Talent for composing pays off for Naden Band musician

Maj (Ret’d) Louis Barbeau (right) presents PO2 Robyn Jutras with a certificate honouring her selection as the winner of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Centennial Quick March Competition.

The long and storied history of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) now has a little Naden Band flavour.

PO2 Robyn Jutras, bassoon and tenor saxophone player for the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy, was recently selected as the winner of the PPCLI Centennial Quick March Competition.

“I was so excited to hear my march had been chosen,” says PO2 Jutras. “To have something I wrote become a part of the long and prestigious history of the PPCLI is a real honour.”

The competition began in 2011 and urged military composers from across the country to submit their quick march compositions for the 100th anniversary of the PPCLI. PO2 Jutras, as a long time musician and composer, says she took to the competition right away.

“I’d written a few pieces before so I thought this was the perfect competition for me,” she says. “I started listening to a ton of military marches, reading up on their structure, and got to work.”

When it comes to composing, PO2 Jutras says military marches are among the easier pieces.

“The pieces of a march all fit together more or less the same,” she says. “Obviously each one is different, but when it comes to structure they can be very similar. It made my job a lot easier.”

Putting pen to paper and staff to bar, PO2 Jutras composed the march in just under a month. After submitting the march in February 2012, it wasn’t until the following August she would receive the good word.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “It wasn’t just winning a competition. Now my music is taking place next to all the accomplishments and history of the PPCLI. It’s pretty cool.”

The PPCLI was formed in 1914 to take part in the First World War. Named after Princess Patricia of Connaught, the regiment has gained significant military prestige since then, including a Presidential Citation for service in the Korean War, the only Canadian regiment to do so.

The piece, called the PPCLI Centennial March, will be included in the 100th anniversary celebration of the regiment, taking place Sept. 18-21, 2014, in Ottawa.

“As a lover of music I have to say I was very impressed with the piece,” says Maj (Ret’d) Louis Barbeau of the PPCLI, while presenting PO2 Jutras with a certificate honouring her selection. “I want to thank you for your time and work, and say we will be proud to play the piece as we celebrate 100 years of service to Canada.”

-Shawn O’Hara, Staff Writer