The Bridgewater Fire Department Band will host the Calgary Fire Department “Cappy Smart Concert Band” in a joint performance on Sunday, May 21, at Bridgewater United Church. The concert is part of the Calgary band’s Maritime tour this month.
The Calgary Fire Service “Cappy Smart” Band was formed in the late 1800s as a cultural diversion for fire department members and the community at large. The band’s 50 members represent a variety of musical backgrounds and experience and provide musical support for Calgary Fire Department functions for many charities and non-profit organizations.
For their portion of the combined concert, the Calgary band has prepared a program of works for concert band by Canadian composers from 1896 to the present. Conductor Earl Paddock will lead the band; he studied music at the University of Calgary and the University of Missouri and has received numerous provincial and national honours.
The Bridgewater Fire Department Band, consisting of 28 members, has been part of the civic and cultural life of Nova Scotia since 1868, doubling as the Band of the 68th Regiment of Infantry. The BFD Band is also proud to be musical ambassadors of the volunteer fire service and receives training in first aid and basic firefighting skills. Later this summer, they will travel to Belgium, Holland, and France to play at several Canadian and Commonwealth war memorial sites, culminating with being featured at the evening service at Ypres’s Menin Gate on August 21.
The concert will begin at 3 PM, and admission is by free-will donation at the door in support of the ongoing work of the BFD Band or by donation of non-perishable food items for the Bridgewater Interchurch Food Bank.
