The magic of playing music

Kevin Dunk, Tuba

The tuba is one of those instruments that never seem to get much respect. It seems to get typecast into comic roles, and perhaps as a result tuba players tend to be the sort of folks who don’t take themselves too seriously. Kevin Dunk, one smiling half of the Kimberley Community Band’s formidable tuba section (tuba! section!) is just such a person. But he’s also one serious tuba player.

Kevin’s musical career started with the trombone in high school, until ‘band room democracy’ dictated that he switch to tuba. This turned out to be a change for the better, and since then Kevin has never put the instrument down. His musical resume is long and impressive, including bands and orchestras in Quebec, Ontario, coastal BC, and now Kimberley. While Kevin, who works as a water survey technician by day, cites the Delta Concert Band and West Coast Symphony as highlights, he has high praise for the KCB as well. “What impresses me here is how great the musicality of the KCB is. Everyone comes with a good attitude, we try hard, and we have a core of very dedicated musicians.”

Kevin enjoys the camaraderie, challenges and feeling of accomplishment that music brings, but he’s most passionate about the art itself. “When you’ve played for a lot of years, you get to see the magic in playing music.”

“It’s a rush”

Lloyd Freestone, Percussion

Lloyd Freestone’s musical career started nine years ago, but not in a way you might expect. He joined the Kimberley Community Band as a roadie on their first trip to the Calgary Stampede, going along for moral support. A year later, when the band needed a bass drummer for a JulyFest appearance, Lloyd stepped in to save the day. “I couldn’t read music, so I was a bit nervous,” he says of the experience, “but I’ve always been able to keep a beat, so I thought, why not? I wanted to be a musician, but I ended up being a percussionist.” Now, Lloyd is the one who keeps the rest of the band in line, providing the heartbeat in tunes of all styles. His music reading is improving steadily, and he has many of the KCB’s signature pieces memorized.

Apart from the music itself, the KCB appeals to Lloyd on a couple of levels. “I just love to entertain people,” he explains, “and besides, it’s something really fun I share with my wife (baritone saxophonist Connie Freestone).” Lloyd sums up the experience simply: “Have fun. Play music. It’s a rush. I look forward to this every week.”

Start slowly and enjoy

Michele Wilson, Flute

Michele Wilson was a few notes short of a scale when she joined the Kimberley Community Band and, she adds, “I could only play up an octave by accident!” Michele had taken up the flute in grade 8 and quit half a year later. She joined the KCB in 1996 after seeing how much fun her sister, Nancy, was having with the group. She remembers then-conductor Bob Griggs welcoming her with the advice “Play what you can, and don’t stress about the rest,” and twelve stress-free years later, Michele’s playing has come a long, long way.

But don’t let Michele’s innocent demeanour on the flute fool you. Her other role with the KCB is as the band’s librarian, a job she relishes because, she says, “I get to be intimidating.” Michele proves that being a librarian is not just a job--it’s a way of life. And woe betide the musician who loses a part.

The KCB’s expanding repertoire gives Michele a chance to indulge both passions, and she cites the wide variety of music the band plays as one of its most appealing features. What advice would she give to someone thinking of rekindling an old musical flame? “The band is just a relaxed, fun place to be. Come on in, start slowly, and enjoy it.”

So happy together!

Laurel Ralston, Conductor and Trumpet

I suppose it is appropriate, now that I’ve introduced a few members of the Kimberley Community Band, to introduce myself. My name is Laurel Ralston, and I’m a trumpet player. For better or worse, there is no 12-step treatment for that. I’m also the KCB’s conductor, in the sense that I’m the one with my back to the audience, flailing my arms, making strange faces only the band can see (I hope), and trying to give the impression that I know what I’m doing, which much of the time I don’t.

I’ve been a musician for as long as I can remember, although I haven’t always thought of myself that way. My parents plunked me into piano lessons at the tender age of 8--Dad lobbied for violin, but Mom shouted him down--which I resisted until age 17, when I was finally allowed to quit. I took up the flute in grade 7 and got a sound out of it after only three months of trying. I took up the trumpet at the end of grade 11 on account of a crush I had on someone in the high school band trumpet section. I quickly developed a crush on the trumpet instead, and we’ve now been together for fourteen years.

I studied music at the University of Ottawa. It was a grueling, emotionally exhausting, and ultimately awesome experience. I spent three summer sessions at l’Academie de Musique et Danse Domaine Forget learning from some of the most renowned brass teachers in North America and being humbled by amazing students from around the world. After university I got a real job, but I continued to go to concerts at every opportunity and started freelancing on trumpet and flute. At some point along the way I recognized the value of all those years of piano lessons. Please don’t tell my mother.

