This Saturday the Williams Lake Community Band invites the entire community out to the Gibraltar Room this Saturday for a workshop and concert.
Lake City Secondary’s Band director Laura Eilers, who also serves as the director of the Community band, is eager to invite West Vancouver based composer and musical jack of all trades Doug Macaulay to lead a workshop with the band. This all-day workshop will be open to all lakecity musicians, not just members of the band, and will include members of Lake City Secondary’s Band and 100 Mile’s Peter Skene Ogden’s school band.
Macaulay is an award-winning composer from the lower mainland known for organizing and adjudicating festivals, producing music and an overall commitment to fostering the growth of the arts, music in particular. One of his great loves and passions, however, remains teaching music and to enhance the techniques of fellow musicians.
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One of the main reasons Eiler’s is bringing him to Williams Lake, beyond his expertise, is a desire she has to expose lakecity musicians to more outside musical influences than just herself.
“(The band is) something that’s a consistent language across the field where everyone can come together and know exactly what’s written on the page,” Eilers said. “Just make music together and it’s great that kids can come, listen and play with people who have been playing for many, many years.”
The workshop portion of the day will be running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Gibraltar Room with the concert portion beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 at The Open Book or the door for adults, $10 for students and seniors with any child under the age of six getting in for free.
All funds from the ticket sales will be going back into enhancing and improving the band program, Eilers said. She also wanted to add that a grant from the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society and funding from the Williams Lake Log Haulers Association helped give her the resources to put this whole event on.
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“I think it will be a great performance for the community to come see,” Eilers remarked. “To listen to what music does, just bring everyone together and it doesn’t matter how old you are. If you’re able to play an instrument you’re able to play with a group (like the band).”
Eiler said she and the other 60 members of the Community Band are excited to work with a conductor of Macaulay’s calibre and look forward to seeing what new ideas he can bring to the band.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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