The BC Recorder Society was founded in 1962 as a resource for the province’s recorder players. It's one of the oldest recorder societies in North America and was the brainchild of Dr Frank Gamble, a professor of Music Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He was one of the pioneers in the popularization of the recorder among the general population of North America.
Gamble saw the recorder as an ideal vehicle for teaching children music. Plastic Japanese recorders were being produced cheaply. In the 1960s, a plastic Aulos soprano cost $1.95. A Vancouver newspaper clipping from the 1960s mentioned that 17,000 plastic recorders had been sold in 18 months in BC. Canadian schools had caught on to the instrument very fast.
Gamble also saw the recorder as an ideal instrument for adult amateurs to play music. He instituted night school classes in recorder playing, first at the Kerrisdale Community Centre and later at UBC. And, as the full range of recorder sizes became available, it was possible to play SATB pieces and other combinations.
The growing number of recorder players decided to form an association for the exchange of information and music, and to play together on a regular basis. In late 1962 the BC Recorder Society was established and its first meeting took place soon after. Dr Gamble began the meeting with a talk, there was a brief recital, followed by a business meeting to formally establish the Society. The rest of the evening was spent playing a number of pieces together.
Subsequent monthly meetings followed the same pattern: a brief talk about recorders, recorder music, and dance forms; a business meeting; and a playing session. By the end of its first year, the Society had ninety members.
Since 1963 the Society has held an unbroken series of monthly meetings and workshops. We're proud to continue this tradition and to provide a venue for recorder players to meet and play together in a welcoming environment.
Gamble saw the recorder as an ideal vehicle for teaching children music. Plastic Japanese recorders were being produced cheaply. In the 1960s, a plastic Aulos soprano cost $1.95. A Vancouver newspaper clipping from the 1960s mentioned that 17,000 plastic recorders had been sold in 18 months in BC. Canadian schools had caught on to the instrument very fast.
Gamble also saw the recorder as an ideal instrument for adult amateurs to play music. He instituted night school classes in recorder playing, first at the Kerrisdale Community Centre and later at UBC. And, as the full range of recorder sizes became available, it was possible to play SATB pieces and other combinations.
The growing number of recorder players decided to form an association for the exchange of information and music, and to play together on a regular basis. In late 1962 the BC Recorder Society was established and its first meeting took place soon after. Dr Gamble began the meeting with a talk, there was a brief recital, followed by a business meeting to formally establish the Society. The rest of the evening was spent playing a number of pieces together.
Subsequent monthly meetings followed the same pattern: a brief talk about recorders, recorder music, and dance forms; a business meeting; and a playing session. By the end of its first year, the Society had ninety members.
Since 1963 the Society has held an unbroken series of monthly meetings and workshops. We're proud to continue this tradition and to provide a venue for recorder players to meet and play together in a welcoming environment.