David Rintoul

David’s musical life began the day he was born, or perhaps even earlier.  His parents were both accomplished musicians, and it was music that first brought them together as a couple.  David’s childhood home was filled with music.  Classical compositions, sacred hymns and folk tunes were all threads in the fabric of their local community.  His parents were well known throughout the area for their gift of music.

His parents recognized his love for music from his earliest childhood.  The first song David can remember being taught to sing in public was a Sunday School song:

Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light,

Like a little candle burning in the night,

In this world of darkness, so let us shine,

You in your small corner and I in mine.

David literally learned to read music at the same time he learned to read the alphabet, and both forms of writing are second nature to him.  His first music teacher was a neighbour named Lindsay Jelly.  Mr. Jelly was a brilliant classical musician and had been the organist at his parents’ wedding.  He studied piano with Mr. Jelly for two years, based on the curriculum from the Royal Conservatory of Music.  David’s earliest instrumental performance was at a formal piano recital at age 7.

David was encouraged to take part in school and church choirs throughout his childhood. From Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Kearns, he learned a great deal about musicianship and to think of his voice as an instrument.   He would often be called upon as a soloist.  Some of the earliest solo vocal performances he remembers giving include Mel Torme’s Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) and the Canadian folk song The Alberta Homesteader.  He can also remember performing with the massed choirs of all the public schools in the district to a standing room only audience of over 1,000 people.

Another very influential teacher for David was Mr. Proctor, who was David’s classroom teacher in Grades 5 and 8.  Mr. Proctor was a talented contemporary folk singer, who played both piano and guitar.  Mr. Proctor exposed his class to some of the more politically active folksingers of that time, such as Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary.  From Mr. Proctor, David began to realize that music could carry a message for change.  The right song in the right place could change the world.  He also became fascinated with the guitar as an instrument.

When the Ontario Conservatory of Music called to offer guitar lessons, David jumped at the chance.  He studied plectrum guitar in a classroom setting with the conservatory for two years.  He graduated with First Class Honours at the age of 12.

David’s first guitar was an electric model (a very cheap Canora from Japan), which was handed down from his oldest brother, who had been going through a “Hendrix phase”.  This surprises many people who think of David an acoustic player.  His father bought him his first acoustic guitar (an Espana) so that he could practice for his guitar exams during a family camping trip.  Every evening, he would carefully rehearse his etudes, reading from a music stand by the light of the campfire.  But he performed his examinations on the electric.  David has always been equally at home with electric and acoustic instruments.

After his time with the conservatory, David began private music lessons with a local musician and tutor named Jack Hawthorne.  Mr. Hawthorne had a deep appreciation for roots music and, along with the formal repertoire, exposed David to some bluegrass and country music techniques.  During high school, David continued to take part in various choral groups, such as the Chancel Choristers.  David would often be called upon to accompany the group on his acoustic guitar.

David’s first night at University was a long night of music.  His new housemates noticed the guitar case among his luggage and asked him to play.  Before long, his entire residence block was gathered around in a traditional sing-song.  For many of these freshmen, this was a whole new experience of music.   It was a revelation to some of them that a group of people could fill a house with music without turning on a stereo.

That night, one of the singers, Craig Allen, invited David to join the campus radio station, CFRE.  CFRE was a focal point of creativity, imagination and acceptance on that campus.  It was a kind of incubator where many people discovered their own creative potential.  It was at CFRE that David first found the courage, and encouragement, to perform and record the songs that he had started writing on this own.  Much of this encouragement came from Steve Woodbridge, who had set up a makeshift recording studio in his residence room.

It was also at CFRE that David met Stephen Marsh and Gord Easton.  That was the beginning of a musical partnership that has lasted for more than twenty years and is still going strong.  Whether they called themselves Group W, Form100, Paper Rock Scissors, or some of the other names they tried out back then, there was a certain chemistry that brought three very diverse elements together in harmony.  They’ve played at folk festivals, like Mariposa and Home County, and in coffee houses, like the Jailhouse and the Free Times, and they’ve made some very good records, including their new album Places.

One of David’s most rewarding experiences was accompanying his parents as part of the farewell performance they gave on their 50^th wedding anniversary.  A community hall was rented and filled with old time roots music.  When David’s father dedicated “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” to his three granddaughters, there was not a dry eye in the house.  David’s father has since passed away, but his mother continues to perform with community musical groups at the age of 78.

David sees himself as carrying a musical torch that has been passed down to him from his formal teachers and informally from generation to generation.  (Beyond his parents, three of his grandparents were also serious musicians.)

As David says, “I try to make up songs that they would all be proud of.  Then I look for ways to get them heard.  It’s a very rewarding experience.”