Brown Rosemary

Article by Kathleen Hay
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December 29, 2009

CLASSICALLY SPEAKING - Rosemary Brow love Beethoven, but it's
J.S. Bach with whom she'd have really loved to have a master class. The city organist grew up in Lachine, then studied music at McGill University, before moving to Cornwall in 1973 with her husband, Bill.

CORNWALL - Rosemary Brown started piano at age seven. Her first teacher was actually her grandmother's neighbour, Miss Proulx, when she was growing up in Lachine. Both Rosemary's mom and dad, Robert and Mary, loved listening to music, and while her mom played piano by ear, she ensured her children Bob, Danny, Mary and Rosemary - all took piano lessons.

Rosemary appeared to take to them even more. After she graduated from Lachine High, she enrolled in McGill University's music program. Initially, she was heading towards music education, but had become enamoured with the organ during her teen years.
As such, while she graduated with a degree in education, she then completed a licentiate in organ performance.

As' a teen, Rosemary was organist at the Church of the Ascension, along Montreal's
Park Avenue. One of her university teachers was organist at St. Joseph's Oratory and she
became one of his assistants. Upon her graduation she competed in Europe at various
music festivals at St. Alban's, UK, as well as Leipzig, East Germany. She also completed master classes in Haarlem, Netherlands.

Rosemary, who met her husband, Bill, through a mutual friend, moved to Cornwall in l973. About a year after she relocated, she got a position as organist at the former Knox United Church. Now known as Knox St. Paul's United Church, she has been there for approximately 35 years as organist and music director.

As leader of the music ministry, she also directs the Knox St. Paul's Ringers bell choir.
In addition to her work with the church, she also performs with the Regency Ensemble, her own family ensemble Laudamus (with husband Bill, and their daughters, Felicfty and Emily), and regularly accompanies the choir, Chorus Novus. Rosemary and Bill reside in
Cornwall.

1. What family tradition means the most to you?
   We try to go to church at least at Christmas and Easter. It's very hard for us to worship together as our schedules are very scattered. I'm the organist at Knox St. Paul's, Bill was the organist at the Church of the Good Shepherd for years and years, and now he sings at St. Columban's. Usually, on Christmas Eve, we go to Knox-St. Paul's, then St.
   Columban's for the midnight mass. On Christmas morning we open our stockings, then go to Knox-St. Paul's, then back home to open presents.

2. What was the biggest clunker you ever played on the organ?
   There's legions! There was one time there were two separate services at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at Knox St. Paul's. Usually, the same hymns would be sung at each one, but on this particular Sunday the second service happened to be a confirmation or something. The hymns had been changed, but I completely blanked out. I played about the first three verses of the wrong hymn until I figured out that something was seriously wrong. I think that was probably the worst one.

3. What piece of music always sends shivers down your spine?
   Oh, my God. It depends on the mood. There's different pieces that affect you at different times. Bill proposed to me during Pavane for a Dead Princess so that has particular significance to me. It depends on the occasion.

4. What organ would you love to have the opportunity to play?
   I like the idea of being able to play at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California Maybe play the Toccata from Widor's Fifth Symphony.

5 . What item of your clothing strikes the wrong note with your daughters?
Probably just about anything! But they've been improving my wardrobe over the years. I go for comfort and I hate to shop.

6. How did you and your hubby meet?
   Through a friend of mine who was also studying music at McGill. She played the organ
   Queen Mary Road United, where her family also attended. Bill and a friend of his would take the train from Cornwall to Montreal to hear various organs. On a good day they could catch six performances! Bill got to know my friend and her family. They'd go for lunch and then her family started inviting me, too. I was probably in my late teens or early twenties. We got married in 1973.

7. Who do you think has made the greatest contribution as a composer'?
   I have to say Bach, Johann Sebastian. The Bach. I love early music, medieval, Gregorian
   chant. But as an organist, he was the ultimate. It was really cool to play in one of the churches he played in.

8. What composer would you love to have a private master class with? Only one!
   This sounds like a cop-out, but J.S. Bach was the ultimate church musician. He was an
   excellent teacher. A lot of his music was written as teaching tools, especially the organ and keyboard music. He had 22 kids and he taught most of them, at least! Most of them became well-known musicians and composers on their own from his tutelage. He was known all over Europe for his performances.

9. What would surprise people most about Rosemary'?
   That I'm an excellent pre-Christmas demolition expert. Bill and I have a tendency to embark on projects verging on the foolhardy at the wrong time of year. Right now we're replacing the kitchen and laying new floors. I think we do it because there's a deadline.

10. What kitchen device do you treasure ?
    Probably my microwave. Bill will tell you I'M constantly reheating my coffee or tea.