Getting Together for all the Right Reasons Mary Thornton Nipissing University is in Northern Ontario within the community of North Bay on the shores of Lake Nipissing. The Schulich School of Education is one of the faculties within the university and is where this story starts. About 5 years ago the Nipissing University Eddie Band was formed with the objective of allowing the Intermediate and Senior Music Elective students at the Schulich School of Education a chance to experience a wide variety of repertoire for 7 to 12 classrooms. Another reason behind the formation was that because of the limited instrumentation in the music electives a balanced ensemble was very difficult to achieve. As a result, I opened the membership up to Nipissing Arts and Science students, Canadore College students and adult members of the North Bay community to become part of the group. what would happen when these various groups were brought together? Arts and Science and Canadore students began to approach me to indicate that they had not played since high school but missed the band experience and they were excited to have an opportunity to belong to a concert band again. Many adults who played an instrument were also excited to belong to a band to hone their skills for other groups in which they participate. Of course, the education students were eager to continue with their instrument as well as hone their teaching skills. The ages of the members range from 18 to 71. The rapport that has been established and has grown remains wondrous to observe. T he Eddie Band rehearses every Tuesday from 9:30 to 11:10 a.m. and students come and go during that time depending on their class schedules. There are normally have about 40 to 45 members. The adults stay for the whole time and continue to rehearse even when the education students are out on practicum. When the students leave in April the adults still rehearse until the end of May because they want to get started on the repertoire for the next year. They want to be able to play most of the repertoire before the students arrive at the university in the fall. Now that is dedication. The band plays 4 to 5 concerts a year, alone but also do joint concerts with a local high school band, another local adult group called Joy Band Too and with the North Bay air base 22 Wing Concert Band. These are outreach concerts to advocate for music education in the schools and encourage students to stay with music while in school and beyond. Scheduling rehearsal time and
‘The students are generous to let us play with them. It certainly improved my playing to sit beside someone like [education student] who could REALLY play. People like [education students] have superb tone and it’s inspiring, and focusing, to hear how good an instrument can sound. On a practical level, [an education student] shared with the other French Horn players some warm-up exercises [from her horn teacher] that I continue to use. The [education student] was very patient with us. Enthusiasm and youth are great things; I suspect the students also benefited from having us duffers next to them. I hope that when they look at us, they are encouraged to continue with music, whether as a profession or hobby, until their old age.’
(Linda Langdon, community member, French Horn)
‘Working with the Eddie band has been one of the more unique, and eye-opening experiences I have been a part of as a musician. To see people in the band, at different points in their lives, still have that same love and enthusiasm for making music was something very eye-opening and helps me appreciate the power of music even more. The Eddie band truly is a catalyst that can bring all people together and allow them to share their love of music with each other and their audiences.’
‘The "Eddy Band" at Nipissing University has been a wonderful musical experience for me for the last four years. The [director] has provided us with challenging and exciting repertoire and demands the best from us. The students seem to emit such energy and exuberance -- that it is contagious. As well, they have tremendous musical abilities and yet they are always accepting and supportive of those of us who come from the community despite the age differences. I find that playing in this band is a unique experience given the various levels of abilities and ages and yet by the end of the term, we all manage to "play as one" with wonderful expression and pretty impressive dynamics.....and best of all we have had fun! This all happens because of Mary's excellent direction ...... not to mention her fantastic sense of humour.’
(Linda McCarthy, community member, Alto Sax)
The Eddie band at Nipissing University was a pivotal part of my teacher education. It offered a uniquely beneficial opportunity to simultaneously learn new music to bring into our future classrooms, coach the community members within the band, and build relationships within the community of North Bay, all under the incomparable direction of the [director] . Rehearsals were always a perfect mix of being productive, while also filled with lots of laughs and anecdotes. The friendships forged within these rehearsals and concerts gave the teacher candidates a chance to make connections with their fellow teacher candidates, undergraduate students hoping to continue their music education in university, and committed community members with a passion for music making. This adventure was an investment that benefitted so many within the Nipissing music family, whether it was attending a concert or participating in the various community outreach events. I can honestly say that my teacher education experience was remarkably enriched by the experiences had and relationships built within the NU Eddie Band!
