Halifax Concert Band began in 1973 as part of the Halifax City Schools Continuing Education music program, under the direction of Chalmers Doane. Amalgamation of Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996 effected changes within the school board and the music department, and HCB became affiliated with the Maritime Conservatory of Music. In 2002 we joined Buckley’s Music and rehearsals were held in MacKay Hall, named in honour of our former director Ron MacKay. Buckley’s went into receivership in 2009, and HCB became a registered society with an elected executive.
We have had a number of conductors over the years, including Gerald Von Kline, Bill Wallace, Ward Duncan, Paul Maynard, Paula Beals, Margaret Potvin and Karen MacKay, as well as guest conductors Jack McGuire, music director of the Nova Scotia Tattoo, and Howard Cable, the renowned Canadian composer.
