Owen Sound City Band

2015 Volunteer Awards at OSCVI

2015-06-09T19:52:00.001-07:00

Volunteer Awards 2015

Celebrating 94 Years of Community Music!

2014-07-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

94 years ago on July the 20th the new City of Owen Sound handed William Iles a cheque for $200 to outfit the new city band; we think that's something worthy of a celebration! Mayor Haswell was there with a gift from the city, a framed certificate of thanks for our 94 years, and there was burgers and sodas for everyone. And cake, we can't forget about the cake! It's not a birthday party without cake :)

Post by Owen Sound City Band.

Our New Blog!

2013-05-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here it is, our new blog home space now relocated on Blogger.com!

With the closing of Posterous.com last month, our old blog had to be bundled up and moved to new digs, and, well, it was an adventure in webspace export formats, but mostly survived the trip. There will be some rough edges for a while until we can re-upload the photos and videos that were hosted on the old site (the import to blogger.com only copies the text with links back to the original images ... which are now long gone) -- the good news is that we have backups and it is just a matter of sifting through and replacing the broken content.

So please bear with us; if there are any photos or videos you were particularly hoping to find, drop us a line and we'll make those a priority!

Happy practicing!

Some Old City Band Photos

2013-02-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Bob Bell got a slide scanner for Christmas and sends us three more pictures from the OSCB's illustrious past:

"specifically the season of 1976-77. I was Deputy Bandmaster at the time and these are three gigs I led. The first picture is the Legion Church Parade, Sunday before Nov. 11th, formed up in front of First Baptist Church on 4th Ave. E.. There were still quite a few vets in the band that year.
"The second picture is quite possibly the worst Santa Claus Parade in living memory. We're marching west on 10th St. The building beside us is the Seldon House (Jason's) when it was still painted white. We are about to left wheel onto 2nd Ave. E. We marched shoulder to shoulder to try to keep warm. My trumpet plugged up with ice. The saxes kept losing notes until their reeds split. By the time we reached the reviewing stand at City Hall, we had only percussion left working.
"The third picture is the grand opening of the brand new Shallow Lake Arena. Indoors, thank goodness, though they put us on the ice."

A Very Merry Christmas from your Owen Sound City Band

2012-12-23T20:19:00.000-08:00

And so ends another busy year of concerts, parades and music music music!! Here to wrap it all up, our gift to you, some action photos (via Linda Joch) from our annual Family Christmas Concert last weekend at the Bayshore Community Centre, with a bit of free Christmas music thrown in for extra fun, a few tunes from us, and a one from our special guests, the Hillcrest Husky Ensemble!

See you in 2013!

Christmas 'round The World by Owen Sound City Band

Do You Hear What I Hear by Husky Ensemble

Santa Baby by Owen Sound City Band

And the bandmaster is...

2012-09-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

A message from our City Band President:

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Julia Richards has been hired on a permanent basis as bandmaster for the Owen Sound City Band.
Three cheers for the first female bandmaster for the Owen Sound City Band!
The executive has also appointed Dan Blenkinsop to the position of Deputy Bandmaster.
Congratulations to you both and I look forward to many great performances to come.

Clinton Stredwick
President of the Owen Sound City Band

Central Place Courtyard (12-08-07)

2012-08-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Some scenes (and sounds) from down by the fountain in the courtyard of Central Place last Tuesday evening, the Owen Sound City Band under the direction of our intrepid semi-conductor Dan Blenkensop, staving off the rainclouds with that big windband sound :)

many thanks to our resident photographer Linda Joch for sending these along!

Junior Band by Owen Sound City Band

Music Box Dancer by Owen Sound City Band

At A Dixieland Jazz Funeral by Owen Sound City Band

A Nice Evening for A Concert In The Park!

2012-07-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

Some scenes and sounds from last Monday evening, our first show of the 2012 Summer Concerts in the Park series, and also our own City Band Member's BBQ! :) ??On the MP3s we have Celebrate Ontario, a mysterious hand-written score we found in the archives, very likely dating back to the Ontario Bicentennial in 1983, and a positively psychedelic old-time march Slidin' Easy, a trombone feature??that is just way too fun to play. ??The third is the original-score Copa Cabana, a must-have tune for these hot Sydenham summer nights in July!

