Stadacona Band performing in Pictou this month
David Pos remembers a time when band programs were a rarity in middle schools in communities like Pictou County.
He’s happy to say that bands are trending upward in Pictou County and each year they have more students interested in joining. With increased participation comes increased costs, including instruments for the band members. To help address that financial need, Pos reached out to the Stadacona Band of the Royal Canadian Navy and was happy to receive a response that they would volunteer their time to help raise funds for three Pictou County middle school bands — McCulloch Education Centre, Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated School and West Pictou Consolidated School.
The concert will take place at the deCoste Centre on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the deCoste Centre box office. Prices range from $18.50 in advance to $22 at the door.
Ticket holders will hear the classic marches like “Heart of Oak” but you will also hear big band music from the Second World War with great vocals and instrumental solos, jazz and Dixieland, current popular and film music and some electric guitar-based music.
The musicians in the Stadacona Band are considered among the best in Canada and travel the world, visiting many countries every year. Many band members are also freelance musicians and work with other musicians throughout Nova Scotia and beyond.
Pos said they’re excited to see ticket sales are already looking good for the event.
“It’ll be a major fundraiser for us,” he said, and is a much larger scale than other fundraisers they’ve done in the past.
He believes the strength of the middle school programs is important because they feed into the high school bands. It’s also good for students to get an early start when learning an instrument, he said.
In addition to the money from ticket sales, Pos said they’re also encouraging anyone who has an instrument they’re no longer using to bring it to the event to donate to the schools band programs. He said wind instruments are particularly helpful and in demand.