs are adjudicated by noted Canadian and US professionals in the jazz, band, and choral fields. Classifications are either by age (Jazz and Choral) or by an established level set by test piece (Concert Bands and Orchestras). Winning ensembles are ranked according to gold, silver, and bronze; awards and scholarships are also presented to individual musicians.

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1988

Camp Miriam Band Retreat LEFT: On the Gabriola Ferry. September was always great weather for this retreat. It was just for the Senior Concert Band. John Capon a professional trombone player who lived on Gabriola Island, often came and did sectionals with the band.

1988

ABOVE: Senior Retreat weekend at Camp Miriam again on Gabriola Island. The girls had their own cabins and the boys had their own cabins. We always had a scavanger hunt. Mike Eby playing contrabass clarinet.

114 ~ MusicFest in Calgary

ABOVE: Mark Rogers on the bottom of the pyramid. Mark was a wonderful professional bass player who came to assist at the camp this year.

1988

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1988

Concerts

HANDSWORTH PENNY DRIVE Music students raise funds The pennies are beginning to pile up in Handsworth Secondary’s collection jar. Handsworth Penny Drive Claire Sparks: The christmas concerts were a big deal. The bands would play their concert and the parents would serve desserts. They were filmed on television by the local Shaw station. They they used to broadcast the concerts over the holidays just as background music. At one of our Christmas concerts I fell over backwards off the podium while conducting. It was filmed so I saw myself fall. I don’t know how many times over the Christmas holidays whenever I put on the television, I saw myself fall off the podium. I survived!

BELOW: A PERFORMANCE by the senior choir was one of the highlights of Handsworth Secondary’s Senior Night of Music, held recently at Centennial Theatre. The event helped raise funds for the school’s music program.

The penny drive and collection jar were ideas the parents came up with to help raise funds needed for the students to participate in various musical activities. Rebecca Congdon is the head of the Parent’s Advisory Committee and has a daughter in the band in Grade 12, Sara.

Claire Sparks: I really appreciated that Bob was such a skilled percussionist. At Maple Ridge I finally got to have my own jazz band. We made it to the Nationals one year. That was because of what I learned from Bob.

After C laire lef t Anne some ch MacDo oir wor nald did k . Cam D chorus a g also did work. C hoir wa some Rankin s big un and die d e r B ob d somew year be hat afte fore Bo r he left b starte the d at Ha ndswor th.

1988

Claire Sparks: The christmas concerts were a big deal. The bands would play their concert and the parents would serve desserts.

116 ~ MusicFest in Calgary

Chris Best: I asked Claire Sparks why she left handsworth after only two years and where she went afterwards. Claire Sparks: I went on to do a lot of choral work after Handsworth. I also did some guitar as well as band of course. After Handsworth I spent a year at Fort Langley Junior which later became Langley School of the Arts. Then, I spent ten years at Maple Ridge Secondary School. We went from four classes of music to twenty-one classes. I didn’t want to leave Handsworth but I was married to someone who was a teacher at Fort Langley Junior. They were looking for another music teacher. We tried to get my husband into North Vancouver but they weren’t hiring so I moved to Langley. I look at Handsworth as my formative years. I learned a lot about percussion from Bob. There are not many band directors out there who are skilled on

ABOVE: Claire with the Senior Concerrt Band in Park Royal Mall. Both Bob and Claire shared conducting duties with the Senior Concert Band.

percussion. I decided I was going to pick his brain and learn as much as I could from him. I took that with me. As a result I had pretty strong rhythmn sections.

RIGHT: TUNING UP: Music director Bob Rebagliati leads Handsworth Secondary School jazz band practice in preparation for Christmas Concert

MusicFest 1988 was the last competitive MusicFest that rated bands as first, second, or third place.

1988 www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 117

1988

Calgary Music Tour Calgary Tour

ABOVE: Conducting an outdoor concert in downtown Calgary Claire Sparks: The Calgary trip was to the Nationals. We toured the Olympic Park. The kids had me sit at the top of the Olympic ski run. I am afraid of heights and have vertigo but I did it for the kids. It was a big jump.

We walked the length of the bobsled run. Bob always kept the standard of the music high and the kids always rose to the occasion but there was a lot of fun along the way too. It wasn’t just about making music. It was about making music and having fun. The kids were proud. There are kids teaching music today who I taught at Handsworth. Bob was all about excellence. That was a word that was very common in his vocabulary. Bob always brought in lots of guest musicians for the kids to work with. I don’t know if the kids always appreciated it because they were quite a priviledged group of kids. Until they left and went somewhere else and came back then they appreciated what he had done for them. I started a choir while I was at Handsworth. There were kids who wanted to be in music but they didn’t want to put in the time required for band. So I started a choir program. I went on to do a lot of choral afterwards at my next two schools.

