Anglo Canadian Leather Company Band re-enactment concerts this weekend in Huntsville

C.O. Shaw and Herbert L. Clarke and the Anglo Canadian Leather Co. Band circa 1918

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

HUNTSVILLE — Muskoka is world class in many ways — from its natural beauty to some of its tourist attractions.

Muskoka Concert Band director Neil Barlow and the band will be in period costume for the two concerts Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

But a century ago before social media, to dare compare yourself with the rest of the world was a stretch.

But a small band of musicians from Huntsville dared to dream.

And Saturday night and Sunday afternoon you can see and hear why

In celebration of the Canadian Anglo Leather Company Band a recreation concert will be held at the Algonquin Theatre, led by Muskoka Concert Band director Neil Barlow and an all-star lineup.

In 1918 the local tannery was one of dozens at the end of the First World War located between the Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay.

But what distinguished the Huntsville tannery was its owner, C.O. Shaw, the visionary and entrepreneur behind Bigwin Island resort, where Clark Gable and holidayed 100 years before Goldie Hawn and her SCTV friends discovered the Muskoka Lakes.

Shaw fancied himself a fairly good little amateur cornet player; and he was.

But, as in business, he strived for more, reaching for the stars.

And that he did recruiting the undisputed world’s greatest cornetist, Herbert L. Clarke, out of the United States.

Handing him a blank cheque, he told him to spare no expense in hiring and bringing the best brass bandsmen to Huntsville to form a band. Many were Italian immigrants.

And what a band it was. They were truly the contemporaries of the best bands in the world, including John Phillip Sousa and other international star bands out of New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

The ACLCB was an August staple at the band shell at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

At international competitions the Huntsville band won countless trophies for about five years before the band sadly broke up.

This weekend Barlow has the music from one of the programs — and the uniforms from the period.

The band project is called “Brilliance.”

Because that’s what the band was.

It’s a joint project of the Muskoka Concert Band and the Huntsville Festival of the Arts.

And a huge undertaking with the hybrid brass band of 35 musicians from across Ontario.

And this spring they’ve been rehearsing to bring alive the sound of century ago.

The guest soloist is one of Canada’s best trumpet players, Robert Venables, of Toronto.

But there’s more, including an interesting display from relatives of some of the performers, and their instruments.

Get there early for pre-concert video presentation.

Contact the Algonquin Theatre box-office for tickets.

‘Brilliance’ is a tribute re-enactment concert that will look and sound like it was in Huntsville in 1918.
Some of the best musicians in the world were in Clarke’s famed band and came to town with their families.
The Town of Huntsville was lucky enough to here the band regularly at the old band shell behind present Huntsville Public School, overlooking the tannery.
The program from which this weekend’s concert material was chosen.