In the Beginning...
The Caledon Concert Band began with an advertisement placed in the Caledon Citizen newspaper in 1974 calling together area musicians for a rehearsal at Ellwood Public School. We started with a couple of violin players, a guitar, a handful of brass instrument players and a bass drum, salvaged from the ashes of the Bolton Arena which had burned down in the early 1970's. That bass drum and our first conductor, the late Jimmy (James) Maw, were a legacy from the Caledon Citizen's Band which had disbanded with the start of WWII when many players left to serve in military bands. We still use that very drum in performance.
Early Members
Early members were Lloyd Bittle (trumpet), Gerry Patterson (bass drum), Freddie Martins (trumpet), Bob Parkins (trumpet) and Dave Jordan (trombone) and some of his children. Other players to join in those early years were Arie Kavalaar (started on Trombone and switched to French Horn) and Malcolm McPherson (clarinet and sax) who still play with the band when they return to Canada with the other snow birds.
Rehearsals and Activities
The Band was conducted primarily by Jimmy Maw for the first decade of its existence. The focus of the band was performance (almost once per month) rather than competition. Seniors homes were frequent venues. Performances were held at Peel Manor, Kipling Acres Strawberry Festival as well as at fairs and festivals in surrounding communities.
Rehearsals were held at the Ellwood Public School for the first four or five years. The band has had its home at Christ Anglican Church for the past decade, but in the years since its formation, the band had also rehearsed at Bolton United Church, Macville Public School, James Bolton Public School, Morningstar Secondary School, Brampton Centennial and the Masonic Hall in Bolton. The band has recently moved to the Caledon East Community Centre where it is hoped we will find a permanent home.
Band exchanges are a tradition for the Caledon Concert Band beginning with the Alliston Potato Festival. At one time, the Alliston Concert Band and Caledon Concert Band even alternated monthly rehearsals. The Band has also enjoyed regular exchanges and picnic socials with the Thorold Reed Band and Guelph Concert Band.
Caledon Concert Band
25th Anniversary - 1999
Recent Times
Our current conductor, Rob Kinnear, joined the band in January 1985 and has led the band to a new standard of excellence. In addition to the many competitions and awards, the Caledon Concert Band recalls fondly the many Picnic Concert Tours to such locations as Gravenhurst, Guelph, Orillia and Stratford. These pot luck events have become a gourmet's delight - a culinary competition second only to the bocce and baseball games that follow. Caledon Concert Band also has a history of supporting fundraising with benefit concerts for such worthy events as the Cancer Society Hoops, Wheels & Deals and Playing for Paraguay.
Now registered as a charitable organization, we use the funds raised at our events to support the scholarship programme for graduating students pursuing post-secondary music education, and to support local music education programmes including the music programme at James Bolton Public School.
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