Sometimes the benefits of pursuing a vocation extend to others, even to the community as a whole.
Bob Alexander's love of music inspired him to produce concerts for his community.
Since the concerts started 10 years ago at West Vancouver Presbyterian Church, more than $30,000 has been raised to support the North Shore Crisis Services Society.
Inspiration arrived thanks to an expensive evening involving a Tony Bennett concert, Bob remembers. "We fought our way across the bridge on a dark and rainy night, arrived soaking wet at the Orpheum, paid a steep price for wine at the interval, got re-soaked returning to the car for the long drive home. Tony Bennett was excellent."
A weekend performer with local bands, Bob knew plenty of top-notch Vancouver musicians keen to play professionally. His church, with its superb acoustics, would be the venue. The concerts would be open to all, at a reasonable price. Bob and his fellow musicians could play their big band and swing tunes, and raise money for the community.
How a retired executive became a musician and impresario is a story that begins in Scotland. Bob's parents, born and raised in Greenock on the river Clyde, met and married in Canada. In 1937, they left their home in Belleville, Ont., and with their three sons, including five-year-old Bob, sailed home to meet their respective families.
Great idea; poor timing. Bob's father found work as a shipwright, re-entering the family trade. Then came the Second World War.
With shipbuilding deemed an essential service, the Alexanders were in Scotland for the duration.
In Greenock, Bob was introduced to music as well as to his extended family. As he tells it, "To keep me too busy to associate with the local gangs, my father bought me a cornet. On Saturday nights, my teacher, John O'Donnell, would come to our apartment after the dance hall closed at midnight and I'd get wakened up for my one-hour lesson. You'd think the neighbours would complain, but no! They sent up requests, and Mr. O'Donnell would play for another hour. I was supposed to be asleep by then but I stayed up and listened."
Staying on after the war wasn't a hardship for the adult Alexanders - Greenock was their home. The boys thought differently. Bob and his brother were saving their money to earn the return passage to Canada for themselves and their younger brother.
The Alexanders are a close-knit family. Separation by thousands of miles of ocean was not an option. In 1947, the family returned to Belleville.
Bob played trumpet every evening in nightclubs and dance halls. "Coming home from after-dance jam sessions, I would meet my father on his way to work. 'Bobby,' he would ask, 'when are you going to get a real job?'"
To make his father proud, Bob got a day job and studied electronics. Marriage to co-worker Lola Trumpour also shifted Bob's priorities. Armed with a degree in electronic engineering, he began the long climb up the corporate ladder. His rise through the technology industry coincided with the introduction of television, computers and cell phones - gimmicks Bob is convinced are on the way out.
In 1983, business brought the family, now with three children, west to British Columbia. They settled in North Vancouver where, except for five years in Victoria when Bob was in charge of technology for the 1994 Commonwealth Games, they have lived ever since.
Now, as Bob and Lola enjoy life with their family, there is time for music. He plays trumpet with the North Vancouver Community Band and with The Milleraires Big Band. The neighbours have not complained about Bob's daily practice. On the other hand, no musical requests have been made, not yet anyway. Maybe after a few more years of practice, whispers the shade of John O'Donnell.
The Milleraires will perform swing music from the big band era on Sunday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m. at West Vancouver Presbyterian Church, 2893 Marine Dr.
Get tickets ($15/$10 seniors and students) in advance from Bob Alexander at 604-786-3741 and at the door (coffee and cookies included) with all proceeds going to the North Shore Crisis Services Society.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
