Surrey City Orchestra Produces Free Remembrance Day Ceremony

This being the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, the Surrey City Orchestra wanted to produce a free concert that follows the traditional Remembrance Day service. 32 professional musicians from Surrey took part in creating this concert where they were broken down into three groups, string orchestra, concert band, and a jazz band, and recorded in person while remaining socially distant. The concert begins at the start of the war with the string section playing solemn music, followed by readings from service members, moving to the concert band playing military marches and finishing up celebrating the end of the war with 1940’s jazz dance music. The performance is accompanied by archival images and film. Concert breakdown: String Orchestra

• Nimrod from “Enigma Variations” by Edward Elgar
• Air from Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg

Service Members

• In Flanders Fields read by Nick Watts Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding Officer in the Canadian Army Reserves
• The Last Post played by Bryan Wielgasz, Surrey Fire Service Honour Guard
• Piper’s Lament, Jeff Sim, Pipe Major for the Surrey Firefighters Pipes and Drums
• Act of Remembrance & Commitment to Remember read by Anita Huberman, CEO of Surrey Board of Trade, H. Captain (Royal Canadian Navy)

Concert Band

• Maple Leaf Forever by Alexander Muir
• Second Suite in F, 1st & 4th movement, by Gustav Holst

Jazz Band - Lead by Miles Black

• Take the A Train by Duke Ellington featuring Maya Rae on vocals
• Little Brown Jug by Glenn Miller
• Stompin at the Savoy by Benny Goodman
• It Don’t Mean A Thing by Duke Ellington featuring Maya Rae on vocals
• Pennsylvania 6-5000 by Glenn Miller

Quotes from Stuart Martin, Music Director of the Surrey City Orchestra

We wanted to find a way to honour our veterans and all those who fought bravely to uphold our Canadian values. This year with concerts and ceremonies on hold, we decided we would produce a concert that would be free to the public so they can take the time on Nov. 11 to remember those incredible sacrifices and all those lives lost.

We couldn’t have made this concert possible without generous donations from the public and support of the City of Surrey. The arts are an incredibly powerful tool to connect us when we are apart, and it’s more important than ever to feel that you are not alone.

The full concert will be available at www.surreycityorchestra.org and will be shown across the Surrey School District. Would you be interested in connecting with Stuart about the SCO’s Remembrance Day performance?