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BRIAN FARROW Music Director |
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Our music director, Brian Farrow, has a long and convoluted career in Scarborough music. Following his high school graduation in 1982, he embarked on a career as an auto mechanic. One autumn Monday evening, later that same year, he was dragged out to a Scarborough Philharmonic rehearsal by his big sister, the bassoon player. Beethoven’s 7th Symphony was being performed and a tympanist was required. Ten years later, with the carrer in the auto industry a distant memory, Brian finished his degree in physical education at York University. Throughout this time, Brian perormed with dozens of community theatre groups, orchestras, bands and other sundry ensembles. The kind registrar at York even allowed for a few music credits on the way to the phys-ed degree. With this background as a performer, and the family tradition of teaching seeming like the right choice for the next career, Brian went, west, to the University of Western Ontario, to complete an education degree in 1994. Taking over from his father Stan (see Piano Accompanist) and his grandfather Hindy, Brian kept the Farrow name on the Scarborough secondary teaching roster. A position at Woburn Collegiate in 1997 was the first full-time placement with a combined phys-ed and music timetable. There was also a little history in there too, for fun. Coaching grade nine band, senior jazz band, senior football and girls' hockey proved to be a bit too much, and the phys-ed end of the timetable ceased to be in 1999, and, as of 2005, Brian is a full-time music teacher at the school, coaching two concert bands, two jazz bands, a jazz combo, and the girls’ hockey team, keeping him very busy at school.Now for the Gilbert and Sullivan end of the equation. Born into G&S lineage, with father Stan playing all kinds of shows throughout his youth, Brian listened to, watched and helped out on many Scarborough productions. Returning from Western in 1994, Brian joined the ranks on stage to put up a production of Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore. The whole second generation of Farrows was involved as leads of one sort or another and Brian played the role of Edwin in Trial. The following year, he played Leonard in The Yeomen of the Guard. His final named role was Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance. He had sung all of these roles with such quality, he was asked to STOP singing and put the music teacher training to work as the music director. This is year seven with Scarborough in this capacity. Adding to the list of directorial assignments, Brian was also music directing St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society in its January 2006 production of Ruddigore. This show was his orchestral conducting debut. With all of these activites, Brian still plays hockey two or three times a week, plays the odd community concert, helps his wife Susanne (the better musician in the family) raise their two children, maintains a modest Scarborough home and keeps a very well groomed lawn. Sleep is over-rated. [Photo © 2001 Philip Stenning] |
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