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John TenKate & The Dykehoppers

Videos of the Dykehoppers at the bottom of the page

John TenKate tells his own fascinating story in a recent interview:

I was born in 1931 in a small fishing town in the Netherlands,where my father was a fulltime mayor [burgomaster]. Just prior to May 1940, we moved to a larger city named Goes in the province of Zeeland. After about one year my dad was replaced by a Nazi friendly mayor and we, picked up stakes and moved to the vicinity of Arnhem. My dad found work in a museum as he, besides having a law degree, also had studied archeology. In September 1944 we experienced the disastrous airborne battle that was years portrayed in the movie "A Bridge Too Far". A battle where hundreds lost their lives. We were ordered to evacuate 30 km north, leaving all our belongings behind. Our family of seven was split up and settled down on three different farms.

On April 17/1945 we were liberated by soldiers of the Carlton & York from New Brunswick, Canada. Then back to our partially destroyed house near Arhem. My dad was re-instated as mayor in the city of Goes by order of Queen Wilhelmina's newly formed government. During my highschool years I started playing a few tunes on trumpet in a smal group. Before I could develop this playing any further, I had to quit as I was drafted as a trucker in the Dutch army After my discharge, I decided to emigrate to Canada.

Shortly after I arrived in the London area in 1954, I bought a saxophone in a local pawnshop. After a few months I realized I most definitely was in need of a teacher in order to play that instrument correctly. Barney Venuta, a well established musician, was willing to instruct me in his studio for a number of years and also advised me to purchase a clarinet; sax players had to "double" in those days. After playing most weekends in a small group, I got a chance to join a larger dance band and was exposed to the "Big Band"sound. During that time I also became a member of a Militia band and learned to play under a conductor. During our Centennial in 1967 we toured to many places in Ontario and played combined Scottish tunes with the Pipes & Drums of the former Perth Regiment from Stratford that had now joined the Royal Canadian Regiment.

All in all, quite a learning but pleasant experience, I made a lot of new friends.I stayed in that band for eleven years until it was "disbanded" as a cost-cutting measure by the Government. It was during my militia years that I formed my own band "the Ambassadors" playing engagements in a 100 km radius from London. With that group I had the good fortune to work with good musicians from the University and members of the permanent force band stationed at Wolseley Barracks. For several years we even ,performed,dressed in Bavarian costumes, at the London and Kitchener Oktoberfests. Also, the band had some fine vocalists, male and female. For several years now I have directed a large band called "The Dykehoppers", strictly for pleasure. This group features a mixture of Big Band, Latin type standards as well as some semi-classical European music.Enjoying all of it!

Videos

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Best viewed with monitor resolution of 1024 x 768

                                 

                                      "Vilja"                                                              Signature Tune - "Holland"

                                

                          "Canadian Sunset"                                                             "Matrimony"

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