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Community | by Peggy Stortz Locally, van Wyck is probably best known as the music director at the West Vancouver United Church. It is this position that brought him out from Toronto back in January 1987 when his friend Gillian Hunt told him about the vacancy. A few months later, he had secured a position in the music department of Vancouver Community College where he still teaches music history and conducts a madrigal choir. But then, almost two years after his arrival, fate intervened and van Wyck embarked on a new adventure that would, in time, bring him recognition in the international musical community. Just before Christmas in 1988, Donald Forbes, director of the British Columbia Boys Choir suffered a stroke. Van Wyck stepped in to see the choir through its Christmas concerts. He continued to lead the choir until Forbes was able to return the following September. But van Wyck was hooked. He assisted Forbes until his retirement in 1993 and then carried on as director for ten more years. Van Wyck's past is rich in musical tradition. He studied the piano as a child and, in time, accompanied his mother who was a talented singer. With all the confidence of youth, he soon began to accompany some of the choirs his mother sang with and then tried his hand at conducting. At the University of Toronto, he studied music history, and switched from the piano to the organ as his main instrument. He still considers his organ teacher, Douglas Bodle, to be one of his greatest mentors. While singing with the university choir in a presentation of Brahms Requiem at Massey Hall, van Wyck realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He wanted to perform, to bring the gift of music to all sorts of audiences. How this would all unfold, he didn't yet know. His work with the BC Boys Choir provided van Wyck with this opportunity and much more. It became a vehicle for his two of his greatest passions - music and creating community. "Conducting is a wonderful way of expressing musicality within a group. I'd rather accompany or conduct than do a solo performance. The sense of bringing many diverse forces together is a fascinating process for me." When van Wyck took over from Donald Forbes, the BC Boys Choir consisted of 24 voices and toured once every four years. With help Since its creation, a variety of artists have been honoured with the FANS Award - composers, painters, dancers, singers, sculptors and even puppeteers. This year an artist of another sort, conductor Gerald van Wyck, will join the ranks of FANS recipients. from manager Margot Holmes, van Wyck built it up to a three-leveled choir with 75 members. Every other year, they tour internationally. They've entertained audiences in Holland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland and the Czech Republic, to name just a few. Van Wyck especially delights in the concerts in the old European churches where the sound echoes off the stone walls and high vaulted ceilings. During the alternate years, the choir tours extensively in North America. The superb fundraising skills of Holmes, along with the dedicated board and parents, have made all these performances possible. 604 S h a k u n 725 9179 The choir has much to offer to its members. "It gives them a chance to ·······IIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIII J h a n g i a n i be part of something excellent," van Wyck observes. "That excellence comes from their own hard work." The boys and young men memorize their whole repertoire as they always perform without a score. In recent years, concerts in the public schools have done a lot to dispel negative attitudes about singing in a choir. It's actually very cool. Conductor Gerald van Wyck Shares His Passion for Music and Community Being an artist isn't an easy task. But most artists wouldn't have it any other way. In 1995, the Fund for Artists on the North Shore, affectionately known as FANS, was established to provide financial assistance to individual artists through a program of grants. To date, the fund has generated over $40,000. The major fundraising tool is a gala event called the FANS Award Night where nationally renowned North Shore artists are honoured and local emerging artists are showcased. rSeptember C a l l me for a FREE G u i d e to Buying & Selling Homes R O Y A L LEPAGE N O R T H S H O R E 16 www.royallepage.ca/shakun I^DIHMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIili Bus: 604 926 6011 Fax: 604 926 9199 | October