News
SARAH SEELEY Telegraph-Journal March 26, 2015
QUISPAMSIS • The sweet melody of orchestra music is a familiar sound in Bob and Muriel Buckley’s household.
The Quispamsis couple are not musically gifted, but their seven of their eight children have learned to play and became members of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.
Their two oldest sons, Ron and Chris, took up piano when a new music teacher moved to town. But when Bob and Muriel sent them to them to a music camp in Rothesay, they had a chance to try stringed instruments for the first time.
“Chris fell in love with the viola,” said Muriel.
One by one, every member experimented with a stringed instrument. Kathy, John and Ellen Buckley picked up a cello, Tim tried out the string bass, and Peter and Joanne played violin.
Soon the house was filled with the hum of symphonies. But it wasn’t always music to Bob and Muriel’s ears, Bob said.
“We heard a lot of squeaks. But we always tried to positive and encourage them. But because they did it together, that made it better.
The Buckley residence became a music hall every afternoon, said Muriel.
“Everyone had a place in the house to practise. Little Joanne had to sit on the toilet and play her violin because she was the littlest and the cellos wouldn’t fit in the bathroom.”
Life in the Buckley household was a whirlwind of practices and recitals.
Once a week, Bob also picked the kids up from school and drove them to Fredericton to attend practices for the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.
Chris said it was a tight squeeze in their two-door car with all of the bulky instruments.
“It was a question of whether the car would start.”
As the children grew older, they became more advanced in their playing ability. Muriel said she never grew tired of hearing the tunes floating through the house.
“It’s a marvellous thing. To hear them play at such a high level. It’s such a gift they can bring when they play for weddings and funerals.”
Three of the Buckley children have pursued music as a career. Peter is the chair of board of directors at the NBYO, Chris coaches the youth at the orchestra and performs in the Saint John Symphony, and Joanne performs in a quartet in Red Deer, Alta.
Muriel made a push for school music programs when she was on the school board for district 19.
“We had a surplus in our budget to buy the instruments,” she said.
“We wanted instruments to be available for anyone who wanted to play. When we saw what private lessons did for our kids, we knew anyone could learn an instruments if they were given the opportunity.”
The Buckleys also open up their home to travelling youth orchestras as billets. Muriel said her living room fills with sleeping bags for musicians.
Bob and Muriel’s dedication to the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra has earned them a nomination for the Lieutenant Governor’s NBYO Award. The award is presented every year to teachers, volunteers or business members who have contributed to the orchestra. This year’s recipients are Bob and Muriel Buckley and Don Bossé, a music teacher in the fine arts department at Fredericton High School.
Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, the lieutenant-governor for the province, will present the award on March 29 at the Richard J. Currie Center at 2 p.m.
NBYO executive director Don Matheson said volunteers like the Buckleys keep the orchestra running.
“They represent the heart and soul of NBYO. They’ve provided an enormous amount of volunteer work, meal preparation and accomodation for musicians,” he said.
“It takes a community effort. Orchestra is the biggest team sport.”
Even though Bob and Muriel’s children grew up and moved on from the youth orchestra, the Buckley legacy continues. Their grandchildren Monica Graves and Katie Buckley play the viola and bassoon in the NBYO.
The Buckley children may have went their separate ways, but every Christmas, they congregate in at their childhood home to practice for the annual Christmas concert in Hampton. Muriel said they continue to be a hit in the community.
“It’s a full house every year. It’s beginning to be a tradition.”
