by Graham Rockingham
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
This Ain't Hollywood, Maestro
Teenage Head, Johnny Cash and now ... Boris Brott
1970 promotional poster for the Hamilton Philharmonic A young Boris Brott, in 1970 a new arrival to the Hamilton Philharmonic, is seen in a promotional poster meant to give the HPO a 'hip' look. A signed...
The walls of This Ain't Hollywood have accumulated a lot of rock 'n' roll memorabilia. The bar displays photos of Johnny Rotten and Johnny Thunders, a bust of Johnny Cash, and posters of the Forgotten Rebels and Teenage Head.
But there's a new member of the collection that definitely stands out from the rest.
Placed right next to a window lined with 33 empty bottles of Jagermeister hangs a 40-year-old promotional poster featuring a very young and hip Boris Brott surrounded by women.
That's right, Boris Brott -- musical director for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and former conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
His sideburns are long, his curly dark hair thick. He's wearing a double-breasted jacket that could have been cut on Carnaby Street and a piece of silk tied around his neck in the then-stylish "apache scarf" fashion. He's leaning on a dump truck, looking ... er ... sexy.
The poster, taken in 1970 in a Stoney Creek quarry, carries a simple written message -- "Boris Brott: Music Power."
Yesterday, Brott stopped by the James Street North rock bar to autograph the poster for the owners -- Lou Molinaro and Glen (The Hamilton Kid) Faulman.
"My goodness, you've had it mounted," Brott exclaims as he first sets eyes on the poster.
Brott, now 66, then points to the blond standing to his right in the photo.
"That young lady is Ardyth, my wife," he says with a smile. "I probably had met her only once when that photo was taken, but we married a few years later. We've now been married 34 years ..."
Brott turns and asks the bar owners: "Where did you get this?"
Molinaro explains the poster was donated to the club by Teenage Head bassist Steve Mahon, who found it at his sister's house.
"Steve's sister was apparently a big fan of yours, Boris," Molinaro says.
The poster was made shortly after he was hired by the HPO. At the time, Brott was a musical prodigy in his mid-20s coming to Hamilton from Montreal via New York City.
Local lawyer Herman Turkstra, an HPO board member, was pushing to give the symphony orchestra a new youthful image.
The poster was Turkstra's idea, Brott says.
"The goal was to say that classical music was not boring and not just for old people," Brott says.
"And we've been trying to say that same message for the last 40 years."
Two weeks ago, Brott took the stage with the National Academy Orchestra wearing an Elvis wig and costume for a special Brott Festival tribute to the king of rock 'n' roll.
On Friday night, the Brott Festival closes its season at the Mohawk College's McIntyre Theatre in a more traditional fashion -- a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
grockingham@thespec.com
905-526-3331