From now until the end of Summer, the Owen Sound City Band will be performing at the bandstand in Harrison Park every Monday evening except the Civic Holiday weekend, with the July shows starting at 7:30pm and 7:15pm in August. ??We'll also be out at the Queen's Park bandstand downtown on First Avenue West on the third Thursdays of each month; you can come out to listen, or, if you are a player, do come out and sit in with the band! ??We have extra music folders and we'd love to have you in the group -- making music together is what it's all about!

Celebrate Ontario by Owen Sound City Band

Slidin' Easy by Owen Sound City Band

Copa Cabana by Owen Sound City Band

City Band Summer Schedule

2012-06-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here's our schedule for the 2012 Summer Season

Saturday JUNE 30 - BAND TO?? PLAY 10:15, UNTIL 10:55,?? at QUEEN'S PARK BANDSTAND, 1ST AVENUE WEST, , BETWEEN 8TH AND 9TH STREETS -
OFFICIAL INAUGURAL CONCERT FOR THE NEWLY REBUILT BANDSTAND

Please plan to arrive early due to limited parking, etc.
The organizers recommend parking at the old Health Unit building at 9th St or at the municipal lot south on 1st Ave E. ??Cars will be allowed through the barricade to drop off instruments, but will likely not be permitted to park along 1st Ave West.

Sunday JULY 1st -CANADA DAY - KELSO BEACH PARK AMPHITHEATRE-??
Band to play 6:30 to 7:20PM.
Please avoid setting up equipment in front of the previous act (singing 6:15 - 6:30), by setting up our equipment before they start, or quietly at the side, then finish setting up when they are finished. Thanks you.
Monday JULY 9th - HARRISON PARK BAND PICNIC AND?? CONCERT -
band to play from 7:30PM on, for one hour or more.????
Two rows of table in the Picnic shelter have been booked for the afternoon and evening, to use as social get-together for band members and their families. More details to follow -
Thursday JULY 12th 7PM civic re-dedication ceremony commemorating official 100 year anniversary of Harrison Park??to be held at the Harrison Park Bandstand.
Saturday, JULY 14th - HARRISON PARK CENTENNIAL PICNIC at 12 o'clock NOON
Billed as an all-ages Old Tyme Picnic, this is a free event hosted by the Friends of Harrison Park; the festivities begin with a mass canoe floatilla arriving at the north island at 11am with the opening ceremonies capped by an old-fashioned bandstand concert (ie us ;)??
Here again parking is extremely limited??-- car pool if at all possible, there will be shuttle busses brining the public to the park from the municipal parking lots. ??If you do arrive by car, tell the gate guard that you are will the city band and expect to be directed to parking at the bottom of the hill. ??They are expecting 1000 visitors or more and Harrison Park only has a few dozen parking spots.
Monday JULY 16th, HARRISON PARK CONCERT - 7:30PM Start

Monday JULY 23rd, HARRISON PARK CONCERT - 7:30PM Start

Thursday JULY 26th, QUEEN'S PARK CONCERT (to be confirmed) - 7:30PM Start

Tuesday??AUGUST 7th, Central Place Retirement Community - Courtyard 7:30PM Start
Monday AUGUST 13th, HARRISON PARK CONCERT - 7:15PM Start
Monday AUGUST 20th. HARRISON PARK CONCERT, 7:15PM Start
Thursday AUGUST 23rd - QUEEN'S PARK CONCERT (to be confirmed) - 7:15PM Start
Monday, AUGUST 27 - HARRISON PARK CONCERT?? 7:15PM Start
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 1st - noon, DESBORO FALL FAIR

The two Thursday evening Queen's Park Bandstand concerts have yet to be confirmed by the City; a confirmation on these will follow later.

AGM Agenda and 2011 minutes

2012-04-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year again: this Monday evening regular practice will be bumped aside for our Annual General Meeting, with the election of officers and (re)appointment of the bandmaster and all that fun administrative stuff. Attached here are the minutes of last year's AGM and our Agenda for Monday. ??Should you notice any errors or omissions, or if you have something to add for the meeting, please contact Clinton Stredwick directly.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MARCH 21, 2011.pdf

OSCB Agenda April 30 AGM.pdf

Call for Comment: Draft of the OSCB Constitution Online for Review

2012-03-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Constitution of the Owen Sound City Band Final Draft.pdf

As promised at the 2011 GM, the constitution committee set out to craft a new modern constitution for the band and the first public draft of this is hereby available for member review; the constitution draft will be posted here and on the main website for the 30 days leading to the annual GM on April 30, 2012 whereupon, with member recommended changes and amendments, the membership will vote on adopting the official constitution.

