Resa's Pieces Concert Band

Berchman Wong

When I was young, my mom told me I could move my body with an innate sense of musicality. I’m not sure if she lied or if I have lost my gift, because I can’t dance to save my life. Luckily, my “musical” talents were channelled into the keyboard when I started taking lessons at age eight. I was inspired by a young performance of Für Elise, and Beethoven has since been my favourite classical composer - just like  Schroeder in Peanuts. After only two years of formal piano instruction, I continued to play to my heart’s content many of the day’s popular songs and theme music. 

The music my dancing fingers played were a source of imagination all through childhood. I gradually found my musical expression through discovering more of Beethoven and Chopin. I took my first piano exam many years later and received my RCM grade 8 with First Class Honours. 

However, piano can be a solitary experience and I have always wanted to play in a band, so during my four years of university I played percussion with a concert band. After putting music on hold to pursue studies in naturopathic medicine, I am now thrilled to continue my musical journey having fun every week with the wonderful musicians of Resa’s Pieces. I still play the piano of course, I am working towards playing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas and hopefully one day recording them. 

Sam (Al) Fitleberg

aka Al Farrell

5 Years old; Won’t go into Kindergarten class crying.  Mother gives me few taps  with her umbrella. Teacher comes out and says, "Sammy you will be the leader of the band," and hands me a drum stick!  6 Years old, in first grade, choir needs a soloist so I did my first performance, which won first prize on a radio show.  The song we sang was Billy boy and I was Billy boy. This lead to me having the lead parts in all of the plays for the rest of my stay at Bancroft School.  7 Years old, I was handed a Violin and played Violin for several years.  They took back the Violin when I left grade school and handed me a Sax when I entered High school.  I then studied Sax and Clarinet with Arthur Romano for several years.  I did my first professional job at the age of 14 playing for the exotic dancers and doing club dates around Montreal.  One summer I was playing at a hotel in the Laurentians with a small group, and every Saturday night the drummer was drunk by 10PM.

So I would sit down at the drums and do the best I could.  It seems that the best I could was pretty good and ended up getting club dates on both Sax and drums (not together of course).  I was fortunate to get involved with a group called the Huckle Bucks and played with them in Dance Halls, Grad Dances all over the Province of Quebec and the State of Vermont.  We also backed artists like Ginette Renaud, Michel Louvain. We played an afternoon radio show called the Pepsi Cola Hour,  I played the Like Young show on CTV with Dean Morgan.

The Shaar Shalom Synagogue got a hold of me and I directed two musical shows for them.  ONCE UPON A SABBATH & BAJOUR. 1961 came along and I met my beautiful wife Silka.  That put a damper on my playing as I was also working during the day in the Plumbing industry.  I was relegated to playing Wedding, Bar Mitzvahs, etc., on drums, Sax and of course singing.  I retired from Music in 1977 as I began traveling extensively for my business. I would play Soprano Sax from time to time in Hospitals and Old age homes strolling from room to room playing Yiddish music.  Just to stay sane.

Here are a few selections of me singing some classic Sinatra-style tunes. Elvis, eat your heart out.

Impossible Dream feat. Al Fitleberg

My Way

New York, New York

We moved to Toronto in March of 2005 getting very frustrated about music as I was only singing in the Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda choir.  I met Dorian Forrester and was talking about playing music again.  She introduced me to Resa Kochberg and the rest is history.

Linda Cherry Soudack

After 21 years in ladies retail, I retired to continue on with my dreams of music and stone carving.  I have always wanted to play percussion, but with no musical experience in my past,  I decided to join a band (after pressure from Dorothy) took lessons on how to read music and prayed that no one would pick up on my inexperience.  Luckily I had the sympathy of my band mates and I trekked ahead.  So where there is a will there is a way.  Thank you everybody.