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XVes Jeux olympiques d’hiver), was a multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada, between February 13 and 28, 1988 and were the first Winter Olympics to be held over a whole two week period. The group toured the site as can be seen in this photos.

1988

Claire Sparks: Bob and I put on a couple of musicals when I was at Handsworth. One was Guys and Dolls. I was into musicals. Bob conducted the pit orchestra and I coached the singers.

118 ~ MusicFest in Calgary

View from the top of the Olympic jump.

The host city was selected in 1981 over Falun, Sweden, and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Most events took place in Calgary while several skiing events were held in the mountain resorts of Nakiska and Canmore, west of the city.

1988

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1989

Renee hooks up with jazz greats!

Evelyn Jacob feature writer January 18, 1989 THE SLENDER figure of a woman looks out of place behind the piano at the smoke-filled Blue Note Jazz Club in New York. But this dingy room in the jazz capital of the world, where men – particularly black men – dominate the scene, is where North Vancouver’s Renee Rosnes made her mark as a jazz piano virtuoso. Not in recent memory has there been a Canadian jazz story like Rosnes’: having scored a Canada Council grant to study jazz in New York only 3-1/2 years ago, Rosnes, 26, has already toured with tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter, both huge jazz names; hooked up with trombonists J.J. Johnson and trumpeter Jon Faddis; and recorded with saxmen Gary Thomas and Sonny Fortune. Only a few years ago Rosnes was playing the Vancouver jazz circuit, doing the odd job with saxophonist Roy Reynolds and guitarist Oliver Gannon. Now the word off the Big Apple’s grapevine is that Rosnes may be up for a gig with jazz giant Miles Davis. “Gary (Thomas) who works with Miles told me that a friend of his had heard me and liked my stuff,” says Rosnes. “Gary’s from Baltimore so I thought hey, it was some guy from Baltimore. But then he said in this stern voice, ‘Now Renee I’m just going to say this to you once. If Miles Davis should call you, don’t be a fool – do it.’” The way things have been going for Rosnes lately, her chances of playing with Davis are looking extremely good. With little time for rest between three European tours – one with Shorter, another with Henderson and the third with her sextet Out of the Blue – Rosnes has been home in New York a total of three months last year. And 1989 promises to be no less hectic, with a trip to Brazil with Johnson, and in May, a US State Department tour of the Eastern Bloc nations with Faddis. Currently Rosnes is polishing off her own album for the Japanese label Toshiba-EMI, to be released in the US in April by Blue Note Records, featuring works with Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Branford Marsalis. It’s Rosnes’ first project as a group leader, but she says she still values the experience of working as a sideman. “I like it, but I’m not used to being a leader. I don’t want to stop being a sideman. Look at Wynton Marsalis – he’s so experienced that people won’t let him go back to being a sideman. I think that way you get too big, and I still want to work with and learn from a lot of great musicians.” “I’d love to work with Miles,” she says suddenly, “I would have died to play with him in the ‘60s. Just to be around him would be educational.” Rosnes has already received “training” from Cedar Walton, Mulgrew Miller and Jim McNeely, an impressive honor roll of keyboard tutors. Training for classical piano began at age three, but it wasn’t until Handsworth band conductor Bob Rebagliati exposed her to great jazz recordings that Rosnes became a jazz convert. “He’s (Rebagliati) the main reason why I got into jazz,” she says. “I didn’t even like jazz when I first heard it.” Despite making it into the big league, Rosnes clearly hasn’t lost her enthusiasm for her work: “I feel very fortunate to be where I am now,” she says modestly, “but people don’t hire you because you’re the greatest musician ever. It has a lot to do with attitude, determination and getting along with people.” WITH a little help from a Canada Council grant to study in New York, North Vancouver’s Renee Rosnes has gone from being a local jazz pianist to an acclaimed performer in the big leagues. Despite her sudden successes, which include working with famous jazz names like Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter, Rosnes remains modest and genuinely enthusiastic about her work.

1989

“Gary (Thomas) who works with Miles told me that a friend of his had heard me and liked my stuff,” says Rosnes. “Gary’s from Baltimore so I thought hey, it was some guy from Baltimore. But then he said in this stern voice, ‘Now Renee I’m just going to say this to you once. If Miles Davis should call you, don’t be a fool – do it.

