Mr. Gardiner’s Opus….and the band takes flight….

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I had an emotional evening last Wednesday – but it was happy emotion mixed with a little melancholy. I travelled off down the road to Brantford to share some time with my little brother, Brian. You see, my little brother is retiring after 32 years as a teacher, the last 23 spent at North Park Collegiate as the music instructor. I was talking to Brian last Sunday and he happened to mention that he was planning for his annual spring band concert – something he does every year at this time. This year, however, it was different – this would be the final time for the concert with my brother leading the band. As soon as I got off the phone, I got to thinking. I should go, I thought. I should be there with him to show support as his brother…..then I called my sister in Hanover and told her what was happening. She contacted my parents and the result was that five of us were sitting in the audience when my brother took his spot in front of the orchestra. He had no idea we were there until the MC for the evening announced our presence at the beginning of the concert. And the minute he did, you could see my brother start to get emotional. He immediately turned to face the orchestra and got down to business. And as I watched my little brother put his various bands and ensembles through their paces, and receive the accolades from his students and others, I came to realize that my brother has lived his whole working life away from me and that I don’t really know much about it. But one thing was clear as I watched – he is a much-loved part of the school where he has toiled away for over two decades. It was a huge thrill for my parents to see their youngest son in his element, leading his band, something they had never seen before. And, finally, the end of the concert had been reached. It was time for the last number. It was introduced as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and my brother dutifully directed his young charges through the difficult piece of music until the climax had been reached. There was a big standing ovation that seemed to go on forever. Then, the concert seemed over…but everybody stayed in their seats. My brother explained to them that the show was over….that was all there was. At this point, the MC broke in. “Mr. Gardiner thinks the concert is over, but we know it’s not,” he said. And at that point, folks carrying instruments started merging from back stage. There were over 40 of them. And it turned out that they were former students of my brother who had been practicing in secret for several months so they could play one more time for their music teacher. They did a medley of 80’s music in honour of Brian who started his career away back then. It was an emotional time for all of us. It was, in fact, Mr. Gardiner’s Opus, and it was really special. And so now my little brother will retire – another sign that this life thing is getting to the other end from where it started. I have been so blessed to be part of the Gardiner family and to have shared so many special times with them….they are my life….and I love them all….’nough said…

Well, our new blues band touched down this past Sunday in my backyard as we get ready to move out into the public sphere. We have our first serious gig coming up on June 2 at the Wallaceburg Legion, so after four months of practicing it looks like we’re ready to get going. Although maybe you couldn’t have told that from the first set we played at the backyard party. It was sort of rough going for a while and there were lots of mistakes. We were all sort of disappointed when we took our break. But we seemed to regroup and came back with a much stronger effort for the second set. I continue to think we’ve got a great band here and it’s exciting to play with. Augie Polowick is a tremendous guitarist who has a wonderful feel for the blues and our singer, Kim Sterling, really is blowing the doors off almost every time we get together. Tom Trembley and I do out jobs as the rhythm section of the band and I think we’ve got a great sound. And we’re learning such great music. It should be a fun summer…..

Well, out of time for another week and hoping everything is going well for you out in the real world. Some really hot weather on the way so stay cool….and remember…”Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.