Through the course of our 92 year history, the City Band has had several constitutions, some simple, some quite elaborate (and on legal-sized paper no less!) but as it sits, the last was crafted in 1963 with some modernizing changes made in the 1970's and while we have been using that document as a guide for executive policy, those guidelines are clearly outdated and inappropriate in our modern community band situations. ??For one thing, we cannot afford to pay our members (yes, once upon a time you did get paid to have this much fun! ??well, ok, it may not have actually been this much fun, and besides, the pay wasn't much anyway)

So a new deal was sorely needed and here it is, our first crack at defining who we are in 2012 and who we hope to be going forward into our second century. Please understand that this document is a DRAFT only, submitted for comment and approval, it is not ratified, it is just our starting point towards a workable constitution to hopefully be ratified by the membership at the AGM April 30th. Comments are welcome and encouraged; members are invited to comment directly to Clinton Stredwick, band president; an email will follow later today explaining the membership process for comments.

Stormy Weather - YouTube

2012-03-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

1933 arrangement by David Bennett of the Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen "Descriptive Fantasy" STORMY WEATHER; recorded last summer during Monday Night concert series on the Harrison Park bandstand with the Owen Sound City Band under the direction of Robert Tite.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-WMZwYjkVw]

Ethel Waters first sang Stormy Weather at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem in 1933 and recorded it that year, and in the same year it was sung in London by Elisabeth Welch and recorded by Frances Langford. It has since been performed by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Clodagh Rodgers, and Reigning Sound and most famously by Lena Horne and Billie Holiday. Leo Reisman's orchestra version had the biggest hit on records (with Arlen himself as vocalist)

David Bennett (b. Ida Grove, IA 3 Sept. 1892; d. Chicago, IL 27 Aug. 1990) was a nationally known band-music composer and arranger in the 30's and 40's, and named a life-member of the American Bandmasters Assoc in 1929 -- the Carl Fischer catalog gives his bio as:

David Bennett's name on a composition, as composer or arranger, has for years been a symbol of quality and distinction to discriminating music directors. His compositions and arrangements reflect a thorough understanding of the problems of players and directors alike, gained from a long and varied experience in every phase of music. Characterized by sound musicianship and good taste, the David Bennett publications in the Carl Fischer catalog have deservedly found a wide audience.

We're Older Than We Think!

2012-01-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

The answer to a long-standing mystery solved in an email today from Judy Gray:

???The Advertiser??? (Owen Sound???s other newspaper at the time) stated on July 22, 1920..??

"the city granted $600 to the??new City??Band."

So we have a birthday! ??I suppose that was a council report from Wednesday the 21 inaugurating the Owen Sound City Band by an order of council to approve the budget that kickstarted William Isles and his bandsmen! That means we're goin' on 92 years old now, and still lookin' pretty good!

Photos! Dec. 19 at Summit Place

2012-01-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Linda Joch sends us this photolog from last year's show at the Summit Place -- if you've been thinking about joining your friendly neighbourhood community band, here's what it's like :)

psst -- our 2012 season rehearsals start tonight, 7:30pm at OSCVI, just so you know ...

Bill Parker's 'Meet the Band'

2011-11-29T06:14:00.000-08:00

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/30810706 w=500&h=283]

via vimeo.com

Meet The Band is an hour-long historical narrative profiling four very different community bands. Bill Parker created the film 10 years ago, then ran into royalty problems and shelved the project; he's released it now on Vimeo.

"Looking back at American history, if you take the time to look a little closer, you're almost always going to find a band ... never quite in the limelight but always close to the action."

Caroling in the Downtown for the OSDIA

2011-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Our intrepid photographer John Cowper sends us this photo essay from last Sunday's caroling in the downtown for the Owen Sound Downtown Improvement Area. Set with a book of old favourites in our lyres, members of the City Band gathered at the town hall and then wandered about from shop to shop to ring in the Christmas Cheer (scoring a few cookies along the way! :)

If you missed us last Sunday, you can catch us at the Tom Thompson tomorrow at quarter to six when we kick off the Owen Sound Festival of Northern Lights (lots of music, food, good cheer and fireworks!) and then again Saturday Morning for the Owen Sound Kiwanis Christmas Parade!

