St. John’s man parades with Parliament Hill Ceremonial Guard
Amongst the scarlet tunics and bearskin headdresses of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa this summer is St. John’s university student, reservist and musician Kurtis Rodgers.
The 20-year-old calls the experience of parading with the guard “surreal.”
“You’ve known about this thing your whole life and now you’re actually a part of it – you’re marching up the street and there’s thousands of people taking pictures of you,” he said, describing the first time he did the march from Cartier Square to Parliament Hill.
For Rodgers, it’s a dream opportunity.
He’s studying music at Memorial University, so he jumped at the chance to play music while also serving as a reservist.
His family has a long military history. His father was a reservist, his grandfather was in the navy, and his great-great-great uncle Thomas Rodgers was a Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldier who died during the First World War and is buried in France.
“I joined the Canadian Forces to continue my family’s long history of service to our country,” he said, adding that he’s proud to be a Ceremonial Guard member.
That said, Rodgers is also having a lot of fun.
“I really like playing march music, especially for trombone – there’s a lot of brass – and it’s just really fun music to play.”
Rodgers is a passionate musician – other than trombone, he also plays guitar, drums, and piano.
“It’s definitely a good opportunity, especially anyone looking for part time work as a university student. You get to play your instrument and you get paid for doing that. Especially in the summertime working full time with the Ceremonial Guard, you’re getting paid to parade every day or rehearse music that’s fun to play.”
Rodgers is going into his third year of a music degree this September.
He’s undecided right now whether he’d like to pursue a law or seminary degree next, but he said he’ll still continue on in the reserves.
In the meantime, he’s looking forward to Fortissimo coming up July 19 – it’s a musical spectacular on the lawns of Parliament Hill which features military bands, pipes and drums, guest performers, and of course the Ceremonial Guard.