Thorold Reed Band to celebrate 175 years with Fort Erie musicians

The Thorold Reed Band will mark its 175th anniversary this summer with free Wednesday night concerts at Battle of Beaverdams Park, starting June 3, featuring several musicians from Fort Erie. The volunteer concert band, formed in 1851, is one of the oldest bands in Canada still in operation and is planning its main anniversary concert for June 24 in Thorold.

Treasurer, past president and bass clarinet player, Rhonda Gletherow is from Fort Erie, and said about a dozen musicians play both in Thorold and with the Fort Erie Legion Band.

The band plays at the Brian Williams Bandshell at Battle of Beaverdams Park, where Wednesday nights now pair the concert with a market, a car show and food vendors on site.

Gletherow first joined after being urged on by band director Brian Williams, who told her she could not come back to another show unless she brought her bass clarinet and got on stage. She joined on a whim and said the band has been a fun, welcoming place to play ever since.

The band has played continuously for 175 years, with the only interruption occurring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve played through wars, we’ve played through everything. The band was just always there,” Gletherow said to Fort Erie Radio.

The Thorold Reed Band currently has about 45 members and includes musicians on clarinet, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, oboe, bass and percussion, with current conductor Joao Pereira.

Players range from high school students earning volunteer hours to seniors, with the oldest member around 85, Gletherow said.

One longtime member, Dave Balasiak, has played with the band for 53 years. Gletherow said he started as a teenager and has stayed with the group for decades.

The band is performing seven Wednesday shows from June to August this year.

On June 24, Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini is expected to attend and present a commemorative item to the band.

The band’s Wednesday nights are built around variety, both in music and in who shows up, Gletherow said, from kids who play on the park equipment during the performance to older listeners who aren’t ashamed to dance on the grass.

“We’ll play a march, and then we’ll play a kid’s song, and then ABBA and then Glenn Miller, and then something from a musical,” she said.

The band is currently rehearsing in preparation for the concert series. They rehearse from September until the week before the summer shows start, then returns to practice again after a short break. Gletherow said the group learns about 80 pieces of music, so each of the seven concerts has its own set.

Donations help cover costs like buying music, she said, since the concerts are free and every player is a volunteer.

For Fort Erie residents thinking of making the drive, Gletherow said the Wednesday schedule makes it a simple midweek outing, with cars, vendors and food on site before 7:30 p.m. when the band starts.

“Go see some cars, do a little shopping, and then grab your dinner and dessert, a beer or a glass of wine, and listen to the show,” she said.

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