Tuning into Community: Meet the Musicians of Harmony Centre
Discover the rich musical community at Owen Sound’s Harmony Centre, where groups like Get Yer Celtic On, Queen’s Bush Bluegrass Club, and Rosin Dust gather to play, learn, and connect.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
by Lorraine Campbell
Does the sound of music pull at your heartstrings? Does the sound of cellos, violins fiddles, bass, guitars, banjos, mandolins, harps… and maybe concertinas flutes, bodhrans, or pennywhistles… stir your spirit? Harmony Centre may have something for you!
This month, I chatted with some of the groups who gather at Harmony Centre for the pleasure of making music together.
On the first and third Sunday afternoon of every month, Get Yer Celtic On! meets at 12:30pm in the Board Room.
I met with Iain Campbell, who said that the focus of the group is on the beginning player, on learning tunes and playing in a low-key environment. Tunes are taught the old way — by ear, phrase-by-phrase — with the aim of building a commonly held repertoire of tunes both known and newly written.
For those who are interested in writing a piece, the session is a safe place to teach it and try it. Instruments played include but are not limited to fiddle, bass, guitar, mandolin, harp, concertina, bodhran, and pennywhistle. Anyone is welcome to join this informal group, all you need is a basic playing ability on your instrument.
Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm, the Queen’s Bush Bluegrass Club gathers in the Greaves Auditorium. Since its formation in 2001, the club has attracted seasoned players and beginners alike — a generous mix of young and old, instrumentalists and singers.
I contacted Kerry Adams, one of the members of QBBC. He told me the focus of the club is acoustic Bluegrass music. Instruments may include banjo, mandolin, guitar, stand-up bass, dobro, harmonica, fiddle, and voice.
Bluegrass is essentially a fusion of folk and country music that originated in the rural south after World War II and became popular with farm folk and blue-collar workers. Mike Matejcic, one of the founding members of the club, says that bluegrass has always been popular in the Owen Sound area due to the influence of the early pioneers.
The group’s name references a tract of land surrendered in the Manitowaning Treaty of 1836, known as Queen’s Bush (referencing Queen Victoria) that was later divided into the counties of Huron, Perth, and Bruce. QBBC is composed of two groups: a beginner’s group and a jam session. Groups meet separately but at the same time, every Thursday evening at 7:00 pm. The club is open to anyone, beginner or experienced.
On Friday afternoons at 2 pm, Rosin Dust meets in the Greaves Auditorium. Originally a women’s cello choir which formed 10 years ago, membership has now broadened to a collection of string musicians led by Dominik Franken.
The musicians play double bass, cello, violin, second violin, and viola. Friday afternoons are not intended to be a stressful two hours — they play to enjoy music, for social benefits, and to continue their personal efforts to improve musically.
As performers, the intent is to make classical music attainable and accessible for everybody. Whether playing on Fridays or out in the community, the musicians chat in between pieces, and they encourage clapping and conversation.
The group is currently working on a summer program, which will be performed on July 25th at Harmony Centre and August 1st in Lions Head as the closing act in Lions Head Summer Music. Again, anyone and any skill level is welcome to join this informal group.
Resident Profiles is a series of articles by Harmony Centre board member Lorraine Campbell. Each month, Lorraine will write about the people and the community groups that make this remarkable facility what it is today.