Kitchener Musical Society Band celebrates 150 years

A Kitchener band is celebrating a very special milestone - 150 years of playing music. CTV's Colton Wiens hears all about their plans for the future.

The Kitchener Musical Society Band is marking 150 years of performances in the community and is believed to be the oldest active non-military concert band in Canada.

“Teachers, doctors, farmers, moms and dads - it’s amazing. And the fact that we’ve been around for 150 years is astounding,” Josh Crouche, musical director of the Kitchener Musical Society Band told CTV News on Monday.

The group traces its official origins to 1876, though some members said it’s history may go back even further.

“It wasn’t Berlin news back then, it’s even before that,” said Andy Teminski, president of the Kitchener Musical Society Band said. “We only established in 1876.”

Now they’re more of a concert band that plays a little bit of everything, but they once performed turn-of-the-century military marches.

“I recall when I was first starting with the band, the Kitchener band actually used to march, and we stopped doing that many, many years ago now,” said Ron Baer, a flute and piccolo player. “We’re doing much more sit-down concerts, more popular music, that type of thing.”

Baer has been with the band for 54 years, making him one of its longest-serving active members.

“It’s actually amazing. I’ve enjoyed it ever since I was 14, when I first started. And I keep on going,” Baer said.

“I’ve been a part of this band for almost 20 years, and I love community music making,” Crouche added.

Teminski, a member for 45 years, said the band has a long and storied history.

“We played for royalty at one time. So we’ve been everywhere and anywhere,” he said. “We all just love playing music, and it’s great to play live music.”

Today, the band is made up of 60 volunteer woodwind, reed, brass and percussion players who rehearse weekly to hone their skills and keep the 150-year history alive.

The group is always welcoming new members with at least a high school level of playing experience.

“If you play an instrument, come on out and join us. It’s a wonderful thing to make music,” Crouche said.

To mark the milestone, the band has planned a special anniversary concert in June and has commissioned a new piece.

“[We will] debut our commissioned piece of music that we had Robert Buckley write for us. Robert Buckley, obviously, is a very famous Canadian composer, so it will be the world premiere of his music,” Teminski said.

Crouche said the piece reflects the spirit of the band.

“It tells the story of a spark of creativity and community joy to bring us all together,” he explained.

The band will host a free concert at THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener on Sunday, June 14. Tickets are available through the museum’s website.