Orchestra Director
Anthony Terpstra was born in Oakville in 1952 to Dutch immigrants who wanted their son to study classical music. However, on hearing a Count Basie record (which he still has) Anthony fell in love with it and states, "I knew intuitively what was happening with the drums, the tenor solos, trumpets and the excitement and the time. I knew. I had that record memorized and had Al Cohn and Stan Kenton and Gerry Mulligan records. I remember saying to a music teacher in grade three that I wanted to be a jazz musician when I grew up".
At 14, Anthony played drums in his brother's band & at 16 joined the Toronto's Musicians' Association. He went on the road playing in rock bands and show bands. His love of jazz led him also to playing in Big Bands and at 25 he started playing saxophone. He played tenor or baritone or drums and also performed vocal with many bands. He has worked with The Imperial Room Orchestra, The Metropolitan Toronto Symphonic Band and the bands led by Al Hirsch and Eddie Graf.
In 1988 he created the Starlight Orchestra basically to play the songs and melody-oriented dance music he truly enjoyed. He was encouraged by Bob Cary, who Terpstra says is "the greatest style lead trumpet you'll ever hear" and others such as Cam Walter and Al Hirsch. Terpstra knows what an audience wants and senses when to play it. "My role as leader is to play the night: I make the sets flow and ebb and play the ongoing dynamic of the band and crowd just like a conductor, only in a Dance Band sense." Starlight is made up of 16 pieces including 5 sax, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, bass, drums and vocalist.
"My band is not a pick-up band: it's mostly the same crew from the beginning and that's how you achieve chemistry" - Terpstra.