The Edmonton Recorder Society—An Impressionistic History
The first cheep of the recorder society was heard in Louise Dawson’s kitchen in South Edmonton in the early 1970’s, and was an offshoot of the University of Alberta Faculty Wives’ Club (as it then was). A small group of us was present, and we realized we would need to organize ourselves into a more formal and, should we say, more gender-equal society. As I recall, we put up bits of paper in obvious places, Louise and I were interviewed on the French television station, and a core of enthusiasts turned up at the South-west Edmonton Cultural Centre and registered ourselves as a society.
Small groups practised among themselves and played for each other and we had talks and classes given by various local people. One memorable evening we spent at Professor Arlette Thomas’s house, where she demonstrated her skills on a very rare harpsichord (one of only three in the world). And we exploited acquaintanceships wherever we could: Timothy Hutchings, first flautist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and an old friend of Paul Schiemann, of the Edmonton Symphony came to town and was persuaded to give a workshop; Peter Seibert came from Seattle for one of the earlier workshops, and so did Paul Palmer from Victoria.
It was a stroke of luck to have the Plumbers’ Union (they messed about with pipes) as our lodestar. This splendid recorder group, drawn mainly from wind players in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was in its heyday in the 1970's and its members were very kind about giving workshops and advice. We were able to listen to them on the radio and on recordings and to feel touched by their prestige. Among our own ranks, there was always open-mouthed awe when members of the Gauk family performed. Rachel started putting the rest of us to shame when she was very young, but then she also became a nationally-known professional musician.
Improvement in our own playing came slowly, though we took advantage of whatever was on offer. This meant workshops in Seattle, Vancouver and wherever any of us happened to be in the world. Players from out of town joined us: we felt privileged go have a fine Australian player with us for a whole year. We hosted workshops by recorder giants like Michala Petri, Marion Verbrüggen and Amsterdam Loecki Stardust Quartet. We were invited to play at gallery and theatre openings and at weddings and even funerals; we played in care centres and open-air festivals. One of our never-to-be-forgotten experiences was in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde. The University of Alberta Quartet was featured and Simon Streatfield conducted. We played the children’s recorder orchestra, and did not exactly excel in the part. Still, we remained a rather small group, and we envied Calgary its much bigger recorder scene, and traded visits with them for joint workshops or for special guest visits.
The tables were turned during the 1980’s when Herb Taylor joined the society and gingered us up. He established contact with the excellent recorder teacher, Rachel Jean, and we took group lessons from her. Rachel organized Christmas music with a local Francophone choir and became the first conductor of the Edmonton Recorder Orchestra; we gave our first concert in City Hall in 2002. Herb and his wife, Astrid Blodgett, built a house with recorder players in mind, and together they have hosted workshops with the likes of Francis Colpron, Mathias Maute, Michael Schneider, Piers Adams, as well as rehearsals of the Edmonton Recorder Orchestra and a Christmas Sing and Toot. The orchestra, under the direction of David Wilson, had given concerts focusing on Spain, England and France.
Edmonton’s own Terri Hron, a former student of Rachel’s and now permanently based in Amsterdam, is a regular visitor to Edmonton and always gives workshops and concerts when she comes home. Vince Kelly has a music publishing press and we enjoy being guinea-pigs for his new publications.
For several years Janet Couch has been the chief organizer for a delightful retreat in a mountain lodge outside Nordegg. We are joined by players from Red Deer, Calgary (where the society is now much smaller than ours) and Lethbridge and spend a weekend in September leading small and large groups ourselves. During the winter months there are monthly play-ins organized by Linda Jacklin. Country dwellers like Nigel Jackman and John and Leni Honsaker kindly open their homes for tooting and facilitate access to ponds for boating or cross-country skiing.
The Society has a very extensive library of music, largely donated by various people, but the richest archive is in the minds of members. Our collective repertoire is immense. We’ve played masses and masses of music (and not just Masses) from eight centuries and the society has provided great music-making pleasure to its many members over the nearly 40 years of its existence.
