By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
In my previous column, I shared our friend Tina Grant’s free outdoor summer concert list for the area. This week, I will highlight the Chatham Concert Band’s Wednesday evening performances in Tecumseh Park.
I chatted with the CCB musical director, Vaughn Pugh, about the history of CCB and some specifics of their performances. CCB started in 1927 — no, that is not a typo — 1927! They have big plans underway for their upcoming 100th anniversary.
Some interesting historical facts:
The CCB has had the same format for its entire existence. The band starts rehearsals on the Monday of the final week in September and rehearses weekly through the seasons. They perform at area churches through the school year on the last Sunday of each month. Every other December, they perform a Christmas Concert in Chatham. But the big show starts on the last Wednesday of June and goes weekly until the last Wednesday of August. This is when the free concerts happen at Tecumseh Park’s Kiwanis bandshell in Chatham.
Following the Labour Day concert in North Buxton — a tradition that is “around 50 years old” — the band takes a well-deserved break for three weeks, and then they repeat the process.
The current performance and rehearsal facility, designed by renowned Chatham architect Joe Storey, was opened in 1965 and has been the home of CCB since then. Prior to that, the band played in a wooden structure at the same location. While numbers dwindled during the Great Depression and WWII, the band never missed a season.
Side note: This region of Canada has another band that has a claim to being among the oldest continuously running community bands: the Forest Excelsior Band, est. 1864.
The CCB has had three musical directors in its 98 years. Sid Chamberlain waved the baton from 1927–1959, followed by Phil Carney from 1960–1984. Carney was Vaughn’s conductor when Vaughn first joined CCB as a youth around the time the Beatles were big. In ’84, the baton would be passed again, and Vaughn has stood at the helm of CCB for the past 41 years.
The CCB started out as the Chatham Kiltie Band, and they wore kilts until 1971. Pugh noted that a few things encouraged change: the kilts were purchased directly from Scotland and that was becoming cost-prohibitive; the scratchy, heavy material was not well suited to comfort for a summer concert series; and that was the year women joined the band. All of those factors led to the name changing to CCB.
Today, the CCB has approximately 37 musicians, with 30 of them playing on any given week through the summer series. Holidays for the musicians make scheduling a challenge for Pugh, as scheduling a solo French horn part when the horn player is on vacation is unwise.
Unlike the Kiltie band, which played “marches and overtures,” the CCB has a much more contemporary repertoire, and Pugh is always looking for new and interesting arrangements of standard charts as well as new music to present.
If you would like to take in a concert this summer, bring a chair, maybe some snacks (…unless you travel with Joni, in which case she brings enough to share with everyone), a sweater, and some bug repellant, and cozy up on the lawns of the well-shaded Tecumseh Park. There is no fee, but the band does accept donations at the concerts if you are able to contribute.
While they are funded in part by the C-K Municipality, funding for arts organizations is always a challenge. It is a wonderful, laid-back atmosphere with children dancing and often blowing bubbles up by the stage, and patrons spread across the park.
There are themes for every week, so check their website:
https://www.chathamconcertband.ca/index.html
…and see if they are playing your favourites. The shows are always family-friendly, but of special note — they have a Kid’s Concert on July 23. This concert showcases individual instruments demonstrating the various sounds instruments can make, followed by band tunes your kids or grandkids will love as all of the instruments come together.
If your children are inspired to learn an instrument, The Music Makers starts in late September, running Saturdays until May. Actually, those wanting to either learn an instrument or pick up the old tuba skills from bygone years — CCB’s Music Makers has a class for you. This program encourages music in the community and functions as a feeder program for the concert band. Check out the website for more information.
Finally, if the weather seems unsettled, check the website before you head to the park. The decision to pull the plug is a last resort and only happens if it is unsafe — and at about 6:40 p.m., 20 minutes from the planned first beat.
See you at the park!