And as an added bonus, and Added Bonus Track! A free mp3 (or two) recorded during our rehearsals for the Sunday Walk, featuring our semi-conductor Julia

Beautiful Saviour by Owen Sound City Band

Deck The Halls by Owen Sound City Band

Band Music PDF Library 2.0!

2011-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Over eleven months in the making, the new site contains all your old favorites plus a couple thousand more for nearly 3,000 items altogether. This is in keeping with our mission of "Preserving and Sharing Music from the Golden Age of the American Town Band." Having access to The Library is like adding 15+ four-drawer filing cabinets stuffed full of paper copies to your band room.
You're invited to stop by, browse around and start using the expanded Library any time.

via bandmusicpdf.org

One of the best resources for free band music just got better! There's even a new "Guide to Playing Music from the Library"

Some Old Photos

2011-08-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our former bandleader and long-time member Bob Bell sends us some City Band memories for our web archives:

I thought I'd send these around. The little black and white was taken at the Santa Claus Parade in 1964. One is the grand opening of the Harrison Park Inn in 1987, replacing the one that burned down. Third is the OSCVI Reunion Parade. You'll recognize Gary [Bergstra] on the trombone, but maybe not the kid on bass clarinet a few rows back.

The concert picture was taken in 1976 or 1977. We did a kiddies' concert spread out on the grass, so the children could get in closer. Bob Rourke was conducting.
The last shot was from 1987, just after a concert. My oldest son, Sandy, a six-year-old at the time, grabbed my hat and baton while I was chatting in the background. Interestingly, the guy in the red sneakers with his back to the camera is Tim Harrison, former bandsman and founder of the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival.

and to go with those memories, a little Stephen Sondheim, recorded live last night off that very same bandshell in that very same Harrison Park!

Send In The Clowns by Owen Sound City Band

Scenes from Canada Day 2011

2011-07-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

Bruce Skelton, up visiting his folks for holiday, sends us these photos of your favourite City Band setting up for the 144th Canada Day celebration concert at the Kelso Beach Park 'Summerfolk' stage, and just to fill out the picture, here's an mp3 from that show, an old song I'm sure you still remember (after all, it was??only 44 years ago!)

Canada Centennial Song by Owen Sound City Band

Steeped in tradition, every Monday night

2011-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Bill Henry's feature on the Owen Sound City Band has just hit the blogspace; here's a preview, but do visit his blog for the full story and slideshow

The new, younger members, along with the relatively recent addition of Rob Tite as band master a little more than three years ago has given the band new energy, some members said.
Rob Tite directs the Owen Sound City Band during the first regular Monday night free summer concert at Harrison Park recently. BILL HENRY Sun Times staff
Skelton, who also plays flute with the Georgian Bay Symphony, said this band offers different music and a different approach. Instead of learning new repertoire for every concert, there???s a broad, interesting and varied selection from hundreds of band music gems stored in 10 filing cabinets dating back to the 1890s.
???We have a pile of stuff,??? Skelton said. ???We do some of it at this concert and another bunch of it at the next concert but we never let go of anything in there.???
He said some of the recently circulating repertoire adds a welcome new challenge, while the beauty of the band is offering something for musicians of all levels and all ages.

via Sun-Times: Our Sound

Our thanks to Bill Henry for this feature and yes, it is, it is just a fun thing to do that then spreads the joy around; what could be better?

City Band at the Grey Roots Heritage Fair

2011-04-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

City Band percusion/horn player Nolan Murphy (13) has assembled a fabulous display of photos, memoirs, recordings, videos and artifacts on the history of the Owen Sound City Band for his entry into the 4th Annual Grey Roots Regional Heritage Fair opening today at the Grey Roots Museum and Archive. Thanks to some terrific support from band members past and present, the presentation covers the history from the early marching bands of Wm Iles on through the Youth Band years and up to the present day.

Nolan's display will compete with entries from grade 4-8 students from several local schools; the Fair itself is April 28, but projects will remain up for public viewing in the museum lobby until the end of Saturday April 30th.