© Vivien Bosley
The first cheep of the recorder society was heard in Louise Dawson’s kitchen in South Edmonton in the early 1970’s, and was an offshoot of the University of Alberta Faculty Wives’ Club (as it then was). A small group of us was present, and we realized we would need to organize ourselves into a more formal and, should we say, more gender-equal society. As I recall, we put up bits of paper in obvious places, Louise and I were interviewed on the French television station, and a core of enthusiasts turned up at the South-west Edmonton Cultural Centre and registered ourselves as a society.
Small groups practised among themselves and played for each other and we had talks and classes given by various local people. One memorable evening we spent at Professor Arlette Thomas’s house, where she demonstrated her skills on a very rare harpsichord (one of only three in the world). And we exploited acquaintanceships wherever we could: Timothy Hutchings, first flautist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and an old friend of Paul Schiemann, of the Edmonton Symphony came to town and was persuaded to give a workshop; Peter Seibert came from Seattle for one of the earlier workshops, and so did Paul Palmer from Victoria.
It was a stroke of luck to have the Plumbers’ Union (they messed about with pipes) as our lodestar. This splendid recorder group, drawn mainly from wind players in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was in its heyday in the 1970's and its members were very kind about giving workshops and advice. We were able to listen to them on the radio and on recordings and to feel touched by their prestige. Among our own ranks, there was always open-mouthed awe when members of the Gauk family performed. Rachel started putting the rest of us to shame when she was very young, but then she also became a nationally-known professional musician.
Improvement in our own playing came slowly, though we took advantage of whatever was on offer. This meant workshops in Seattle, Vancouver and wherever any of us happened to be in the world. Players from out of town joined us: we felt privileged go have a fine Australian player with us for a whole year. We hosted workshops by recorder giants like Michala Petri, Marion Verbrüggen and Amsterdam Loecki Stardust Quartet. We were invited to play at gallery and theatre openings and at weddings and even funerals; we played in care centres and open-air festivals. One of our never-to-be-forgotten experiences was in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde. The University of Alberta Quartet was featured and Simon Streatfield conducted. We played the children’s recorder orchestra, and did not exactly excel in the part. Still, we remained a rather small group, and we envied Calgary its much bigger recorder scene, and traded visits with them for joint workshops or for special guest visits.
The tables were turned during the 1980’s when Herb Taylor joined the society and gingered us up. He established contact with the excellent recorder teacher, Rachel Jean, and we took group lessons from her. Rachel organized Christmas music with a local Francophone choir and became the first conductor of the Edmonton Recorder Orchestra; we gave our first concert in City Hall in 2002. Herb and his wife, Astrid Blodgett, built a house with recorder players in mind, and together they have hosted workshops with the likes of Francis Colpron, Mathias Maute, Michael Schneider, Piers Adams, as well as rehearsals of the Edmonton Recorder Orchestra and a Christmas Sing and Toot. The orchestra, under the direction of David Wilson, had given concerts focusing on Spain, England and France.
Edmonton’s own Terri Hron, a former student of Rachel’s and now permanently based in Amsterdam, is a regular visitor to Edmonton and always gives workshops and concerts when she comes home. Vince Kelly has a music publishing press and we enjoy being guinea-pigs for his new publications.
For several years Janet Couch has been the chief organizer for a delightful retreat in a mountain lodge outside Nordegg. We are joined by players from Red Deer, Calgary (where the society is now much smaller than ours) and Lethbridge and spend a weekend in September leading small and large groups ourselves. During the winter months there are monthly play-ins organized by Linda Jacklin. Country dwellers like Nigel Jackman and John and Leni Honsaker kindly open their homes for tooting and facilitate access to ponds for boating or cross-country skiing.
The Society has a very extensive library of music, largely donated by various people, but the richest archive is in the minds of members. Our collective repertoire is immense. We’ve played masses and masses of music (and not just Masses) from eight centuries and the society has provided great music-making pleasure to its many members over the nearly 40 years of its existence.
© Vivien Bosley