3 rd Field Artillery Regiment Band PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release 27 September, 2015 REMEMBRANCE DAY CONCERT NOV 7 A special program of music to commemorate and celebrate the contributions of our veterans will be held on Saturday, November 7 at Harbour View High School in Saint John, beginning at 7:30 pm. This year s concert, titled Celebrating the Heritage - Commemorating the Sacrifice will mark the 70 th anniversary of the end of World War II, the 100 th anniversary of the writing of In Flanders Fields by LCol 1
John McRae, and the milestone reached by Queen Elizabeth II of becoming the longest reigning British monarch in history. The program for this concert is varied and eclectic featuring traditional military marches, overtures, popular music from World War I and World War II, as well as music traditionally associated with remembrance, and patriotic songs. The concert will also feature the New Brunswick premiere of an award winning march Champion s Ensign composed by one members of the band, Gnr David Cooper, who is from Fredericton, and currently studying music at Mt. Allison University in Sackville. This past summer Gnr Cooper was with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard on Parliament Hill. Each year there is a competition for the best new march composed by one of the band members. This year Champion s Ensign was the winning entry. The band will also be joined by a massed choir comprised of members from various high school and community choirs to perform music for remembrance. This choir will also perform at the City s main Remembrance Day Ceremony at Harbour Station on Nov 11. 2
There will also be an opportunity for the audience to join in a sing-along of some of the best loved songs from World War II. There is no admission fee, but donations will be accepted for the Last Post Fund, which has been established to assist with funeral expenses for Canadian veterans. The Last Post Fund In December 1908, a homeless man found unconscious was taken to the Montreal General Hospital. He died shortly after at age 53 from hypothermia and malnutrition. Arthur Hair, the head orderly, then found an envelope in the poor man s coat pocket bearing an honourable military discharge certificate for Trooper James Daly. His remains were destined to science but Mr. Hair raised money to give the unfortunate soldier a dignified funeral. He was later buried in a Mount-Royal cemetery. This sad event marked the founding of the Last Post Fund in Montreal in 1909. The Fund s mission is to ensure that all financially-challenged Veterans who served their country with honour and dignity receive a dignified funeral and 3
burial, and a military gravestone. Since its inception, the Fund has provided funeral and burial services for over 160 000 Veterans from the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and for Modern-Day Veterans. Its primary mandate is to deliver the Funeral and Burial Program on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada. The Last Post Fund is supported financially by Veterans Affairs Canada and by private donations. Its National Governing Council and nine Provincial Boards of Directors are made up of committed volunteer members who are dedicated to the development of the organization s policies and strategies. 3 rd Field Artillery Regiment Band The Loyal Company The 3 rd Field Artillery Regiment Band was formed in 1948 at the request of Brigadier Philip W. Oland, and still maintains strong regimental affiliations with 3 Field, Canada s oldest artillery regiment. The band made its first public appearance in May, 1949, leading the Garrison church parade which began Saint John Army Week, under the direction of Bruce E. Holder Sr. Captain Holder was appointed Bandmaster, and made it one of the finest military bands in Eastern Canada in the 1950's and 1960's. He was succeeded in command of the band by his son Bruce Jr., who retired from the Primary Reserve in 1987, and still performs 4
and maintains an active role in the band. Lt. Gary MacKay led the band from 1987-1997. The current Officer Commanding, Captain Michael Molloy, CD, has been conducting the band since 1997. Over the years, the band has played for many military, civic, and public performances, most notably, for the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Lady Diana, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward as well as Governors General Hynatshyn, and Clarkson. The band performed in the 1983-85 New Brunswick Tattoos, and as the Pit Band for the 1997 New Brunswick Naval Tattoo. In 2002, the Band was honoured to have been the only Primary Reserve band to play for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Canada while she was in Fredericton. The band plays for numerous military and civic occasions throughout the province, and also makes regular concert appearances, often in support of local charities. They play a variety of different styles of music including classical, marches, popular, show tunes, novelty numbers and solo features. The band currently has 30 musicians, comprising members of the Canadian Forces 5
Primary Reserve and is also able to rely on the services of a number of volunteer and associate members, some of whom have reached the maximum retirement age, but who continue to serve the unit, and others who are civilian. The members of the band bring with them a variety of backgrounds and occupations in the civilian sector. The Officer Commanding of the band, Captain Michael Molloy has been a member of the band since 1978, and was principal trombonist until assuming the baton in 1997. He is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., and received the degree Master of Music, in Organ Performance, with distinction, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and is currently completing dissertation requirements for a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. From 2000-2012 he was the Fine Arts Consultant for District 8 in Saint John. He retired from teaching in 2013. For further information contact: Michael Molloy 672 4078 (Home) mmolloy@nbnet.nb.ca - 30-6