Quasimodes
Nelson Boschman (Director) Bio
Dave Hildebrandt (Student) Bio
Quasimodes
The Duke Ellington Orchestra...
Count Basie's Big Band...
Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five...
Miles Davis and Gil Evans...
Columbia's Quasimodes...???
It may seem rather bold to list our stage band together with jazz
groups of such legendary calibre. But if you have ever played your
instrument in a stage band and would be interested in joining another
one, I hope I have your attention.
It's true! Columbia has a stage band.
The year was 1991. A group of energetic students showed up on campus
with their beloved high school band instruments in hand. Not wanting to
store them in their closets for the rest of their lives and itching to
play some jazz together, the idea of forming a stage band at Columbia
was born. Worship Arts faculty member Tony Funk took on the director's
role in the early years. In 1997 Nelson Boschman took over the
director's baton, fresh from two years of jazz studies at Capilano
College.
Since our genesis as a group, many wonderful students and a few
dedicated faculty have helped us make this band a reality. We have
performed at various venues over the years, including Spring Concert,
Columbia Encounter, Christmas & Grad Banquets, chapels, a church
service in Kelowna, local church Valentine socials, the Orpheum in
Vancouver, the Cotton Club in New York City, the Montreal Jazz
Festival... (kidding on these last few-just making sure you're not
skipping over our illustrious history!)
Our repertoire consists of easy to medium-difficult jazz standards
(depending on ability) and some sacred works. What does it take to
become part of this group? You don't need to be a top-notch musician.
If you play sax, trumpet, trombone, flute, guitar, piano, bass or
drums, have some high school or community band experience, are
dedicated and willing to learn and grow as a musician, you are
well-suited to become a member of the Quasimodes. A well-advertised
interest meeting is held at the beginning of each year, and auditions
are held only if the number of interested students is too high to form
a cohesive group.
If you are coming as a student this year and are interested in
joining the group, please introduce yourself to me. I look forward to
meeting all you jazz cats here on the Columbia campus.
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Nelson Boschman (Director)
nelson.boschman@columbiabc.edu
In
addition to teaching Worship Arts at Columbia Bible College, Nelson
Boschman is involved in a wide variety of musical and artistic
pursuits, embracing the circle of faith and the wider community.
Nelson has been involved in church music and ministry for a number
of years. He was on the pastoral staff at Fraser Heights Community
Church in Surrey, BC from 1995-2000, where he led and coached worship
teams regularly. He has also been a member of the BC Mennonite Brethren
Board of Church Ministries' Worship Commission since 1998, where he has
been involved in planning, facilitating, teaching and leading at
worship conferences and seminars in Kamloops, Nanaimo, Victoria, Fort
St. John, Prince George and Chilliwack. Nelson also played keyboards
and sang on a live worship recording at the Langley Vineyard called The
Well 1999.
A professional part-time jazz piano player, Nelson received his jazz
education at Capilano College in North Vancouver, where he studied
under Juno Award-winning keyboardist and trumpeter Brad Turner. Nelson
currently leads his own jazz group, the Nelson Boschman Trio, which
plays mainly standard jazz repertoire at wedding receptions, banquets
and private functions. His group's swinging, interactive style is
influenced by the trios of Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau and Bill Evans.
Nelson's trio was the house band at Swan-e-set Bay Golf & Country
Club in Pitt Meadows, BC during the summer of 2001. At Columbia Bible
College's spring concert in April 2002, the group accompanied soloist
Crystal Hicks and a mass choir in a performance of black gospel music
called Take Up Your Cross. Nelson plays occasionally with various other
jazz groups in the lower mainland of British Columbia.
Nelson also played guitar and sang in a folk-acoustic rock band
called The Compassmen from 1994 to 1996. They performed original music
as well as covers by bands like Blue Rodeo and The Northern Pikes. The
band recorded a full-length indie CD, Deep Shades of Blue, in 1996.
From 1992-1995, Nelson led Columbia's touring music and drama group,
Souled Out. During these years, they traveled across Canada and
throughout the west coast of the United States.
Besides his endeavours as an instrumentalist, Nelson is also active
as a choral singer. He has sung tenor in the West Coast Mennonite
Chamber Choir (Tony Funk, Director) on their three most recent
recordings: As Evening Shadows Fall (2000), My Heart, My Home (2001)
and The Time of Eternity (2002-to be released in late fall). While at
Capilano College he sang under Lars Kaario's Capilano College Singers
for two years.
Nelson continues to pursue his education as a Master of Christian
Studies student at Regent College, where his concentration is in
Christianity and the Arts. He believes that faith and art have much in
common, and that part of our mandate as Christians today is to engage
in dialogue with the broader culture through a variety of avenues,
including the arts. As Gerardus van der Leeuw has written, "Religion
and art are parallel lines which intersect only at infinity, and meet
in God."
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Dave Hildebrandt (Student)
"The Quasimodes was a great group to be a part of. It was
awesome to be able to give God glory using our musical talents through
secular music. Plus, there was a cool sense of teamwork and friendship
in our group that made the year great!"
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