No
Strings Attached
Community Band
Sudbury
Ontario
Canada
Partners:
Our Conductor: Sandra McMillan...
Sandra
McMillan has been the musical director, conductor, and indeed driving force of the
No Strings
Attached Community Band of Sudbury since its inception in the Fall of 2000.
A life-long resident of the community, Sandra was born in
Sudbury on November 28, 1978.
While growing up, Sandra's main early exposure to music consisted of singing in local choirs. To this day, she continues to sing, and in the past has sung in the Bel Canto Chorus in Sudbury.
Sandra first learned to play the saxophone in the 8th grade. She attended Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury, graduating in 1997.
Throughout her high school years, Sandra continued to play the saxophone. She prefers to play the tenor sax, but has played soprano and alto sax as well. In her grade 12 year, she had the honour of participating in the Northern Ontario Band Festival "All Star Jazz Ensemble."
In 2001, Sandra graduated from Laurentian University's honours B.A. program in music at Huntington College. For her honours thesis at Laurentian, she undertook a project which involved organizing and running a community concert band.
After
completing her thesis, some of Sandra's band members insisted
that she continue to conduct the newly-formed community band on an on-going basis. The hope
at that time was that the band would eventually become a permanent fixture in the
community. Sandra agreed, and the band eventually became known as the "No Strings
Attached Community Band." And the rest, as they say, is history...
Since completing her honours B.A. in music at Laurentian, Sandra went on to earn a Bachelor of Education degree from Nipissing University in North Bay.
Sandra
currently teaches music at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School (previously, she had
taught music classes to elementary students with the
Sudbury Catholic District
School Board). 
Sandra
has also given private music instruction to students in the saxophone. She
is currently a member of the
Ontario Music Educators'
Association as well as the Canadian
Music Educators Association.
Sandra has been one of the leading voices in the community for amateur music as well as an advocate for the role of music education. In 2007, she received the prestigious "Alumni Young Leader Award" from the LU Alumni Association. This award recognizes the accomplishments of our young Laurentian graduates. [Photo at right shows Sandra receiving her award from Lisa Demers-Brooks at awards dinner, Nov. 22/07].
Although Sandra has a good working knowledge of all of
the wind instruments, her favourite instrument to perform remains the tenor
sax. Her musical tastes as a listener on the other hand can be said to
be quite "eclectic," as she enjoys listening to jazz, classical, folk, and bluegrass
music.
Sandra enjoys working with the public
and is fully bilingual in English and French. She has considerable
experience in planning and organizing community events. Her hobbies
also include custom woodworking, in which she has operated her own home-based business.
During her spare time, Sandra enjoys outdoor activities such as kayaking, hiking, and soccer
(although she would not consider herself to be a "health nut" per
se).
During Sandra's occasional absences, her conducting role has been filled in by various guest conductors, including Jack Broumpton, and most recently by Matt Beatty (see bio below), Dave Wilks, Erin Morel, and Marc Taillefer, among others.
If you wish to get in touch with Sandra, you may contact her at (705) 523-5627, or by e-mail at slkmcmillan@yahoo.ca...She would love to hear from you!
Photo above shows Sandra conducting the Dec.14/02 Christmas concert at the Ukrainian Seniors Centre.
Our Recent Interim Conductor...Matt Beatty
Matt Beatty had
conducted the No Strings Attached band from March to June of 2010 during Sandra's absence. He currently resides in the Ottawa area.
Matthew Beatty was raised in Burlington, Ontario where he was an active member of the community though the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. He received much of his formative musical training through the cadet program and continues to train, conduct and adjudicate cadet bands across the province.
Matt attended McMaster University where he received a Bachelor of Music with a focus on percussion performance and conducting pedagogy. He was assistant conductor of the McMaster University Concert Band and studied under Drs. Gregory Burton and Keith Kinder. In his final year, he was elected president of the concert band and coordinated an exchange with the Cornell University Winds, which culminated in a conducting workshop and joint concert.
Since
attaining his Bachelor of Education from
Nipissing University, Matt has been
teaching instrumental music, history, life skills, English and drama in the
Rainbow District School Board. He is currently the string music and dramatic
arts teacher at
Lasalle Secondary School.
Matt spends his summers as the Director of Music at the HMCS ONTARIO Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre, in Kingston, Ontario, a position that he has held for the past four years.
Matt can be reached for
comment at:
beattym@rainbowschools.ca.
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