Chuck Currie

Chuck Currie performs with the Meridiem Wind Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, the Commodores Big Band, Victoria On Stage, Pacific Clarion, and the Bass Clarinet Choir of l’Association Canadienne de Clarinette Basse.  He is the founder of the Celestial Saxophone Orchestra. He has recorded with the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Vancouver Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Royal Canadian 15^th Field Artillery Regimental Band, and the Vancouver Saxophone Ensemble.

He has been the Saxophone, Clarinet and Low Woodwind Coach of the BC Honour Wind Ensemble, and a clinician for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the BC Music Teachers Association.  He is the Educational Liaison for the Meridiem Wind Orchestra, leading the School Clinic and Coaching Program, and the  annual Youth Soloist Competition.

Chuck Currie was inducted as a Canadian Champion for Music Education in 2010.

Mr. Currie is a Backun Clarinet, Yanagisawa Saxophone, Vandoren reeds, Légère reeds, and Chedeville-JodyJazz-Rousseau Mouthpiece artist-endorser. He has performed world-wide at Big Band, Wind Ensemble, Clarinet and Saxophone Festivals. The reviewer of the opening concert of the 2007 International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest  wrote:  “Chuck Currie’s interpretation of the bass clarinet solos in Frank Ticheli’s Blue Shades was astonishing.  Never have I heard a bass clarinet shape and bend notes like that…what amazing projection! His unaccompanied duet with Eddie Daniels was also magnificent.”

He teaches at his Sax Noir Studio and was the saxophone and clarinet instructor for St Georges School for 20 years.  Students have auditioned successfully for the Canadian Wind Orchestra, International Honors Wind Symphony at Lincoln Center, National Youth Band of Canada, Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, British Columbia Honour Orchestra, UBC School of Music, Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony, and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Currie’s articles on pedagogy and instruments  have been published by Saxophone Journal,  The BC Band Journal, Canadian Winds Magazine, Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine, and The British Columbia Music Educator.

Additional Comments from Chuck:

“The game-changing starts with the remarkable Chedeville rubber, a softer and warmer material that adds an incredibly rich glow to the sound. Then comes the excellence of the CNC milling and hand-finishing with expert playtesting.

The Chedeville Umbra was my first experience of a combination of effortless response and articulation with a sweet, complex ringing tone. The Umbra is incredibly reed friendly. I could use harder reeds with ease, and they needed far less adjustments. My legato was more liquid, and every note just popped.  When playing low G long tones, my clarinet vibrated more than ever before…. It was like every tone hole was kissing my fingers.  I loved it more every time I put it on my clarinets.

Then I tried the Chedeville Kanter Cinema mouthpiece and borrowed the description “sublime” from James Kanter, Jody Espina, and every clarinetist that had tried it! I loved my Chedeville Umbra, and this mouthpiece was even more lovable. It had that wonderful Chedeville warmth, flexibility and colour and added a firmer centre, a more contained ringing sound and was extremely easy to control (very important for a doubler like me.)

I played the Kanter Cinema on tour doing live background music for a silent movie. The flexibility and projection was wonderful! I followed that with musical theatre and the swing passages and jazz articulation were great! The ‘piece sang and swung and also just shimmered doing the classical stuff.

A “Cinema” mouthpiece must be able to do everything, and this one did!

A year later, the Chedeville Kanter Opera was released, and I am no longer surprised that these Chedeville mouthpieces just keep getting better. They are very hard to choose between, but I still find each iteration superb and keep moving on. I keep all three models in my case for colleagues to try at rehearsals.

The Kanter Opera combines the best characteristics of the lovely Umbra F3 and sublime Kanter Cinema. The Umbra has that divine flexibility of colour and amazing versatility, while the Kanter Cinema has that focussed clear ringing core.  The Kanter Opera combines those characteristics.

“Elite” is an understatement for the Chedeville Bass Clarinet mouthpiece. I have a great bass clarinet mouthpiece collection, but there is nothing anywhere like these. The instant response, effortless register leaps, shimmering warmth and liquidity in the upper register, chocolate covered caramel in the chalumeau, crystal clear articulation, robust power and pure pianissimos must be heard to be believed.

I play ten mouthpieces  from the amazing Jody Espina…selected from his Chedeville, Rousseau and JodyJazz brands…the first time in my career in which all my mouthpieces have been designed by one person.

For more information on Chuck and to read his very informative blog series visit his website below.    www.saxnoir.com