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The following article about the Lakeshore Concert
Band appeared in The Montreal Gazette, Sept. 4, 1997 A Concerted Effort Lakeshore Concert Band launches hour - long CD to mark 30th anniversary Ann Corroll - The Gazette |
| DORVAL - The Lakeshore Concert Band will toot its own horn this month with the launch of a CD to commemorate the group's 30th anniversary. The hour-long CD, which features a variety of Canadian compositions, is a first for the Dorval-based band. Titled "A Lakeshore Concert", the CD should be available at outdoor concerts in Pointe Claire and Dorval, band member Brad Rogers said. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will go to the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped and to a general band fund to help defray expenses of concert tours. None of the 50-odd musicians gets a penny from the sale of the CD or from concerts they play every summer in the Montreal area. Audience appreciation is all they need to perform, said Rogers, a 23-year old trumpet player. "The bigger the audience the better," he said, noting that some concerts attract as many as 400 spectators. "The tremendous applause pumps up the band and the audience gets excited seeing how many other people are there." Rogers, an accounting student at Concordia University, joined the band four years ago for the joy of playing and to give his family and neighbours a break from his home practice sessions. "Some people are more forgiving than others," he quipped, adding that he usually mutes his trumpet at home to soften the sound. The weekly band practices - members meet Monday nights at St. Veronica School on Presentation St. - and summer concerts are a great way to relieve stress, Rogers added. "You have to devote 100 per cent concentration to the music and forget everything else that's going on." The band features a range of percussion and wind instruments and has a repertoire covering everything from classical music to Broadway show tunes. Its town-sponsered concerts-in-the-park favour a light program of stage and film hits, stirring marches and popular folk melodies. "The towns want to attract people of all tastes, to get people's toes tapping in a nice summer night," Rogers said. |