Resa's Pieces Concert Band

Lisa Sinclair

In public school at the age of 12, my mom enrolled my sister and I in a drum corp.  At the time, I played the Soprano, a two valve horn similar to a trumpet.  It was difficult to learn, but soon I memorized all the scales and all the music as sheet music was not allowed during performances.  We continued to play for three years, coming in second place in the National competition in Pennsylvania.  Our high school, experiencing very little funding for music, did not have any sort of musical instrument program, so my music talent was lost after the drum corp.

As an adult, I realized music was something I was missing and being newly married, I took up playing the flute with an excellent teacher, Julia, from the University of Waterloo.  She taught me the basics and after moving to the GTA, I proceeded to investigate music lessons, and started with the Flute Studio in Markham.  There I received exceptional training, met a new friend, Janice Chesney, another Resa's member.    After 3 years, I proceeded to take private lessons in Richmond Hill and also joined the Thornhill Community Band.  In the fall of 2010, I began with Resa's Pieces and have thoroughly enjoyed the music choices and camaraderie.  Resa is an excellent conductor and has great patience for all of us.  Every practice, I learn something new!

Janice Chesney

I loved playing the flute in high school, but life got in the way & regretfully, I put it down for 20 years!  Around 6 years ago I happened to be in a music store & I heard these two musicians trying out different flutes.  I just knew at that moment I had to play again!  I started talking to those musicians & they were the owners of a Flute Studio in Markham.  I dusted off my flute & enrolled in their studio!   I stayed with them for 2 years before joining a Flute Ensemble in Markham.  In 2008, while briefly playing with the Thornhill Community Band, Marsha Baker (my party planner for my son’s bar mitzvah), became aware of my love for music & my passion for playing the flute.  She told me how wonderful Resa was & how much she thought I would enjoy playing with Resa’s Pieces.  Well that was an understatement!  From the first day I entered the music room at York Mills Collegiate – Resa & all the band members have welcomed me in with open arms (even as I attempt to learn the piccolo). I feel like I’m finally home! 

Susan Wainstock

I bumped into Maestro Resa quite by accident, after not having seen her in decades. She filled me in on her life so far, and about her dream of conducting an adult band. She asked me if I would like to play the clarinet in her band, as she had remembered that I had played it centuries before in high school. I told her that if she had her dream, so did I. I had always wanted to learn how to play the flute. She graciously allowed me to “audition”. After showing me which end of the instrument to blow into, she welcomed me into the band. Eight years, several lessons and countless rehearsals later, I too am fulfilling a lifelong goal. Monday nights are the best night of the week, and not just because I never have to make dinner.  Resa, thank you for making MY dream come true.

Selma Copeland

Music has been a huge part of my life.  My Dad was a "song and dance" man in the Yiddish theatre in Romania and briefly in Toronto until my Mother told him to get a real job. I was exposed to all kinds of music growing up and took the mandatory piano lessons and played the flute in the high school band and orchestra, where participating in the Kiwanis Festivals was a highlight of my high school years.

I incorporated my love of music in my career as a kindergarten teacher (and sometimes choir director)-playing and singing my way through to my retirement.  One night several years ago at a bridge game, I mentioned how much I'd love to be in a band and pick up the flute again-one of the ladies told me about her friend Dahlia [Solomon] and Resa's Pieces.  A real stroke of luck!  We had a good laugh about the state of my embouchure and I called Resa.  I'm thrilled to be making music again and sharing the camaraderie of our band.

Anne Kligerman

I played the flute in Junior High School and then in Grade 10 at Mackenzie Collegiate, but couldn’t fit music class into my schedule after that because of a previous commitment.  I had hoped to continue at least playing in the band, even though I wasn’t taking music but that year they changed the system so that band practices were actually held during lunch-time music classes a couple times a week so I had to drop that too.  While I had been a second flute in the band at Mackenzie my husband was a first clarinet player, although we didn’t actually meet until a few years later.  He was a pretty serious player but also took a hiatus for a while when our two sons were young.  He went back to it about 10 years ago and now plays in the Northdale Concert Band (one of the best in the city), as well as in a clarinet trio and often with a piano accompanist.

He had encouraged me over the years to pick up the flute again, but I always protested that I didn’t have time, nor an ear for music.  Then about four years ago, walking down Queen Street one afternoon, we saw a flute in the window at Steve’s Music Store and he said “I’ll buy you a flute if you want”.  That day, since I wasn’t working full-time anymore, my kids were grown up and I had more time, I said “maybe”.  We didn’t buy that flute in the window but we did go to a couple of pawn shops and by the end of the day I had a flute.  I couldn’t get a sound out of it that day but I took some lessons for a few months and then joined the band – this is my 3rd season.  I had heard previously about Resa’s Pieces, how it was a beginner band and a lot of fun.  I struggled with the music at first – it was harder than I expected since the band had gotten so much better over the years – but I think I’m mostly keeping up now and enjoying it very much.

Annice Frisch

Music has always played an important part of my life.  I played flute and piano throughout my high school years and was a member of the Junior and Senior Choir and Orchestra at North Toronto Collegiate.  I also attended Interlochen National Music Camp in Michigan and there I studied piano, voice and dance for 3 summers.  Today I am a substitute school teacher and always tries to incorporate music into every classroom.  I’m thrilled to be a member of Resa’s Pieces and enjoys every moment of it.  I am so grateful to Resa for putting together such a great band!

Sari Gilboord

You never know where life will take you. Years ago I learned to play the flute under the direction of Mr. McEvoy at Wilson Heights Junior High School.  He always encouraged his students to push beyond their limits and give the best performance possible.  He was my most inspiring teacher.

A few years ago I decided to join "Resa's Pieces," and once again I am being taught by a true professional.  Resa is a fabulous teacher.  She patiently reviews challenging passages, reminds us to practice, and worries about us if we are absent.  The comradery and teamwork that band practice offers every Wednesday night is something I truly enjoy.  So thank you Resa, for being such a wonderful teacher and conductor.

Rosemary Katz

After a hiatus of about 40 years, I joined an adult band “Resa’s Pieces”.  After speaking to Resa, she told me that I didn’t have to be very good (I was not – and still am not). The band wasn’t that advanced, and that I would pick up where I left off those long years ago.  So I dusted off the flute and a few cobwebs in my musical brain, blew a few notes and headed out to the first practice. It was there that I experienced once again the wonderful expansive feeling of playing in a band. I just love being in a band again – actually I think I love it more than when I was a kid – now I’m practicing and playing because I want to, not because I have to! You know, playing an instrument is like riding a bike, you never forget how!  A big thank you to Resa who never looses her cool with us – you’re great.

Dahlia Solomon

Ten years ago I was approached simultaneously by both Adrienne Cohen and Resa Kochberg - what do you think about joining an adult beginner band? “GREAT,” was my first thought.  In those ten years I have enjoyed each and every Monday night that the band has been together.  I had not picked up the flute since Grade 9 where I had learned the rudimentaries of this particular instrument.  Over the last ten years I along with the other band members have improved dramatically.  I take great pride and pleasure in my own and our collective accomplishment.  It brings a smile to my face.  I look forward to many more years of making "music" together as a band member of
"Resa's Pieces".