Musical connections

It was a bittersweet evening last Thursday night in Bloomfield. Bitter, in that something special was wrapping up. Sweet, in that those present knew they had been part of something special: the Quarter Moon Café.

This year has been a banner year for the biweekly summer coffee house sponsored by the Bloomfield and Area Business Associaton. The Quarter Moon is an open stage musical platform, where all performers are allowed a strictly enforced two-song turn. Admission and snacks and drinks are free; donations are appreciated but not solicited.

There are two important ground rules. The foremost, reiterated forcefully by genial hosts Steve Campbell and Ken Hudson, is that anyone with enough courage to perform, however raw they may be, is welcome to take a turn alongside the more seasoned performers. (They joke that they, as the opening act, set the bar so low that virtually anyone can clear it.) And while it takes some courage to stand up, those who do can be sure of an encouraging response from the audience. Wellington resident Gord Sirot spoke movingly about how as a novice performer he had found a “home in a song” at the Quarter Moon.

The second ground rule is that sing-alongers and playalongers are encouraged to jump up and join the performance. The onus is on the peformer to glare them offstage if they aren’t wanted. To accommodate this, the organizers have set up a battery of microphones that would service the sudden arrival of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. Last Thursday night was no exception: Wellington’s Lorain Sine was joined by a battery of backups after she launched into “Don’t be cruel.” The evening ended, as it traditionally does, by all the performers joining her to sing “I saw the light.”

While performers came from Amherst Island, Brighton and Campbellford and places closer to home to participate, the core participants are from the County. And what a stacked deck we have—from ever-youthful elder statesman and accordion player Bill Sallans, to high school senior and ukelele specialist Robin Felkar-Burge. Talent seems to pour in —from Sandbanks Park campers who just happen to be fiddle virtuosos to new County resident Martin Barrett, who brought the house down with his dead-on rendition of Louis Armstrong, Kermit the Frog and Willie Nelson (serially) singing “Wonderful World.”

And the amazing fact is that this is only one venue for participatory music in the County. There are periodic Saturday night open stages at St. Gregory’s school in Picton, monthly Sunday afternoon “Circle of Song” sessions at the South Marysburgh Community Centre; and weekly open stages at The Barley Room (Thursday nights, hosted by the venerable Frere Brothers), JJ’s (Tuesday nights) and The Acoustic Grill (Sunday nights). Commencing October 6, there will be periodic Wednesday night open stages in Wellington (the “windy village”) at the Devonshire Inn. And of course, this is merely one thread in a quilt made of numerous choirs, amateur groups and soloists in the classical, jazz and other genres, professional musicians and musical service providers around the County.

When there is a worthy cause requiring community fundraising, it is often musicians—as well as other performing and creative artists—who get the first call to give of their time and creative output. “Zeke Aid” is one example, and not long ago there was a highly successful concert for Haitian earthquake relief organized by the indefatigable Jeanette Arsenault and her colleagues in the Trinity group. (By the same token, if you want to annoy a musician immediately, just invite one to provide the entertainment at your function and assume that payment is not required because the musician will jump at the chance to have listeners. Better to pay up front and cultivate the waiver of payment option.)

I think this tells us something both about how we value music, and how much it means to us. What we value is not technical excellence in presentation; although where we find it, we will gladly take it. It is the sense that we are collectively enjoying the experience. In plainer terms, it is the sense of community.

To me, a strong musical community—especially a strong amateur music community—is a sure sign that you have a strong community all ’round. And I’d venture a step further: if you want to build a strong community, you can’t do too much better than by encouraging the arts. As I’m sure the Bloomfield and Area Business Association can attest, it doesn’t cost them that much against the return. And this fall, the “windy village” gets a chance to prove my thesis right. See you there!