Marland Murray

From Glengarryceltic

Marland Murray was born at the Murray Farm, Line Road, two miles east of St. Andrews West on December 28th, 1915. He is the son of Herbert Murray and Hattie Brown. He attended the Island School and started his high school at St. Andrews. His father and mother both liked music, his father played the fiddle at local dances in his younger days. Later, his mother chorded for him. They played at house parties and often entertained guests in their home. His parents were very happy with the opportunity for him to take violin lessons at St. Andrews from Sister Lucille. She taught him to play by note. She was a very good teacher and in 1932 he received a degree from the Dominion College of Music. He wrote his music exam at St. Raphael’s along with Rosalin Leberge.

A highlight of his life is that while attending St. Andrews, Sister Lucille had him play at Midnight Mass. She also had him singing with the choir. He well remembers it was a cold, frosty night. Around 11:00 p.m. he took his fiddle and lantern, went to the barn, harnessed the horse, hitched him to the cutter and went to St. Andrews. He played from the choir loft at the back of the church and the acoustics in the church were so good the sound seemed to surround you. This was before electricity was installed, so, looking down from the choir loft, the oil lamps and candles burning was a sight to behold. Sister Lucille had drilled the music into this head to perfection. He is the only non-catholic to have the honour to participate in such a special service. After church, the people of St. Andrews made him feel like a celebrity. They were so kind and friendly.

After attending St. Andrews for two years, it became necessary for the milk to be taken to the dairy in Cornwall every day, so he finished his high school at CCVS. Here he joined the school band for two years with Vince Delassio. After finishing high school it was necessary for him to take over the family farm. He found that running a farm and raising a family left no time to play the fiddle. It went on the shelf. In his retirement, his minister Rev. Norma Baumet, who was a concert pianist, was visiting on day. He brought out his father’s fiddle to show her. She asked, “Do you play that?” He replied, “Not anymore.” She said, “Well, you are going to.” He started playing in church with Rev. Baumet accompanying him on the piano. Soon after this he was back in Apple Hill getting a tire fixed for the farm and Finley McDonell was there. Marland asked him what the chances were of playing with the Glengarry Old Time Fiddlers. Finley invited him to attend a dance at St. Bernadine. Here, he became a member of the group and started attending their practises, under the direction of Sherrill Trottier. He has been an active member since and enjoys it very much.

Music has always been an important part of Marland’s life. He started singing in St. Andrew’s United Church Choir in Martintown when he was fourteen. Jessie (McArthur) McIntyre, who attended Queen’s University, majoring in voice and instruction, was choir director at the United Church. She took an interest in Marland’s musical abilities and taught him to sing in harmony, sometimes singing 2nd Tenor, other times Bass. She also taught him to sight read music. He would often to go her home and stay overnight while she gave him singing lessons. Marland owes much of his musical abilities to Mrs. McIntyre. She continued as choir director until 1968 and during this time always had the choir members singing in harmony. She formed a male quartet, double, and a single quartet. He sang with the quartet for around twenty years, singing in most of the churches in the surrounding area and for awhile on the radio in Cornwall. Marland was part of the church choir for over seventy years until his eyesight no longer enabled him to read music. He sang with the Cornwall Centennial Choir for fifteen years under the direction of Brian McCartney. During his singing career Marland sang mostly 2nd Bass, except for when he was singing with the quartet. A highlight while with this choir was a trip to Great Britain in 1980 as guests of the Trelwynd Male Choir doing several concerts there.

Marland feels very fortunate for the privilege of having had music teachers like Sister Lucille, Jessie McIntyre, Brian McCartney and Sherrill Trottier in his lifetime.

In his desire to give back some of the pleasures playing the fiddle has given him, he started giving music lessons to local children, free of charge, several years ago. He uses the same method that Sister Lucille used to teach him and can bring a young child who never played before along to be able to read music and play the fiddle, ever with his eyesight the way it is. With the help of his wife, they keep their fiddles in good repair and in tune.