A Californian musician with a strong connection to the area is coming back for a concert at the Errington Hall June 8, playing alongside award-winning guitarist Marc Atkinson.
Kit Eakle has been teaching the violin for over 30 years and currently plays in a number of ensembles in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eakle lived in the Parksville Qualicum area, and in Nanaimo, as well as on Malcolm Island in Sointula. He raised his children there and both still live on Vancouver Island. In the 1980s and ‘90s Eakle taught at Nanoose Bay Elementary school, Parksville, Winchelsea and French Creek Elementary schools.
He played in a couple music groups on the Island and in Vancouver during those years, before going back to school for music training, focusing on the Kodaly method at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He got his master’s degree in music education from the University of Victoria in 1990.
Now retired from full time teaching, Eakle is excited to get back into music full time. He said he’s given a lot in his years as a teacher and has yet to have a real music playing career.
“I’ve kept it up long enough and have been playing in side bands for a long time, but I think it’s time for me to get at least a taste of the real musician thing,” Eakle said.
He has a number of friends and musical connections in the area and is looking forward to coming back to the area and reintroducing himself musically.
Eakle plays in a group called The Hot Club of Marin where they perform gypsy jazz, as well as another group called Djang-O-Sphere involving Django Reinhardt and Thelonious “Sphere” Monk tunes.
“I’m trying to move the violin more into the main steam of jazz rather than the gyspy jazz it gets holed into,” he said.
Although he loves gypsy jazz, he said the violin is more versatile than just that genre.
Eakle will be playing with Juno-nominated musician Marc Atkinson at the Errington Hall, the leader and composer of the internationally renowned Marc Atkinson Trio.
The show starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. Tickets are $15 available at the Errington Store, Cranky Dog Music in Parksville and Heaven on Earth in Qualicum Beach. Children under 12 years are $5 and under 5’s are free.
