By Chloe Mee
Parents are often the inspiration behind their children’s artistry. Whether it is the innate desire to follow one’s parents, taking up a new hobby under their wings or a seemingly predetermined destiny that influences a child, many young people tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
For this reason, the Collingwood Arts Magazine has begun featuring parents to showcase our inspirations and talented members of the Collingwood parent community.
For our first feature, I am writing about my father, the solo clarinettist from the Royal Marines.
My father never told me that I had to play the clarinet. Instead, I remember it was an impromptu desire which prompted me to try the clarinet. One summer’s night after dinner when I was around eight years old, my dad cleaned his clarinet, and I attempted to play a note. It sounded more like a pathetic squeak than anything, but it was the start of my musical journey playing the clarinet.
For thirteen years, playing the clarinet was one of the main focuses of my dad’s life. He picked up the instrument around the age of eight years old, as well as other instruments such as the double bass and saxophone, though clarinet was always his preferred instrument. He played and practised for hours on end every day, playing in numerous school bands. Eventually, when he completed high school, he joined the Royal Marines in England. This was something that undoubtedly shaped his perspective in life through travelling, the people and friends that he met, and experiences that never fail to intrigue and inspire me.
My dad was the solo clarinettist in the Royal Marines, which is a true accolade considering the honour of being a member of the band in the first place. Being solo clarinettist is equivalent to being the first violin in an orchestra - he was effectively the leader of the band. When the band converted to an orchestra, he would continue playing the clarinet, whereas other clarinet players would play their stringed instruments such as the violin. He is an outstanding musician who is also unfailingly kind and eager to share his knowledge of music with others.
In addition to being a musician in the Marines, he was also trained as a soldier with weapons training (including the training of a typical Marine), but his main role in a war-time situation would have been a medical role. He took on a leadership role in the Marines and completed his service as the role of a Sergeant. During his time in the Marines, he was a music instructor and had training in conducting and leadership.
Throughout his career, he played for Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, the Queen Mother, the late US president H. W. Bush, former Russian president Gorbachev, and Princess Diana at a film premiere accompanied by Prince William and Prince Harry when they were boys. He also planned a musical soirée for a clarinet choir during one of Queen Elizabeth’s visits.
He played at numerous prestigious events such as the Edinburgh Tattoo, in addition to playing in venues like “on a flight deck of a naval ship in the middle of the East China Sea and a concert in the beautiful caves of Gibraltar.” One particular highlight included playing at the “Edinburgh Castle with hundreds of bagpipes and swirling sea mist.” Some of the most memorable places he travelled to include Sweden, Italy, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, France, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Gibraltar.
He travelled across the world to play music. In the Marines, he mostly played the Bb (the traditional and most commonly played) clarinet, as well as the Eb clarinet and the A clarinet.
My dad has now been a teacher since moving to Canada with his wife. Most recently, he taught Kindergarten for six years but has now returned to being a full-time music teacher this school year. He teaches Kindergarten through Grade Seven at an elementary school, teaching both bands and choirs. He still enjoys playing the clarinet, and he is honoured to play the Last Post annually at the Remembrance Day assemblies at his school. He still possesses an imperturbable and deep love for music.
Once I was asked if I ever felt as though I was playing in the shadow of my father, a “monster musician.” This is a question that the children of many talented artists and generally talented families may face - the expectation to live up to the people who came before them. There can be a sense of conformity where some people may desire to live up to what their parents did before them, doing what they did and perhaps even better, especially when there is a direct comparison to someone close to them.
I believe that I have developed into a player independent of my father, though I am greatly inspired by him. I have never felt the responsibility to live up to his expectations because that is not in his nature. We each have our own talents - while clarinet was his thing, playing the clarinet is one of the things that I love to do and I have not devoted the same time and devotion that he has to the instrument.
That being said, I am always filled with awe the moment that he takes his clarinet out of its case, prepares the reed, then rips through a few scales with ease, and then diverts to playing an invented tune of his own. His tone is impeccably clear, muscle memory helping him remember the feel of each note underneath each worn fingertip. He feels his music, associates it with memories of a time gone by, the playing almost effortless as he infuses his character and meaning behind the notes.
