Vancouver’s Ward Music: a shop that shaped my musical journey
As a young player just starting out, I had a lot of great role models and positive reinforcement. I cannot emphasis enough how important those influences were in encouraging me as a player just starting out; how important they were in my decision to pursue music in university; and ultimately in my decision to continue playing throughout my life.
This week I had the opportunity to reach out to one of those people who was so influential in my life as a young player. I suspect when he read about how influential his help was in my life, it came as somewhat of a surprise.
These days Morrie Backun is known for being the President, and Chief Instrument Designer of Backun Musical Services. However, before Morrie became known as a designer of clarinets that some very big names like to use, he worked for many years at Vancouver’s largest independent, family owned music store: Ward Music.
Ward Music in May 1974 Source: http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca
At the time, Ward Music was the go-to brick and mortar store for professional, amateur, and student musicians alike. Besides having every type of instrument imaginable, their repair shop was arguably the best in the city, and the company also had Western Canada’s largest selection of sheet music.
Ward Music was located at 412 West Hastings St. in downtown Vancouver. The building itself is historic, and is known as the Second Rogers Block. It was built in 1898-99. 1 Wards was in that building for decades, until they sold to Long & McQuade circa 2000.
When I met Morrie, I had only been playing for a couple of years at most. I met him through the Ward Music repair shop, when I brought my Orsi-stencilled La Monte tenor in for a check-up after my parents bought it for me when I was in Grade 8 or 9.
Morrie helped me select a mouthpiece—one that is still one of my favourite hard rubber pieces for jazz: a Vandoren 77—and over the years as I improved, he helped guide my saxophone buying choices. If it wasn’t for Morrie, I wouldn’t have the minty Mark VI alto and soprano that I have today. Thanks Morrie. Those were the best used horns I ever I bought!
In what is perhaps the strangest coincidence, Morrie is also indirectly responsible for my research in vintage saxophones. One day my dad asked if there was perhaps a junky horn that we could buy to hang on our wall. Morrie went into the back of the repair shop, and dug out the C. Jeuffroy labelled Pierret.
That Pierret hung on my wall for decades, but I knew nothing about it. That was until 1998, when I then reached out to Pete Hales, who at the time still owned The Vintage Saxophone Gallery. The rest is history (pardon the pun). Over the years Pete and I have become Internet pals, colleagues, and found out that were quite likely siblings separated at birth. 😉
Earlier this week I emailed Morrie to find out if he knew something about the Jubilee brand of instruments that keep popping up all over the place here in BC. He was kind enough to reply with his thoughts and experience with them.
Morrie was just as generous with his time now as he was back in the day. Thanks Morrie. Sorry I don’t play clarinet well enough to warrant one of your Backun models. That would be the same as giving a 16-year-old the keys to a Porsche. 😈
Mom and Pop brick ‘n mortar stores matter now just as much as they did then
My point here is simple: Those simple interactions over the years with extremely knowledgeable shop people in the brick and mortar stores can be just as important to a young player’s future, as having a private instructor; a good, supportive band teacher; and a supportive family.
Sure, you can be cynical about it and say that shop workers are just there to sell product. And while it may be true, there are also those who work in shops that do go that extra mile, and support young and up and coming players. Those people do still exist. When you do find one, stick with them; support the store; and understand that yes, you might pay a couple of bucks more than if you ordered something from an online store. However, the online store is not going to support you with knowledge, and certainly can’t provide you with individualized service.
Although Ward Music is now gone from Vancouver’s retail music landscape, I still do my best to support independent music stores, and not the big chains like Long & McQuade and Tom Lee. I’ve got nothing against the big two, and have bought lots of stuff through them. However, I support my tech’s business (Matterhorn Music) whenever I can. Dave is competitive in his pricing, and sometimes he even beats the big two’s pricing on some stuff. So in the end, I think it all works out.
I have seen Dave be just as supportive and giving of his time and knowledge to young players and their families, as Morrie was to my parents and I back in the day. So people like Morrie are still around, and for that I am extremely grateful.
It’s up to us as consumers to make sure we support independent shop owners like this; to ensure that our kids have the same opportunity to access the breadth and depth of knowledge of local professionals like we did.
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1 Source: Second Rogers Block
After moving to Surrey in 2019, I discovered Matterhorn Music and Dave has done great work on my various clarinets and oboe. Also used Tapestry in White Rock in a pinch a couple times as well as bought a clarinet from them. I have no issues with Long & McQuade and have bought string instruments from them, as well as some used student horns (got a bargain Buffet from them, best $150 I ever spent) but when it comes to repairs and maintenance, if it is something I cannot do myself then Matterhorn it is. I like supporting Dave too because he’s Swiss and I’m into playing Swiss traditional music.
I am trying to remember the name of a music store from the 1950s or so. It was on Seymour St. in Vancouver, I think. Can you help?
Sorry, that was before my time.
Do you have any more to go on? What did they sell? Band instruments? Pianos? Guitars? All of the above?
Of all the woodwind music shops I visited the last 40 years only three survived.
Most techs from the closed shops and an equal amount of young techs started repair ateliers.
There is a lot of down to earth experience and love for instruments in these ateliers.
Howdy, sis!
I do remember mom & pop music shops. I used to frequent a music store in western NY — owner’s retired and the shop isn’t there anymore — where I bought five or six of my horns, reeds, mouthpieces, and other sax and clarinet accessories. It was fun just to go there and see what they had either lying on the floor or hanging on the wall.
That was in the era before the Internet, though.
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that if you want to go to your local instrument shop to try out some horns or mouthpieces, you should buy from them, too. That’s key. Don’t waste their time, otherwise. If you have tried some horns, but find a nicer deal online, call the local shop back. They might do a deal for you, especially if you’ve made it clear that you’re going to be a long-time client.