Black Canadians in uniform inspire new song by Stadacona Band member

PO2 Nevawn Patrick, a member of the Stadacona Band, has written an original piece of music inspired by the story of the No.2 Construction Battalion. The piece was recently recorded by the band and released as part of a Black History Month Project. Photo by LS Brad Upshall

Ryan Melanson
Trident Newspaper
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A longtime member of the Stadacona Band has written and recorded a piece of music inspired by some of the first Black Canadians to serve in military roles.

PO2 Nevawn Patrick’s original composition started as a work-from-home project last year, and has since developed into a fully realized song that was recorded by the band in their Windsor Park studio.

The working title is For My Country, an ode to Dennis and Leslie McLaughlin’s book of the same name that offers a history of Black military service in Canada. That book showcasing members of the trailblazing No.2 Construction Battalion gave PO2 Patrick the original spark.

“I used the story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion as a springboard for this project,” he says.

While the all-Black First World War Battalion and the discrimination they faced in their service to Canada served as his inspiration, the piece is dedicated to all Black Canadian military members – past, present and future.

The score acknowledges that even today Black Canadian Armed Forces members may face discrimination, tokenism, or subtle biases in a way unique from the experience of their non-Black colleagues.

“In writing this piece, I offer my humble attempt to honour those who paved the way for myself and generations of Black Canadians to proudly serve, and acknowledge our civilian brothers and sisters serving in the greater Defence Team,” PO2 Patrick adds.

As a military musician for 25 years, he’s performed around the world on his trombone and played countless iconic pieces of music, but writing music is a new venture. All musicians tinker in their free time, but when COVID-19 restrictions sent the band to work at home through the spring of 2020, there was a chance to do more.

“We had to figure out what working from home meant as a musician. You can’t just practice your instrument eight hours a day. I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to actually write something,” he says.

Once he had a strong melody and the bones of a “pretty cool sounding tune,” he turned to Stadacona Band member S1 Jack Brownell for advice and critique. With his colleagues’ help, he was able to fine tune his idea and layer in the additional instruments, leading up to the recent recording of the finished piece.

The song has components that call back to the sorrowful spiritual songs sung by African descendants during slavery in the United States, and changes throughout sections of the piece to symbolize a difficult journey, making way for a path forward to the future.

PO2 Patrick was able to spin a positive project out of the difficult pandemic period, adding another impressive footnote to his military career.

Despite the challenges that still exist for Black CAF members, he remains proud to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him, and to act as an ambassador for the CAF and its values.

Visit Facebook.com/StadaconaBand to keep up with PO2 Patrick’s project.

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