Mr Tim Mee playing the clarinet in the 1997 Edinburgh Tattoo:
Parents are often the inspiration behind their children’s artistry. Whether it is the innate desire to follow one’s parents, taking up a new hobby under their wings or a seemingly predetermined destiny that influences a child, many young people tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
For this reason, the Collingwood Arts Magazine has begun featuring parents to showcase our inspirations and talented members of the Collingwood parent community.
For our first feature, I am writing about my father, the solo clarinettist from the Royal Marines.
My father never told me that I had to play the clarinet. Instead, I remember it was an impromptu desire which prompted me to try the clarinet. One summer’s night after dinner when I was around eight years old, my dad cleaned his clarinet, and I attempted to play a note. It sounded more like a pathetic squeak than anything, but it was the start of my musical journey playing the clarinet.
For thirteen years, playing the clarinet was one of the main focuses of my dad’s life. He picked up the instrument around the age of eight years old, as well as other instruments such as the double bass and saxophone, though clarinet was always his preferred instrument. He played and practised for hours on end every day, playing in numerous school bands. Eventually, when he completed high school, he joined the Royal Marines in England. This was something that undoubtedly shaped his perspective in life through travelling, the people and friends that he met, and experiences that never fail to intrigue and inspire me.
My dad was the solo clarinettist in the Royal Marines, which is a true accolade considering the honour of being a member of the band in the first place. Being solo clarinettist is equivalent to being the first violin in an orchestra - he was effectively the leader of the band. When the band converted to an orchestra, he would continue playing the clarinet, whereas other clarinet players would play their stringed instruments such as the violin. He is an outstanding musician who is also unfailingly kind and eager to share his knowledge of music with others.
In addition to being a musician in the Marines, he was also trained as a soldier with weapons training (including the training of a typical Marine), but his main role in a war-time situation would have been a medical role. He took on a leadership role in the Marines and completed his service as the role of a Sergeant. During his time in the Marines, he was a music instructor and had training in conducting and leadership.
Throughout his career, he played for Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, the Queen Mother, the late US president H. W. Bush, former Russian president Gorbachev, and Princess Diana at a film premiere accompanied by Prince William and Prince Harry when they were boys. He also planned a musical soirée for a clarinet choir during one of Queen Elizabeth’s visits.
He played at numerous prestigious events such as the Edinburgh Tattoo, in addition to playing in venues like “on a flight deck of a naval ship in the middle of the East China Sea and a concert in the beautiful caves of Gibraltar.” One particular highlight included playing at the “Edinburgh Castle with hundreds of bagpipes and swirling sea mist.” Some of the most memorable places he travelled to include Sweden, Italy, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, France, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Gibraltar.
He travelled across the world to play music. In the Marines, he mostly played the Bb (the traditional and most commonly played) clarinet, as well as the Eb clarinet and the A clarinet.
My dad has now been a teacher since moving to Canada with his wife. Most recently, he taught Kindergarten for six years but has now returned to being a full-time music teacher this school year. He teaches Kindergarten through Grade Seven at an elementary school, teaching both bands and choirs. He still enjoys playing the clarinet, and he is honoured to play the Last Post annually at the Remembrance Day assemblies at his school. He still possesses an imperturbable and deep love for music.
Once I was asked if I ever felt as though I was playing in the shadow of my father, a “monster musician.” This is a question that the children of many talented artists and generally talented families may face - the expectation to live up to the people who came before them. There can be a sense of conformity where some people may desire to live up to what their parents did before them, doing what they did and perhaps even better, especially when there is a direct comparison to someone close to them.
I believe that I have developed into a player independent of my father, though I am greatly inspired by him. I have never felt the responsibility to live up to his expectations because that is not in his nature. We each have our own talents - while clarinet was his thing, playing the clarinet is one of the things that I love to do and I have not devoted the same time and devotion that he has to the instrument.
That being said, I am always filled with awe the moment that he takes his clarinet out of its case, prepares the reed, then rips through a few scales with ease, and then diverts to playing an invented tune of his own. His tone is impeccably clear, muscle memory helping him remember the feel of each note underneath each worn fingertip. He feels his music, associates it with memories of a time gone by, the playing almost effortless as he infuses his character and meaning behind the notes.
Mr Tim Mee playing the clarinet in the 1997 Edinburgh Tattoo: