Sound Keepsake
Custom music for Memorial | Just Because | Gift | Commemorative Work
Services
Commemorative Works, Tribute songs, Memorial, and Just Because
Pricing: refer to The League of Canadian Composer’s Guide for Fees.
Arranging Rates. I am open to consultation regarding rates, and welcome opportunities to discuss potential works and accommodate pricing as possible.
When I was physically unable to attend a loved one’s funeral service outside the country, due to mobility issues, I was in distress as to how to express my emotions and support my family. In lieu of my physical presence, my eldest daughter and I recorded a song, (a contemporary Christian work, by Andy Thompson, Northumberland Music Studio, Warkworth,ON) which was played at the graveside/internment. We were present in spirit and song, adding our melodies and harmonies to the emotions of the day, to comfort the loving family present. The same song was played again, at my dear father’s Celebration of Life when he passed away, a few years later. It’s a personal treasure, which I share with friends and family when solace is needed.
While it’s routine to have selected favourite music for loved ones, it’s of more significance to have an intentional work, like a personally tailored suit, or dress, for such momentous occasions, and rites of passage. A musical memoir which reflects the energy and spirit of the individual, or of the moment, is a sincere gesture of love and compassion.
An opportunity came through Major Karen Shields (Director: 8 Wing Concert Band, Trenton) to create a significant work for the Tribute to the Brave Concert, an annual event for the National Airforce Museum of Canada. Karen had researched the museum archives and found archival records of two P.O.W. musicians from WWII, Bill Beale and Eric Hurst. As imprisoned officers, they had created musical theatrical works for entertainment during the war, and using 2 works from each musician, I was asked to create a medley for the combined musical forces of Orchestra, Concert Band, Pipes & Drums Band and Choir (SSA). A rare opportunity!
The main featured song was “Sugar”, as it personified the composer/actor Eric Hurst, who was a Tenor, and had played and sang all the lead female roles in the musical theatre productions at the P.O.W. camp (Stalag 5 or 6?) A “tongue in cheek” tune, a recording was sent to his daughter in Australia, following the performance, as the Concert performance happened to coincide with her Birthday, and she had shared her father’s journals with the Airforce Museum.
The work was Conducted by Trevor Argue, and performed under the wings of an aircraft in the centre of the National Airforce Museum of Canada.
Kevin, who had created a special display for the life of P.O.W. Eric Hurst, and followed the trail of “Sugar”, as he was nicknamed by his comrades for his musical theatre portrayals of female protagonists, responded to the “100th” … “It moved me to tears, and my only wish was that we would have been able to get a better recording of it to hear "Hey Sugar". - Kevin Windsor, Executive Director of the National Airforce Museum
The Hundredth
P.O.W. Medley, Tribute to the Brave Concert (Bill Beale, Eric Hurst arranged by K Locklin)
8 Wing Concert Band, 8 Wing Pipes & Drums, Military Wives Choir-Trenton, Quinte Symphony Orchestra
Sunday, Sept 29, 2024 @ National Airforce Museum of Canada (Trenton, ON)