120 ~ MusicFest in Calgary

Rosnes has already received “training” from Cedar Walton, Mulgrew Miller and Jim McNeely, an impressive honor roll of keyboard tutors.

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TOP JAZZ MEN.. Handsworth’s Tony Snead, Mark Follett, Dave Bridger and Leigh Grisewood were part of the group that won a trophy at the Surrey Jazz Festival. Tony also won a $2000 music scholarship.

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Four Gold Medals at New West Jazz Festival CONTENTS V.I. BAND TRIP

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FESTIVALS

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FLORIDA

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CONCERTS

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SEAWORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

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SPOTLIGHT FEATURE BOB REBAGLIATI 134

Handsworth captured four gold medals at the New Westminster Jazz Festival securing an invitation to the Pacific Coast Provincial Music Festival in May held at the University of B.C. The North Vancouver band under Bob Rebagliati swept the regional competition earning firsts in the junior and senior jazz categories. As well, Handsworth trombonist Greg Passmore was the top finalist in the individual competition, winning a $100 cash prize and

Handsworth secured a place at the Winnipeg MusicFest competition but travelled to Florida instead to the Seaworld Nusic Festival.

OUR DIRECTORS : Bob Rebagliati Roger Wecker Keith Woodward

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a $100 scholarship to the New Westminster Jazz Clinic this summer. The school was also awarded the best overall band trophy in the senior sweepstakes competition. www.handsworthmusic.com ~ 123

1990 Concerts HANDSWORTH PRESENTS JUZT JAZZ MON, APRIL 23 7:30PM LARGE GYM ADULTS: $4.00 SENIORS/STUDENTS $2.00

WED, FEB 7/90 “SPECTACULAR VI” EIGHTH-GRADER Melanie Beale and Derek Dolsen, Grade 9, prepare for the Handsworth Secondary School Spectacular VI tonight. The event, held at North Vancouver’s Centennial Theatre, will feature the school’s choir, string ensemble and bands, including Handsworth’s award-winning senior jazz band. The concert begins at 7:30pm. Tickets are$6 for adults, $3 for students and seniors. Guest artist: Mary Bachun

The month of October saw over two hundred of Handsworth’s young musicians put on an impressive first concert. “Homecoming 90” highlights included Mr. Woodward’s impersonation of Bart Simpson while leading the Intermediate “A” Band through “The Simpsons” theme and the return of many Handsworth grads who participated in the concert’s grand finale. The grads joined the Senior Concert Band for a thrilling overture, bringing to a climax two nights of mu-

Despite the icy roads and snowy conditions our Christmas Concert, “Sweet Music,” December 18th, was a successful festive affair. Seasonal music, delicious desserts, raffle prizes along with, of course, Mr. Woodward’s outrageous costume, added to the fun of this gala event.

FINAL EVENING OF MUSIC ‘90 JUNIOR CONCERT Monday, May 28, 1990 SENIOR CONCERT Wednesday, May 30, 1990 Adults: $3.00 Seniors/Students: $2.00 Please keep stub for Senior Concert SENIOR MAY REVUE HANDSWORTH WED, MAY 30 ~ MAIN GYM 7:30PM - $3/$2

BELOW: One of the evenings highlights at the Sweet Music Concert was a medley from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” played by Intermediate A and conducted by, a once again appropriately attired, Mr. Woodward.

sical festivities. Congratulations are due to the hard working music students that made up the pit orchestra for Handsworth’s highly successful musical production, “Grease.” Under the capable direction of Mr. Reb and Mr. Woodward, these students played the musical score like true professionals!

1990

photo coming

Over two hundred of Handsworth’s young musicians put on an impressive first concert. “Homecoming 90”

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nts took ix stude s , 0 9 9 val er 1 nd Festi f Octob a o B d r n u e o At the C Hon slow 990 UB thy Par 1 a K e th i, h c part in alters, Sawagu Mako Jason W : t: r z e z c a J n (Co ssmore; ). nne Pa o v Y Anglesio d o c an r a M d ollett an Mark F

LEFT: THAT’S ONE long banana split! Handworth Secondary band students created 15 feet of ice cream decadence in preparation for Sweet Music, their upcoming concert on Tuesday, Dec. 18. The concert will showcase all the musical groups at Handsworth. David Ryce (left) is ready with his spoon while Curtis Labounty decorates.