Heritage Fairs are a grand celebration of Canada's past, in the form of student history projects. Students research Canadian heroes, legends, milestones, and achievements - and proudly present their stories at a public exhibition.
The Grey Roots Regional Heritage Fair allows students to celebrate our heritage and share their work with the community. Participating schools send the best student projects from each class, grades 4-8, to represent their school. This fair could only be possible because of the special talents and dedication of our teachers and principals.
via Grey Roots Museum and Archives

Owen Sound City Band circa 1937

2011-04-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

courtesy of Nancy Mashinter (OSCB) and Karin Noble (Grey Roots Archives), a photo of our City Band in full regalia in the Summer of '37, around the same time we won the Canadian Open Class A Brass and Reed Championship.

Back row L to R: L. Stuck, Wm Gow Jr, S. Pearce, Wm Iles (founder), F. Mitchell, Wm Miller, L. Bonner (Pres), H. Bonner, T.Potter, Dr. Griffin, C. Blackstone, A. Quinn, G. Taylor, L. Allen

Centre: H. Iles, Cliff Iles, C. Holmes, Wm Gow Sr, A. Clow, R. Buck, A. Hayward, J. Taylor, Clar. Iles, B. Hunter.

Front: L. Waghorn, A.Rutherford, A. Stuck, A. McNiven, J.Cowie (Director), S. Cruickshank, Wilf Iles, L. Strange, C. Thompson.

Absent: Art Harris.

Stars will be out tonight!

2011-04-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

The Owen Sound city band and West Hill's new percussion ensemble will be part of the Grey County Kiwanis Festival of Music's concerts of festival stars for the first time.
Both were among this year's festival participants to achieve the highest results, which includes adjudicators' recommendations to play at the wrap-u p concerts and share some $10,000 in festival awards and scholarships, executive director Mary Jane Quinn said Friday.
Some 2,000 singers and musicians competed at venues around Owen Sound from April 4 through 7 and 11 through 14, with about 600 individual entries, Quinn said.
As always, the festival wraps up with two festival stars concerts, with winning soloists and small ensembles at Alliance Church tonight at 7:30 p.m. and choirs, bands and orchestras at OSCVI auditorium Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission to both concerts is $5.
Confirmed participants for Tuesday's concert include The Dufferin School Junior Choir, the Grade 7 and Grade 8 Choir from Hillcrest school, The St. Anthony's Glee Club, from St. Anthony's Catholic school in Kincardine, the Hillcrest Husky Jazz Band, The Georgian Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Georgian Bay Secondary School Senior Orchestra.
The Port Elgin Saugeen Central School Grade 8 Band has also been invited but had not confirmed availability Friday, Quinn said.

via owensoundsuntimes.com

Our congrats again to all the musicians who participated in this year's Kiwanis and a big round of applause for all the music teachers and community band leaders; the performances this year were astounding and especially encouraging were the new entries from some of the smaller towns and schools. This is the real music, played by people who call it 'playing' because they know that it is play!

Show starts tonight at 7:30, a mere $5 admission goes to support the festival and thereby encourage the schools to put in all this amazing effort; promises to be a great show for one and all!

Owen Sound City Band 2011

2011-04-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Standing Straight and Sounding Great

2011-04-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

There???s a lot to be said for sitting up straight and walking tall. Indeed, there???s something about proper posture that exudes health and confidence. ... a good posture will even make you look thinner (not that any of us need to look thinner, of course, just sayin???).
For us who play a wind instrument, the habit of good, proper posture pays ??? and pays handsomely. As I mentioned in my article, 8 Tips for an Open Throat and Bigger Sound, the path between the diaphragm and the bell of the horn must be as unencumbered as possible. And you can bet your bottom Bb that a curvature in the airstream is going to do nothing but lousy for your sound.
In fact, don???t take my word for it, but see for yourself. Listen to and feel the sound you get when you play slouched down low. Now try playing sitting or standing up straight. Big difference.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure that you???re using the posture principle to the best effect ...

read on at bestsaxophonewebsiteever.com

In honour of this being the starting week for the Kiwanis Music Festival here in Owen Sound, some sound advice for all you players as you take the stage, and it isn't just for the woodwinds either: standing or sitting in a proper balance is just as important for muscle control in piano and percussion, and breathing fully from the base of your chest improves oxygen intake (the O2 collectors are mostly at the bottom of the lung) and right there we're talking about a keener brain in charge of the muscle!