Medelpadia, opening
Jan van der Roost
Toronto Concert Band, rehearsal
The opening passage after workshopping with the band: the rehearsal result.
East York Concert Band · Principal Conductor Search
Barnaby Kerekes
30+ Years on the Podium and Behind the Trombone
Click to view this application online
Why the East York Concert Band
The goals, and reaching them together.
Ensemble Music is a partnership, and Band is no exception. The musicians, the board, and the audience each want meaningful experiences, and my job is to help all three achieve them as their partner.
For a board, it means a director who plans ahead, communicates, and makes the calls together with you rather than handing them down.
For the musicians, that means rehearsals that use their time well and send them home having been challenged through music they can connect to and benefit from. Beyond the technical challenges of rhythm and intonation, building camaraderie through unified musical ideas, section sounds, and pushing our skills to new limits individually and collectively are core values that I have enjoyed as musician and leader. It is important to me to share in the experience with the musicians, being humourous or serious at the right moments, and as much a participant as they are.
Then we bring that team effort to our audiences. Ideally this means concerts worth turning up for that interest and excite them: programs that are varied, well prepared, and genuinely fun that not only look to favourites of the past, but also to new and emerging music.
That is the work I would love to do with you.
I am an easygoing conductor who takes music seriously, and I would be glad to spend my Monday evenings with you and your band.
On the podium
On both ends of the Band.
I have led orchestras and bands, founded a training ensemble, and worked the operations side of community music. Here is what I would bring to East York.
- 01
Assistant Conductor
Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducting inside a full symphony orchestra and its classic symphonic repertoire, and working alongside the orchestra's board on the organisation behind the music.
- 02
Performer, Substitute Conductor & Former Board Member
Toronto Concert Band
A community concert band in the EYCB's own idiom. I play in the ensemble and step onto the podium as a substitute conductor, and I have served on its board. I know a community band from every angle.
- 03
Founder & Music Director
Vancouver Orchestral Training Society
Built a professional-simulation orchestra for young musicians, with masterclasses led by Vancouver Symphony players.
Beyond the podium
Your posting calls for a mix of skills: the classic band repertoire, leading players of differing styles and abilities, and the operational side of running a community ensemble. I have spent years building each of them. As an orchestral performer, a community-arts board member, and a business owner, I have handled programming, budgeting, personnel, and production. A community band runs on more than rehearsals, and I would be keen to embrace new learning and development opportunities with the EYCB, as well as bringing my experience and perspectives to bear as a contributor.
Proposed programs
Four Sample Programs for Band
These are forward-looking programs, shown to illustrate how I could contribute to shaping an EYCB season. They are proposals, not past concerts: a mix of styles and difficulty, built on the classic wind repertoire and pursuing new directions, with the goal of delighting an audience while balancing the challenge of musician engagement and ensemble improvement. Having a clearer understanding of the band would bring a more appropriate focus to the effort.
01 Sport & Spectacle Fanfares, marches and cinematic spectacle
First half
- John Williams — Olympic Fanfare and Theme (Los Angeles 1984)
- David Foster — 'Can't You Feel It?', Calgary 1988 Olympics
- Charles Ives — Variations on 'America'
- Émile Waldteufel — Skaters' Waltz (arr. J.G. Mortimer)
- Miklós Rózsa — Ben Hur
- Julius Fučík — Entry of the Gladiators
- Hans Zimmer — Music from 'Gladiator'
Second half
- G.F. Handel — Entry of the Queen of Sheba (piccolo trumpet feature, woodwinds)
- G.F. Handel — Zadok the Priest
- P.I. Tchaikovsky — Coronation March (arr. J. Bosveld)
- E.W. Korngold — Symphonic Suite from 'The Sea Hawk' (arr. J. Brubaker)
- Malcolm Arnold — Four Scottish Dances
02 Strange & Macabre A Hallowe’en programme
- Science-Fiction Double Feature
- Time Warp
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Sweeney Todd
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor
- Night on Bald Mountain
- The Lord of the Rings (European suite)
03 Music of the Americas A continent of voices, with Canadian content
- Estancia Dances
- Appalachian Spring (complete)
- Fanfare for the Common Man (brass and percussion)
- Dances from West Side Story
- Candide Overture
- Danzón No. 2 (Márquez)
- Fall Fair (Godfrey Ridout)
04 Captain Blood: The Golden Age of Film Hollywood scores from the screen
- Captain Blood theme
- Ben Hur theme
- The Empire Strikes Back, End Title
- Suite from Psycho
- Suite from Gone with the Wind
- Cantina Band, from Star Wars
- Gabriel's Oboe, from The Mission
Watch & listen
In rehearsal and in performance.
A short walk through the work, from the rehearsal room to the concert stage. Use the buttons to jump to any clip.
Watch on YouTube Medelpadia, opening Jan van der Roost Toronto Concert Band, rehearsal The opening passage after workshopping with the band: the rehearsal result. Watch on YouTube Medelpadia, workshopping Jan van der Roost Toronto Concert Band, rehearsal Workshopping excerpts: the developmental rehearsal process itself, up close. Listen online Symphonic Overture Samuel Carter Toronto Concert Band A streaming recording of the Toronto Concert Band performance. Watch on YouTube Finlandia, selections Jean Sibelius Vancouver Orchestral Training Society, concert Concert performance conducting the training orchestra he founded. Watch on YouTube Symphony in D minor, selections César Franck Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, concert Concert performance with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra. Watch on YouTube Babies & Toddlers Family Music Class Community music education A bonus: teaching range and warmth with the youngest learners.
References
People who would speak for me.
These referees would be glad to speak to my work.
- Ken Hazlett Co-Music Director, Toronto Concert Band 416-358-5298 kbhazlett {at} gmail.com
- Les Dobbin, O.Ont. Co-Music Director, Toronto Concert Band 416-725-5361 les.dobbin {at} sympatico.ca
- Tony Field President, Toronto Concert Band 416-841-2472 president {at} torontoconcertband.com
The next step
I'd love to meet you all!
Thank you for your time and kind consideration. It would be my pleasure to meet with your selection committee at your convenience. If you have any further questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at any time. I look forward to hearing from you.
- Telephone
- 416 525 6473
Prepared for the East York Concert Band Principal Conductor search · May 2026