ABOVE: Handsworth School: Sweet Music. A Christmas concert with dessert. A showcase of four concert bands, two jazz bands, orchestra & string ensemble. Dec. 18 at 7pm in the main gym. Tickets: $5/$3.50

Sweet Music. A Christmas concert with dessert. A showcase of four concert bands, two jazz bands, orchestra & string ensemble.

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Festivals At the 9th annual Surrey Jazz Festival held February 9th, the Handsworth Secondary School Senior Jazz band placed first in their category and brought the trophy home to their school, and Handsworth student Anthony Snead won the Best Solo Trumpet in the individual artist category. His prize was $100 cash and a $2000 scholarship to the Berklee School of Music. The band will be featured at the Handsworth Spectacular VI concert, to be held at Centennial Theatre, Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:30pm. Handsworth captures jazz gold

SURREY JAZZ FESTIVAL FEB 9/’90 TOP JAZZ MEN … Handsworth’s (left to right) Tony Snead, Mark Follett, Dave Bridger and Leigh Grisewood with the winning trophy from the recent Surrey Jazz Festival. Tony also won a $2,000 music scholarship plus $100 cash for best solo trumpet.

HANDSWORTH SECONDARY School captured four gold medals at the recent New Westminster Hyack Jazz Festival, securing themselves an invitation to the Pacific Coast Provincial Music Festival held at the University of BC in May. The North Vancouver band, under leader Bob Rebagliati, swept the regional competition, earning firsts in the junior and senior jazz categories. As well, Handsworth trombonist Greg Passmore was the top finalist in the individual competition, winning a $100 cash prize and a $100 scholarship to the New Westminster Jazz Clinic this summer. The school was also awarded the best overall band trophy in the senior sweepstakes competition. Handsworth has already secured a place at the Winnipeg national music competition, but band members will travel to Florida to attend Spring Festival ’90 instead, said publicist Nancy Argue.

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Handsworth music students win four gold medals at the New Westminster Hyack Jazz Festival!

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Pacific Coast Provincial Music Festival Jazz bands get gold HANDSWORTH SCHOOL’S junior and senior jazz bands received gold ratings at the Pacific Coast Provincial Music Festival held at UBC last month. The festival is the top competition of the year for BC’s secondary school bands.

For Handsworth, the victory has been added to a successful year which saw the seniors winning the Surrey and Hyack Jazz Festivals in their category and the juniors stealing the title at the Hyack Festival. Last month, Handsworth’s senior and concert jazz bands won top honors at Spring Fest ’90 held in Florida. The school bands were the only Canadian to compete in the competition.

The Pacific Coast Music Festival, held at UBC on May 12th, is the top competition of the year for BC’s secondary school bands. Only the top five bands in the province are invited to participate. Both Handsworth’s Junior and Senior Jazz Bands received invitations The Seniors were invited for winning the Surrey Jazz festival, and their win at the New West ranked them as a force to be contended with in the Provincial Finals. The Juniors overcame stiff competition to win first place in the New West jazz festival and secure their spot. Under the direction of Bob Rebagliati, both bands won Superior (Gold) ratings at UBC, the highest ranking awarded in the festival. The wins are the culmination of a year of hard work and perseverance on the part of the students and Mr. Rebagliati.

Handsworth’s senior and concert jazz bands won top honors at Spring Fest ’90 held in Florida.

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1990 Chris Best: How did you end up teaching at Handsworth? Keith Woodward: Handsworth always had an excellent band program. I remember thinking that I would love to teach at Handsworth one day, as I had already been interviewed by Bob Rankin to TOC in North Vancouver—“Where the mind goes, the energy flows.” A year later, I got this call that Bob Rebagliati wanted to interview me to see if I would be a good fit for Handsworth. A few days after the interview I got this voice mail from Bob saying, “It’s a pleasure to inform you that

you have been accepted to teach at Handsworth.” For the first fifteen years I teamtaught with Bob. Only twenty-five percent of my time was at Handsworth. The rest was in Handsworth’s elementary feeder schools. I started with two elementary schools and then when the budget cuts came it increased to three and eventually four. Upon my move to full-time teaching grades 8-12 bands at Handsworth, I worked closely with the Handsworth Music Parents Association to help raise money for the music program at Handsworth.

Senior Band Retreat 1990 - Gabriola Island

The BC Fine Arts Council invited Handsworth Int. Concert Band to perform based on the schools previous reputation.

1990

...and after organizing 51 band tours, 116 field trips, and over a thousand performances, I came to realize that...

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Intermediate Band Trip to Van. Island

Music Concerts....Update

Students and parents of students have become my friends, and yes, I’ve even taught students of parents that I taught. Teaching the same band students from grade 5-12 allowed me to watch each mature in their own way. All I did was mentor them through early life, and bring JOY into their lives through music. I have fond memories of the students and me, playing our annual Christmas carols together in front of the shops in Edgemont Village on the Saturdays in December leading up to Christmas—bringing feelings of JOY to passers-by. The time I spent with students outside the classroom, during performances and tours, was most precious to me, as the students and I saw/heard/ felt each other as ONE in life through music…

The month of October saw over two hundred of Handsworth’s young musicians put on an impressive first concert. “Homecoming 90” Highlights included Mr. Woodward’s impersonation of Bart Simpson while leading the Intermediate A Band thoughThe Simpsons. Events that I remember most fondly over the years were never in the classroom, but were outside the school at band concerts and on band tours to five different continents. And it’s not even the concerts and tours that I remember so much; it’s my feelings about those people who have become dear to me. My two team-teaching band partners have become two of my closest friends.

Congratulations are due to the hard working music students that made up the pit orchestra for Handsworth’s highly successful musical production, “Grease.”Under the capable direction of Mr. Reb and Mr. Woodward, these students played the musical score like true professionals.

“Music is a form of energy that connects to our feelings. As live music is of the NOW, it helps us stay in the present moment. For 35 years (25 at Handsworth) I always think of what I do is mentor a team of musicians.

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1990

Senior’s Trip toFlorida

I finally made it to Handsworth with Reb: I sat down with Keith Woodward one day and asked him several questions about his teaching days. Chris Best: What were your responsibilities within the Handsworth music department? Keith: I co-coordinated and taught the grade 5-12 Handsworth family of schools’ Concert Band Program. I was responsible for over 400 band students and privately evaluated close to 600 students per year. I was responsible for directing 12 ensembles, which performed over 75 pieces per year at over 30 separate concerts. Co-directed the Handsworth Elementary Honour Band and the Handsworth Philharmonic Orchestra as extracurricular ensembles.

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Keith: I was responsible for directing 12 ensembles, which performed over 75 pieces per year at over 30 separate concerts.

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and the Seaworld Music Festival Chris Best: Where did you teach before Handsworth? Keith: I taught the concert band and concert choir at North Surrey Sr. Secondary and two zone elementary bands for a year after Don Murray retired. I spent many a day with Don as my mentor, learning his “old school” ways of teaching before he retired. Years later, my way to thank Don was to have him work with and guest conduct Respighi’s, Pines Of The Appian Way with the Handsworth Sr. Winds at one of our Centennial Theatre concerts. After the North Surrey gig, I taught concert and jazz band and concert and vocal jazz choir at H. D. Stafford Secondary in Langley along with two school-zone elementary bands and one ukulele class. I spent four months at D.W. Poppy, the first two months with Mark Kowalenko another childhood school band and rock band buddy from grade 4. I directed the choir for the teacher on maternity leave. In 1986 just before Music Fest while returning from a band tour to Northern California, Mark got sick. Back in Langley the choir director returned from maternity leave so I took over Mark’s bands until the end of the school year. I knew all of Mark’s repertoire and the following week I took his senior jazz band into MusicFest here in Vancouver on the Expo 86 site. Handsworth came first. D.W. Poppy came second. Brian Stovall came third from Wellington Secondary in Nanaimo. Mary Bachun got the Handsworth Intermediate Concert Band up to the top at MusicFest as well.

Keith: After the North Surrey gig, I taught concert and jazz band and concert and vocal jazz choir at H. D. Stafford Secondary in Langley along with two school-zone elementary bands and one ukulele class.

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1990 SeaworldMusic Festival - Florida LEFT: Jason Walters in the front row left is now a professional musician. Mark Follett is second from left in the front row and is a band director at D.W. Poppy Secondary.

BELOW: Dave Wood back row fourth from left is now a head cardiologist at VGH. Looks like he is playing a triangle.

04/30/90 Mr. Bob Rebagliati Dear Bob:

Please extend my sincerest thanks to all the members of Handsworth Senior Concert Band and the Jazz Band for their performance at EPCOT Center. The Walt Disney World Resort strives to present quality family entertainment and Magic Music Days is an exciting part of it all. It has been a pleasure having your group participate in our music program. Please express my appreciation to each member of your group for sharing their talents with our guests. I hope everyone returned home with fond memories of their experience at the Walt Disney World Resort. Best wishes to you and your group for continued success in your music program. If you would like information pertaining to future performances, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Sincerely yours, Martine Rose EPCOT Center Entertainment Walt Disney World Co.

