The GVCB has over 100 musicians, all working together to enjoy playing. We have musicians in our band from all walks of life – students, music teachers, engineers, lawyers, accountants, etc. We play in 10-12 concerts a year throughout the Capital Region and beyond.
Check out GVCB’s CanadaHelps page to donate and support!
Conductors
Senior Band: Dr. Michael Keddy
Dr. Michael Keddy is Music Director of the University of Victoria Don Wright Symphonic Winds, Music Director of the Greater Victoria Concert Band (Senior level), Assistant Conductor of the University of Victoria Wind Symphony, and has been a guest conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Victoria. He currently teaches Music Education and Post-Degree Professional Program courses at the University of Victoria where he recently completed his PhD in Educational Studies (Music Education/Conducting) under the supervision of Dr. Gerald King. Prior to this, Dr. Keddy completed a Master’s Degree (Wind Conducting) with Dr. Dale Lonis at the University of Manitoba, and was Head of Performing Arts at Parry Sound High School in Parry Sound, Ontario. Ensembles under his direction have consistently been praised for their exceptional musicality.
Dr. Keddy completed the Graduate Diploma in Conducting from the University of Calgary, conducted and performed in Europe as Associate Conductor (Concert Band) and Music Director (Jazz Band) of the Ontario Youth Concert Band, and has also held the responsibility of Music Director and Music Education Clinician for the Senior Band component at Camp Musical d’Asbestos in Asbestos, Quebec. He has adjudicated and provided numerous music education and percussion clinics at many festivals and venues throughout Canada.
As a percussionist, Dr. Keddy taught as a member of the faculty at the University of Manitoba and performed in a variety of venues, from solo performer at Buckingham Palace to Symphony Orchestras to World Champion Drum and Bugle Corps’.
Intermediate Band: Joe Hatherill
Joe Hatherill grew up in England and played saxophone with the Hertfordshire County Youth Wind Band. He studied clarinet, piano and theory then moved to the Light Music program in Newcastle Upon Tyne. This led to a four year stint as a professional musician aboard various cruise liners. After relocating to London he became a father to twins and passed exams in Adult Education and gained his Teaching Certificate from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in 2001.
Joe emigrated to Canada in 2003 and led various ensembles near Roberts Creek including the Sunshine Coast Community Orchestra and Concert Band. He continued studies at Vancouver Community College including conducting with Dr John Trotter. He currently leads the Moodswing Chorus of the Friends of Music (FOM) Music Society and is on the core faculty at UVIC for the UJAM summer. He also has a music studio in Fernwood. Joe continues to be an active performer including work with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Canadian Federation of Musicians and the BC Registered Music Teachers Association. He appears on commercial recordings by Dave Lang and the Insolent Rabble, Jon and Roy and the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
Junior Band: Devin Hawthorne
Devin Hawthorne (he/they) is an educator, conductor, performing musician (bassoon), and clinician. He currently lives on unceded lək̓ ʷəŋən territory, and is grateful to be present on those lands as an uninvited settler. Devin recently completed their post-secondary education at the University of Victoria, obtaining a B.Mus. (2024) and B.Ed. (2025) with distinction. As a lifelong learner, they hope to continue to learn, grow, and evolve their teaching practice in a good way while also sharing their knowledge and passion for music.
As an educator, Devin works as a TTOC in SD63 (Saanich) on the unceded territory of the W̱ SÁNEĆ people. He strives to bring joy, community, and dedication to the craft of music with learners aged 5-18 every day. Devin finds that classroom teaching is rich, rewarding, and complex – especially for learners with diverse needs and abilities. They believe strongly that music should be accessible for everyone. When they aren’t teaching publicly, Devin also maintains a small studio of high school bassoon students in grades 9-12 in the Victoria region.
Outside of the classroom you can find Devin performing and directing! They have served as a bassoonist in a number of ensembles including the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra, Meridiem Wind Orchestra, Bach on the Rock Orchestra, and Salish Sea Bassoon Collective. They also play in pit orchestras for middle and high school shows in SD 63. His favourite part of performing is definitely the people – both within the ensemble and in the audience. They hold firmly to the belief that music is meant to be shared and experienced with others in as many settings as possible.
As director of the GVCB Junior band, Devin aims to provide audiences with fun, musically rich performances 3-4 times per year while creating a welcoming, community-focused musical space for adults of all ages.
Novice Band: Yvonne Norris
Yvonne learned to play piano at a young age and picked up the flute in junior high in Edmonton. She continued to play in her school band, and then played sporadically over the years until she arrived in Victoria in the early 1990s. In 1994 Yvonne was presented with the wonderful opportunity to assist Sheri Robertson in her music room at Royal Oak Middle School and held this position until 2009. During that time, Yvonne also assisted at North Saanich Middle School for 6 years. These positions allowed her the opportunity to gain a good fundamental knowledge of playing wind and brass instruments, as well as basic repair skills. Yvonne also had the opportunity to conduct, teach theory, and work one-on-one with students. As such, she is able to provide beginner players with solid basic skills for their instrument.
Yvonne loves to impart her love of music to those around her who show an interest in picking up an old or new instrument. She enjoys challenging the Novice group members by teaching them basic music theory, how to read music, how to hold and play new instruments, and how to follow a director. Yvonne is thrilled to be helping people from so many different walks of life – she has taught people from ages 19 to 83! She continues to teach lessons privately (piano, guitar, saxophone) and looks forward to a continued relationship with new and old students at the GVCB.
A Brief History of the Band
It all started in the 1930s. Mr. Charles Rowles, who wanted Victoria to have a band like he had enjoyed as a youth in England, formed Victoria’s first youth ensemble, the Victoria Boys’ Band. Tragically, Mr. Rowles was killed in a traffic accident in the early 1950s. Several volunteers did their best to keep the band going. Mr. Carl Rife and Mr. G. McLeod, along with the assistance of several local musicians worked with the boys during this time. However, because of the increasingly popular school band programs, membership numbers declined until there were fewer than ten members.
In 1955 several parents asked Dave Dunnet, their boys’ trumpet teacher if he would be interested in leading the band. So after an audition rehearsal, Dave Dunnet, at the age of 15 and still in high school, was hired as the bandmaster of the Victoria Boy’s Band for a monthly salary of $25! In the next few years the band grew to around fifty and successfully took part in several community events in Victoria including the 1957 Victoria Day Parade when it won first place for youth bands. Dave Dunnet graduated from Oak Bay High School in 1958 and left Victoria to attend university. Several successive bandmasters then took over the band.
In 1964, the sponsorship of the Victoria City Police Athletic Association breathed new life into the band which was renamed “The Victoria City Police Boys Band”. The boys were provided with new police style uniforms. They continued to play concerts and march in parades. In the late 1960’s, girls joined the band which was renamed “The Victoria City Police Youth Band”. Eventually, Victoria’s excellent school band programs proved a stronger attraction for young musicians. In the 1970s, it was decided to allow adults to join the band, so it was renamed “The Greater Victoria Police Community Band”. Because the band was no longer strictly serving the youth of Victoria, in 1978 the Victoria City Police Athletic Association withdrew their sponsorship. This resulted in the formation of today’s exemplary organization, the Greater Victoria Concert Band Society. The GVCB, with its four band levels, is now dedicated to advancing the musicianship of adult instrumentalists of all abilities and providing entertainment to the citizens of south Vancouver Island.