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“Mum, I Want to Learn to Play the Tuba” The Canadian Brass inspires all ages at The Meek By Victoria Rogers

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The Canadian Brass with concert sponsors Kim Mailey and Victoria Rogers

Executive Director, Paul Gravett, eloquently opened the evening's event with thanks to the multitude of people who have helped to make The Meek the heart of West Vancouver. He then recognized how wonderful it was to see so many young children and students at the concert.

It is always a sign of a great performance when the time flies by. This is exactly what happened last Saturday night! From the starting gates, we knew this concert would be like no other… it was so FUNNY!

The Canadian Brass pulled out all the stops. What was that tuba player doing playing on his back on the stage floor? Wasn't that the trumpet player dressed up as a girl in a skirt and bonnet? From the laughter and cheers I just couldn't decided who the noisiest audience members were that night… the Collingwood Music Faculty, sitting behind us, or concert sponsor Kim Mailey who was laughing so hard at my side.

The Canadian Brass meet the Collingwood Brass! (Collingwood School Faculty Lisa Evans, David Buchan, Michael Perkins, Tracey Lowe, Natalie Prichard and their Music Students)

Beneath the comedy act, it was obvious that these were musicians of the highest caliber. Their programme touched many musical genres… from the classics (Baaccccch and Gabrieli), to swing (Glenn Miller), to modern (Beatles), to its closing with a Spaghetti Western (Schickele). The students in the audience never had a moment to be bored…they loved it!

After the curtain went down it was our turn to be surprised. The Kay Meek Centre hosted a lovely reception for The Mailey Rogers Group as a thank you for sponsoring the concert. Our guests that night (Collingwood School staff and brass students), enjoyed meeting some of Canada's finest, and funniest, musicians!

On reflection, this concert was not only entertaining but personally rewarding. A simple decision, to support the arts in our community, did turn out to be a night where, we believe, a young child came home from the concert and said… “Mum I want to learn to play the tuba!” There is no richer reward for giving than this.