Bulkley Valley Brass Band fonds

Scope and Content: This fonds consists of a Bulkley Valley Brass Band scrapbook (2011.39.1) covering the years 1971 to 1978, and three certificates (2017.133) presented to the BVBB by the Lakes District Music and Drama Festival in April 1972.

History / Biographical: The Bulkley Valley Brass Band was founded in October 1970 after an unsuccessful attempt by the Smithers Rotary Club to form a community brass band. Whereas membership in the Rotary Band had been restricted to Smithers residents, the Bulkley Valley Brass Band widened its scope by welcoming members from Telkwa and Houston. It also sought to ensure its longevity by purchasing instruments which would be held by the band rather than by individual members, allowing them to be passed on to new members if their original users left the group or moved away. Anyone above the age of 12 was able to join, regardless of skill level. The BVBB’s director at its time of founding was Norman Atkins and its treasurer was Paul Sikkes, who also played trumpet for the band. The BVBB’s held its first concert, “An Evening at Home,” on December 12th 1970. It went on to participate in events such as Christmas Concerts, the Lakes District Music Festival, and the 1971 BC Centennial Celebrations Parade. The band won a great number of prizes in various music festivals. It was directed by Norm Atkins from 1970 until his death in early 1974. By January 1981 the band was in a state of abeyance due to a lack of local brass players. It does not appear to have been restarted.

Custodial History: Item 2011.39.01 was originally donated to the museum by Judi Adema in February 2011 and accessioned as part of the BVM discrete items collection. In June 2020 it was removed from this collection and added to the newly-created Bulkley Valley Brass Band fonds. Items numbered 2017.133 were originally collected by Jeanette Lough and eventually passed on to Ronald Toews, who donated them to the museum on December 8, 2017. They were added to the Smithers Community Band fonds (AF12). In June 2020 it was determined that they were not relevant to the fond topic and a separate fonds was created for the Bulkley Valley Brass Band.

Scope and Content: This fonds consists of a Bulkley Valley Brass Band scrapbook (2011.39.1) covering the years 1971 to 1978, and three certificates (2017.133) presented to the BVBB by the Lakes District Music and Drama Festival in April 1972.