Who has been the biggest influence on you as a musician?
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Who has been the biggest influence on you as a musician?
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Elgin Corlett. Starting from zero he built what is now the Teen Tour band, then got a concert band operating and without him the Music centre would never have been built.
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My first influence was the Beatles - surprise!! I started playing the guitar at the young age of 5. And then I was heavily influenced by Peter Frampton.
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@gordon That is an easy one! That would be Burlington Teen Tour Band, especially Don Allan. They were there during some of the hardest times of my life, believing in me when sometimes I doubted in myself.
Mr. Allan always encouraged all of us to better ourselves as musicians. I count myself lucky to be a BTTB Alumni! -
@gordon My biggest influence has been and still is Valerie Tryon (Int'l Concert Pianist) who was my piano professor at McMaster. I learned a lot from her in terms of performance practice and artistry based on the interpretation of the well known masters compositions in the extensive piano literature from Baroque-Romantic-Impressionistic-French styles in music historical period. Also, I am always moved by Valerie's poise and "stillness" at the piano. Whether as a soloist or, performing a piano concerto in the orchestral setting - Valerie's playing reveals that she feels the music from within; as though it's coming from a place of a universal / spiritual connection.
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@gordon I have to say two bandmasters come to mind. Cliff Hunt was a musicians' musician. His appreciation for the music was infectious.
The second is Mr Delemont who was the bandmaster for the Vancouver Kitsilano Boys Band. He was a stickler. He was in charge of the UBC Pep Band when I started out on the trombone. I knew I was in trouble when I "auditioned" and he told me to play the scale in C Major. I managed it and never looked back. -
@gordon Both my trumpet teachers in Edmonton, Don Harris and Bill Dimmer, had a huge influence on me. The conductor of Cosmo bands, Harry Pinchin, ex-Army, PPCLI in Calgary, some of his best stories were about his army buddies, coming and going in his life, still pursuing music. Harris helped me completely rebuild my lower register, getting a nicer, fatter sound. He would say: don't let crap come out the end of your horn. OK, he may have said shit. After a few weeks I had a solo in Cosmo band. Pinchin gestured to me, looked around the band, and said "he's studying with Don Harris." A pretty big moment for me. Dimmer said: if you're afraid of cacking a note, you're in the wrong business. All these people showed me how great the teacher-student relationship can be.
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@lloydr I haven't thought of Harry Pinchin in ages. While I was in university I played with Cosmo band for just one season in the mid '70's with Pinchin conducting, and his daughter Jane was another of the flutes. I later played with Edmonton Wind Ensemble for one year, but I moved to Ontario before Pinchin took over conducting that group. Harry wasn't totally politically correct, but he was a good conductor. Another from a similar mold is Bobby Herriot, who also told stories about the military, and whose conducting I experienced for several years. Another good conductor.
Your post reminded me of the very active concert band scene in Edmonton in the 1970's. All kinds of memories.
Jane -
My Grandmother (piano) and my mother (voice) were my first two music teachers and my biggest influences. For trombone, Rob Sommerville (Lakeshore Music) showed me have fun while I play, Mike Polci (McMaster University) taught me how to listen and John Jasavala (Western) taught me how to practice.
