Dr. C Memorial Service - September 2 at 5:00

“Sometime’s when it’s a close game,” Cansler noted, “I’ll say, ‘Band, it’s up to us.’”

When asked by Dr. Connolly to reflect on Dr. Cansler, I wondered what to say. Then I was handed reflections by students and faculty about Dr. Cansler and realized how much there is to say. Reading the thoughts of others made me think about the great many stories there are about the man we knew as Dr. C.

I knew Dr. C for seven years and I think I owe him a great deal for those seven years. My first memory of him, like many incoming freshmen, was the summer before my arrival on the Bluff. I was sitting at home enjoying some down time when the phone rang. On the other end was some guy named Philip Cansler from the University of Portland, saying “I see you played in band in high school, what did you play and have you considered playing in college?” To be honest, I hadn’t. Being a percussionist in high school, while fun, was a little more work than I’d felt like doing and I really didn’t think that I was cut out to be a college musician. But, after talking to him for a few minutes I said to myself, “Well, if it’s really bad, you probably can drop the class…”

Fast forward to the first week of school and Wednesday night at 7:10 in Buckley Center Auditorium. It’s the first night of band. This man introduces himself as Dr. Philip Cansler…but we can call him Dr. C. And he laughs. Those of you who know Dr. C know his laugh, but for those of us who were hearing it for the first time, we looked at each other, as if to say “Who is this guy, and why does he think today is Halloween?”

The laugh fits. The man had an incredible joie de vivre. He was always smiling and upbeat. Some band directors control their bands by yelling and screaming. Not Dr. C – even when major mistakes were made (and I made a few), he had great constructive criticism and encouraging words. He never failed to praise students who did it right. He was there to make music with us, yes…but he was also there to have fun.

Nowhere else did he exude fun quite like in the Pep Band. There he was, in his purple suit, with a purple wig, purple basketball shoes, a purple shirt, purple tie, and purple trumpet. I won’t speculate on purple underwear or socks, but he did drive a purple car. In fact, sometimes I wonder…if we cut him, would he bleed purple? With the Chiles Center as his stage, this upbeat and fun-loving musician went wild. Dancing in front of the band—or surfing, whatever the music called for—blasting high notes for so long it seemed the roof would lift off the building, or riding that trumpet around the court during the William Tell Overture. He once told me the story of how he came to have a purple suit…supposedly the Athletics department came to him and said “If you don’t ride your trumpet around the court, can we buy you a purple suit?” “Sure,” he said. He fed off the energy of the crowd. That energy went right back into the band. In close games, sometimes he’d turn to the band and say “Band, it’s up to us,” hoping that the energy with which we played would spur the Pilots to victory. “What a band” indeed.

The fun and excitement lives on. It lives in the music we play, loud, boisterous, and expressive as the man it represents. It’s in the purple wigs at basketball games and even soccer games. It lives in all of us. For me, and perhaps for others, there’s a sense of regret. A regret of not being able to say “thank you.” Thank you for your enthusiasm; thank you your sense of humor and fun. Thank you for the opportunity to make music.

On behalf of all of us, thank you, Dr. C.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Hey D, I just got an idea:
Is there a way to talk to Mo's husband and get that video on here so people can see it? I think the fans might like it.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Hey D, I just got an idea:
Is there a way to talk to Mo's husband and get that video on here so people can see it? I think the fans might like it.

Stonehouse wrote:

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Hey D, I just got an idea:
Is there a way to talk to Mo's husband and get that video on here so people can see it? I think the fans might like it.

Ha ha... yeah, I can arrange that. Forgot my sis did the music.