Conducting the KCB has been, and I’m sure will continue to be, one of the most challenging and rewarding endeavours in my musical career. I cannot say enough good things about the musicians in the KCB and the patience and enthusiasm that they bring to every rehearsal and performance. They work hard even on music that only I like. They spend their summers, when most people take vacations, going to more rehearsals and playing more concerts than they do at any other time of year. Some of them drive over an hour each way, every week, to play together. They have progressed by leaps and bounds. They amaze me. I can’t even put into words how proud I am of the Kimberley Community Band and all that they do. So, to anyone who might be thinking of joining the band I say, please do. You won’t regret it. And to all of my friends and colleagues already in the band: Thank you. You have no idea what a pleasure it is to work with you, or how great are the gifts you have given me, as a musician and a person.

See you at rehearsal!

"I regret ever putting it down."

Bill Guthrie, Trumpet

There’s a saying among musicians: “Don’t look at the trumpet players. It only encourages them.” Bill Guthrie joined the Kimberley Community Band trumpet section four years ago, after hearing the KCB playing in the Platzl one summer day, and since then he has needed no encouragement. Like many of his colleagues, he thinks the best thing about playing in the band is the people—“It sure isn’t the pay!” he quips—but he particularly enjoys leading the trumpet section. “I like the challenges and opportunities that come with playing a really key instrument in the band.”

Bill's day job frequently takes him to Trail, and when he’s there he likes to sit in with the Maple Leaf Band. His favourite event at which to play, though, is the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at Kimberley’s cenotaph. “It’s kind of like old times, when they had two bands playing.” Coming back to the trumpet decades after leaving it behind in high school, Bill is one of the most enthusiastic and hard-working musicians in the group. “I regret ever putting the trumpet down,” he says. “I’ve got forty years to catch up on.”

The Rhythm and the Melody

Steen Jorgensen, Alto saxophone

Alto saxophonist Steen Jorgensen brings a whole lifetime of musical experience to the Kimberley Community Band. He took up the drums at age five after attending an orchestra concert and finding himself mesmerized by the percussionists. He has toured with rock bands, played the piano, guitar, and even the vibraphone. Steen joined the KCB in 2000 as a drummer, but four years ago decided to give the saxophone a try. “There’s a difference between being the rhythm section and making music,” he explains.

(Readers: Please note that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the KCB conductor considers drummers to be musicians too.)

Steen’s talents extend far beyond the KCB—he has attended a jazz camp in Sacramento, California for three summers, is studying composition online with Gary Lindsay, a professor of jazz at the University of Miami, and is also an accomplished painter—but he stays with it for the sheer enjoyment of making music with the band: “It’s an art form, and I love being a part of it.”

"Music kept me in school."

Connie Freestone, Baritone saxophone

Connie Freestone has played a lot of instruments in her lifetime, starting with the accordion at age ten and moving on to recorder, ukelele, clarinet, bass clarinet, and finally the baritone saxophone. “I’ve always liked music,” she says, “and frankly, it was what kept me in school from grade ten onward. I knew that if I didn’t go to school, I wouldn’t get to play in the band.”

Connie has been a member of the Kimberley Community Band since its inception in 1994. She still relishes the band’s experience marching in the 1999 Calgary Stampede, watching the group interact and get to know each other. Connie finds that playing in the band is relaxing, yet gives her a sense of focus. “It takes your brain in a totally different direction. And when you’ve had a really bad day, you go to rehearsal and you leave it feeling good again.”

Romance and Reed Instruments

Nancy Araujo, Clarinet

By day, Nancy Araujo teaches math at Selkirk High School. But every Thursday night she transforms into the Kimberley Community Band’s principal clarinetist, fearless leader of its ever-growing reed section.

Nancy has always enjoyed being a musician and finds that playing with the KCB provides a fun and challenging escape from the trials of daily life. Nancy honed her skills over five years at the International Music Camp, held at the Peace Gardens on the border between Manitoba and North Dakota. She enjoyed the experience and challenge of playing with very advanced musicians, particularly the huge clarinet choir.

Nancy’s most memorable moment with the KCB happened 11 years ago, when her now-husband Mario walked in to a rehearsal, carrying his saxophone and wondering if there was a place for him in the band. “I took one look at him and thought, there is someone I should get to know,” says Nancy. “I think the rest of the band had a good time watching us interact. My sister Michele, who is in the flute section, said she knew we’d end up married.”