One of the really good things about living in Haliburton is that there is no shortage of music, drama, and/or arts with which you can get involved.

Highlands Festival Singers - There are several really good choirs in the Haliburton area.  One of them is a mixed-voice choir called the Highlands Festival Singers, formerly known as the Haliburton Messiah Choir.  The choir is directed by Melissa Stevens - a wonderful lady, a fabulous pianist, and a magician when it comes to drawing out the best in the singers in the choir.  For the last couple of seasons, I've been asked to perform master-of-ceremonies for the choir's concerts but before that I was singing 2nd tenor.

Highlands Male Chorus - We've got another choir in Haliburton that Melissa also directs called the Highlands Male Chorus.  It was started as an opportunity for the guys to explore vocal arrangements for men's voices.  I sing 2nd tenor.

Highlands Wind Symphony / Highlands Swing Band - I play trombone in a traditional concert band of about 35 members.  We're conducted by Lori Reddering, a local public school music teacher, and Glen Carter, a retired public school music teacher.  We play medium-level difficulty arrangements of well-known popular music and we put on a Christmas concert and a spring concert every year.

Within the Wind Symphony there are also a bunch of us who love Swing Band music and we started a band-within-a-band a couple of years ago.  It's typical 17-piece swing band playing the hits that were popular back in the war years.  We play at local public service and charity fund-raising events.

The Algonquin Brass - Along the way, I've ended up playing with some really fine musicians.  Five of us decided to manufacture yet another opportunity to play some traditional brass quintet music.  So we formed the Algonquin Brass.  We play at special church services, local charity events, and the occasional wedding.

The Highlands Concert Band - The Highlands Concert Band is really quite special.  It was started in 2002 when Glen Carter was convinced to provide an opportunity for some local retirees to start playing musical instruments and for some other folks to start back playing instruments that they hadn't picked up in 20 or 25 years.  We play at the local seniors residences and long-term care facilities.

The Highlands Concert Band has also provided me with an opportunity to explore two facets of music that I'd always wanted to explore - conducting and arranging.