1990

The Walt Disney World Resort

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Epicot Centre

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1990

Spotlight on Bob Rebagliati

Patrick Raynard Spotlight Feature ‘Reb’ has built a respectable music program “MUSIC CAN lift the spirt. And I love teaching music to teenagers. I can’t imagine doing anything else.” Bob Rebagliati is a happy man, and he has many happy students. He is the co-ordinator of the music program at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver and this week he kicks off yet another year of 12-hour days, concerts and tours. But Rebagliati, 41, who starts his 19th year of teaching this fall, is more than just an organizational whiz. He has promoted a broad philosophy of music education at Handsworth, looks forward to developing it further during his retirement and enjoys warm friendships with many former pupils who have become professional musicians. Rebagliati believes that, first, a music teacher should teach as much with “the heart and the gut” as with the head and, second, that classical music must remain just as important as jazz in order for a well-rounded student to develop. “Since teenagers are naturally more attracted to jazz, the jazz bands have dominated the music program for many years. My wish is to develop and motivate my students to enjoy, explore and appreciate the classical side of music, so that the concert bands receive equal effort. I would like to see my students broaden their musical horizons – become well-rounded and esthetically astute. It’s too easy to always relate to people with your mind rather than your heart. But it’s so much better to go with the gut reactions instead of always functioning by the letter of the law.” At Handsworth, Rebagliati presides over roughly 275 students between Grades 8 and 12 who are spread over four concert bands, two jazz ensembles, an orchestra, a concert choir and a fledgeling jazz choir. His department includes Ann MacDonald, Roger Wecker and Keith Woodward. Rebagliati also praises principal Ken Feyer, who “understands the needs of a vibrant and demanding music program.” The program, and the teachers’ concept, brings rewards. Says Rebagliati of the more than 30 Handsworth graduates who have gone on to careers and further education in music, “The greatest pleasure is when our former students keep in touch.” Bob Rebagliati works long hours but loves it. Some have gone on to such prestigious academies as Julliard in New York. While speaking to the News last week, “Reb”, as he is affectionately called by his students, especially remembered Renee Rosnes, a jazz pianist from the class of ’79, who toured Europe this summer and has just released her third album in New York. “Renee has dedicated all her albums to her parents and to me,” Rebagliati says fondly. Other Handsworth grads who have gone on to teaching music in North Vancouver include Leanne Roy at Highlands, Janet Warren at Argyle and Doug Irwin at Windsor. Classical music is also important. Rebagliati grew up in Kelowna, where he was educated by the Sisters of Charity at the Roman Catholic Immaculata School. “I got a very good education,” he remembers, “because we all got a chance to live life to the fullest as students. I sang in the glee club choir. It was great.” At UBC, where he completed his Bachelor of Music in 1970, Rebagliati was inspired by the composer and chorister Professor Cortland Hultberg, “who gave me a positive outlook towards music and life in general.” Rebagliati, who went on to get a teacher’s certificate, a Master of Music and the ARTC piano degree from the Royal Toronto Conservatory, also learned to love such wide a range of music greats as Maurice Ravel, Herbie Hancock and Blood, Sweat and Tears. “Reb” now satisfies his love for rock and roll by drumming for the Copperfield rock quintet, playing gigs all over the Lower Mainland. “It’s a real release for me to get out there and boogie.” Rebagliati, who walks to Handsworth every day from his home near Edgemont Village, is father to two teenage daughters and husband to Maggie, who teaches pre school, “for which she deserves a medal.” Reb himself plans to retire early, probably in the year 2001 – “my space odyssey” – because “the way I do my job is intense and time-consuming and 30 years is enough to batter your body with 7am and 7pm rehearsals.” He especially looks forward to composing and writing a music curriculum for which he has already developed several ideas at Handsworth. “No matter what I do, it will involve music and it will involve people,” he says.

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Rebagliati presides over roughly 275 students between Grades 8 and 12 who are spread over four concert bands, two jazz ensembles, an orchestra, a concert choir and a fledgeling jazz choir.

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Other Handsworth grads who have gone on to teaching music in North Vancouver include Leanne Roy at Highlands, Janet Warren at Argyle and Doug Irwin at Windsor. Classical music is also important.

1990