Frank Exley credits Louis Armstrong for sparking the passion for music in him, which has led to his support of the 72nd Annual St. Thomas Music Festival.
He first met “Satchmo,” the famous American jazz and blues trumpeter and vocalist, back in the late ‘60s when Mr. Exley played clarinet in The Larry Dennis Combo, the house band at Port Stanley’s Stork Club.
At that time, the Stork Club was recognized as Ontario’s largest dance hall and was known for hosting big swing bands and orchestras, including Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, from 1926 until it was tragically lost to a fire in 1979.
The memories of hanging out at the Stork Club and meeting “Satchmo” have left a lasting impression on Mr. Exley and continue to inspire him to share his love of music with students involved in the festival.
“I’m a sax and clarinet guy,” Mr. Exley mentioned during a recent interview. “In my first three and a half years of marriage, I was playing at the Stork Club.”
“Going back to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, we were their house band for three and a half years,” he continued. “You can imagine how thrilling it was on that Saturday night when we got to play during intermission while Louis Armstrong performed at the Stork Club.”
“That’s one of my favorite memories,” he shared. He even donated a park bench along Kettle Creek in Port Stanley with a plaque commemorating how special it was to meet Mr. Armstrong. “We got to meet him and all the band.”
The St. Thomas Music Festival is an exciting musical competition for students held across five venues throughout the city from February 23 to February 27. Online registration – at www. stthomasmusicfestival. ca – is open until December 19. A major awards event will take place on February 27 at 7 p. m., hosted by Central United Church. Additionally, there will be a keynote concert on March 27 at 7 p. m., also at Central United Church, where admission will be by free-will donations. Last year alone saw approximately $12,000 given out in scholarships and awards.
The festival started out as the Rotary Music Festival back in 1952 when it took place at Knox Presbyterian Church with around 600 entries participating.
The Rotary Club aimed to create more opportunities for musical performance after Elgin Junior Farmers’ Festivals ended, as noted by Elaine Harrington Catchpole from the festival committee.
The inaugural adjudicators included: Martin Boundy from London Symphony; Dr. Roy Fenwick from Ontario’s Department of Education; Arthur Rose; Clifford Poole from Western Music Department; and Earl Terry who directed Earl Terry Singers.
In 2022, sponsorship of this event transitioned to St. Thomas Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), located at 451 Wellington Street, which renamed it as St. Thomas Music Festival in collaboration with Rotary Club in 2023.
<p“Back then, accordion ensembles were quite popular," Ms Harrington Catchpole recalled."This eventually shifted toward guitars and ensembles before landing today on ukuleles being favored."
“The structure of our festival remains mostly unchanged over time with categories divided by instruments featuring both classical pieces alongside contemporary selections,” she added.”Nowadays there’s an effort made towards encouraging personal creativity as well as including less common instruments along with shifts seen within adjudication practices.”
“In fact choral speaking made its return into programming this year filling gaps allowing participation among those who may not otherwise have had chances” said Ms Harrington Catchpole further elaborating on changes seen recently regarding inclusivity measures taken lately.
Aiming towards facilitating career development pathways , the festival joined forces with Ontario Music Festivals Association supporting young musicians competing across piano/voice categories against peers hailing from various other festivals throughout province-wide circuit.
“Funding allocated towards scholarship provisions derives primarily through annual contributions received “stated committee members who’ve established bursary systems addressing student-related expenses including transportation assistance too.”
A two-year hiatus occurred starting off during ’75 owing mainly due financial constraints but resumed later marked under new title -25th anniversary celebrations held afterward gaining momentum leading up once again till present day status quo continuing strong despite occasional setbacks like snowstorms affecting scheduling arrangements particularly witnessed back earlier this year causing rerouting processes involving hundreds affected amidst logistical challenges faced overall. ” said Ms Harrington Catchpole explaining ongoing resilience shown since inception despite many hurdles encountered along way!.
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