Submitted by Yvonne Kupsch
Despite the 74 years that separate them, Peter Gardner (89) and Sophia Segato Collins (15) love to play their clarinets side-by-side in the Sidney Concert Band (SCB), in preparation for their upcoming concert - Broadway on Beacon, on Sunday, May 26 at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney.
At first glance, these two musicians might seem like polar opposites. Gardner recalls his musical inspiration occurred 70 years ago, at the age of 19, while watching Jimmy Stewart portray Glenn Miller in the 1954 biopic, The Glenn Miller Story.
“I loved hearing the harmonies of the big band music,” said Gardner. “I even stayed to watch the film a second time. In fact, that was the first and only time in my life I sat through the same movie twice!”
By contrast, Collins grew up hearing lots of rock and metal: AC/DC, Metallica, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses. She got her first instrument when she was four, a small five-string acoustic guitar from Arizona.
“At the time, I didn’t know how to play, but there was something magical about it,” said Collins. “Then I picked up the clarinet for the first time in Grade 6 and rediscovered that magical feeling. And that’s when it hit me: I knew then that music was the biggest part of my life. I was determined to create music, to create magic.”
For Gardner, that magic was in the big band sound. Because of the popular Glenn Miller-style ‘clarinet lead’ at the time, his music teacher advised him to learn the clarinet first, before learning the alto sax. Peter soon realized this was good advice.
“The clarinet is a more difficult instrument to play, and so it made learning the sax a piece of cake!” said Gardner.
Apart from playing clarinet and sax in various local big bands over the years, Gardner also developed a love of arranging music in the 1980s. When he was 71, his saxophone was finally put on a shelf and he focused on playing the clarinet in the Sidney Concert Band.
“This is a talented and lovely group of musicians who believe music is the root of everything beautiful. And it certainly is,” explained Gardner.
Like Gardner, Collins is keen to try different instruments and play in different bands to see how everything works and comes together. Apart from the clarinet, she plays saxophone, acoustic and electric guitar, piano and key-boards, and even bass guitar and drums on occasion.
“I’m still amazed at how different yet spectacular they all are from one another,” said Collins.
“I’m currently in the concert band at Parkland Secondary and will join their jazz band next year,” Collins continued. “I’m excited to continue with the SCB because the opportunity of playing with so many different musicians helps me so much as a musician. The reason I wanted to be a part of SCB in the first place was to put myself out there, meet musicians and listen to the way others play.”
Tickets are $25 and are available by phone at 250-656-0275 or at https://marywinspear.ca/event/sidney-concert-band-broadway-beacon.
READ MORE: The Peninsula Singers return to Sidney for weekend of shows