The Leader

Jul 20 2008
COFFEE WITH: The music man

DAN FERGUSON / THE LEADER

Curt Jantzen recently marked the 25th anniversary of the Delta Music Makers, an adult beginners band that never lets musical ambitions get in the way of a good time.

The year 2008 has been a time of milestones for Delta resident Curt Jantzen.
He and his wife Jhandie both turned 60 and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
They also marked the 25th anniversary of the Delta Music Makers, the adult beginners band Jantzen founded.
The Music Makers date was celebrated with the 50-member band’s trademark good humour at a recent gala performance before a sold-out audience of 400 at the Genesis Theatre in Ladner.
They began by deliberately playing “New York, New York” badly, as though they’d forgotten everything they learned since they first performed the piece 20 years ago (14 of the original Music Makers are still with the band.)
It wasn’t pretty, but the performers were clearly having fun.
Then they started again, delivering a well-practised version of the same tune.
It was a tribute to the early years of the band, when every member was a first-timer climbing the same steep learning curve.
As a band instructor with the Surrey School District, Jantzen often heard from adults who had always wanted to learn an instrument but never had the opportunity.
So he started a band for them.
One of the first-timers was Jhandie, who took up the tuba.
Jantzen is a trombone player, but he rarely gets to play because he’s usually the conductor.
The first composition they learned was “Krazy Klock Rock” by Joseph Compello, which uses wood blocks to produce a ticking clock sound mixed with elements of rock and swing.
It’s a beginner-level tune that Jantzen had taught many times in school.
More to the point, it is a hoot to play, an important Music Makers characteristic.
“We never let the pursuit of our musical goals get in the way of having fun,” Jantzen says.
Their repertoire has since expanded considerably to include Broadway show tunes, folk music and concert marches.
A typical music list will include songs from the Broadway shows “Oliver” the Scottish ballad “Annie Laurie” and a polka.
Jantzen makes no apologies for the populist approach.
“I’ve always believed a band should play music for its audience,” he says.
His own tastes in music range from orchestral to country to rock. He’s hoping to see Chicago when the band comes to the Lower Mainland.
In 2003, the father of three (and now grandfather of seven) retired from his job with the Surrey School District.
His career spanned 33 years, 18 as a band teacher, then 15 as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the district, supervising music, art and drama programs for all grades.
The band has often travelled outside Delta, including a tour of Scotland and Ireland last summer.
Its next public performance will be on July 23 at 7:15 p.m. in Sunshine Hills Park in North Delta.
For more information about the band, log on to the web page at http://www.deltamusicmakers.org
dferguson@surreyleader.com