Truro Concert Band musical director passes the baton after more than 50 years

TRURO – Truro is known for its vibrant, active music scene, and the Truro Concert Band is one part of it.

The band has history dating back to 1875, the same year the town was incorporated.

Ken Henderson, the band’s longtime musical director, has recently stepped down from the role. He believes he has been the musical director for 52 years.

“I’ve been at it a long time,” Henderson said during an interview in the band’s room at the Truro Library.

“I really thought for a while that maybe somebody with a fresh outlook would be helpful to the organization altogether.”

Although Henderson is no longer musical director, he is still playing clarinet in the band.

This is the same instrument he played when he first joined the Truro Concert Band. He believes he was in Grade 8 at the time.

Charlotte MacQuarrie, a community leader and arts advocate who was in the Truro Concert Band, taught Henderson to play the clarinet.

Gregor Fraser was the musical director when Henderson joined the ensemble. The J. Arch Fraser Bandshell in Victoria Park is named in honour of the conductor’s father.

On this note, Henderson adds that he is not the first person in his own family to be involved with the band.

“It’s a deep tradition in Truro. I had two uncles that played in the band in the ‘20s and ‘30s, and I’m pretty sure my grandfather, who died long before I was born, he played in the band, and around the turn of the century, I think.”

Henderson played clarinet with the ensemble until he went to university. He returned home to Truro after a teaching stint in Middleton and eventually rejoined the band.

Jack Sirulnikoff, a composer and teacher, was conducting the band when he asked Henderson to be his assistant conductor.

“He didn’t exactly say why,” said Henderson, who recalls this being either late 1973 or early 1974.

He believes he became the full musical director in the early spring of 1974, when Sirulnikoff left Truro.

“I don’t remember any formal process,” said Henderson, adding with a laugh, “I just seem to have inherited the band.”

Being the Truro Concert Band’s musical director has meant a lot to him.

“It’s been a real outlet for me. … I’ve always felt better as a result of having been here, energized or whatever the right word is, from having done it,” he said, referring to the band’s Tuesday practices.

“I think it’s an important contribution to the community.”

Henderson remembers writing a paper in a Canadian studies course chronicling the history of Truro’s community bands.

Part of it later appeared in the Canadian Winds, the professional journal of the Canadian Band Association.

It was called A Town Must Have a Band.

“That’s not so much true anymore, but it was true in the past,” said Henderson. “A town … wouldn’t be considered respectable if it didn’t have a band.”

Henderson describes the Truro Concert Band as a community within itself.

Everyone in the ensemble has different levels of experience they bring to the table, he said.

“It’s a team-building exercise that’s non-competitive,” said Henderson. “Everybody can win and nobody has to lose.”

Henderson has passed the baton to Holly Hartlen, a retired teacher whose early music career was with the Truro Concert Band.

Hartlen started playing trumpet in the ensemble when she was around 11 or 12 years old.

She said there were many years she didn’t play with the local band, but she always felt connected to it.

“It’s just got an incredibly amazing history,” said Hartlen. “Ken was formative for me, you know, he was one of my very first band directors.”

Hartlen said she was thrilled to get the opportunity to be the band’s new musical director.

“(It) had always sort of been in the back of my mind that at some point, you know, when Ken was done, I was hoping I was going to be next. So, for me, it really wasn’t much of a decision.”

Hartlen said she looks forward to the opportunity to be part of the Truro Concert Band’s history as the new musical director. And she looks forward to the chance to conduct musicians who play at a higher level.

The band currently has roughly 25 active members, and Hartlen said their doors are open for anyone looking to join.

“As long as you get to make music, what could be better than that?” said Hartlen.

“When Ken says he leaves energized, I think we all do. … It’s a beautiful thing to make music together, and we don’t get enough opportunities to do that, and we’re lucky that we have that in our lives.”