🎹 Walter Ball — The Piano Player Who Helped Put Saint John on the Cultural Map

Walter Ball was much more than a piano player. He was a concert pianist, music teacher, television personality, community leader, city councillor, arts promoter and one of those larger-than-life Saint John personalities whose influence reached generations of people.

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on May 19, 1931, Walter Ball eventually made Saint John his home. He died on September 23, 2023, at the age of 92, after a remarkable life devoted to music, education, creativity and community.

🎼 A Serious Student of the Piano

Walter studied piano for approximately 10 years at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, beginning a musical education that would take him far beyond New Brunswick.

He became an accomplished concert pianist and competed in international piano competitions. According to a tribute delivered in the Senate of Canada, Ball travelled to more than 40 countries during his lifetime, combining his love of music with an interest in different cultures and languages.

For Walter, however, music was never simply about performing on a concert stage.

He believed that ordinary people could make music and that students should have opportunities to perform, regardless of their background or previous experience.

📺 Walter Ball and “Kaleidoscope”

During the 1960s, Walter brought his love of music and the arts to television with his own Saint John program, “Kaleidoscope.”

The program featured interviews with people involved in the arts, while Walter incorporated music into the discussions and performances. It gave viewers an opportunity to meet artists and personalities while seeing Walter’s talents as both an interviewer and musician.

At a time when local television was an important part of community life, programs such as Kaleidoscope helped showcase the creative people of Saint John and the surrounding region.

🎓 A Teacher to Thousands

Perhaps Walter’s greatest legacy was as an educator.

After returning to Saint John, he spent decades teaching music. His obituary says he taught tens of thousands of students, encouraging them to discover their own musical abilities.

He didn’t believe music belonged only to people who were naturally gifted.

Walter believed that everyone had the potential to sing and play and that students should be given the chance to perform.

Former students remembered his enthusiasm and his ability to inspire them to do their best.

His philosophy extended beyond traditional classroom education. Walter famously reminded people:

“Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education.”

That saying captured much of his approach to life: remain curious, keep learning and don’t be afraid to try something different.

🥁 The Steel Band

One of Walter Ball’s most unusual contributions to music education was his work with steel drums and steel-band music.

He founded a steel band in Saint John and went a step further than simply teaching the instruments — he built steel drums himself for his students.

He also developed sheet music so that his students could learn to play the instruments in an organized program. His work became significant enough to be included in a North American directory of steelband programs, which listed Walter Ball and Festival by the Sea in Saint John.

It was a perfect example of Walter’s personality: if something needed to be done, he often found a way to do it himself.

🎭 Festival by the Sea

Walter Ball was also a driving force behind Festival by the Sea, an important Saint John arts festival that grew out of the cultural activities surrounding the 1985 Canada Games.

Government cultural records identify Walter Ball as the person behind the first edition of Festival by the Sea, describing him as a well-known local educator and musician.

The festival reflected his belief that Saint John could be a place where music, theatre, art and different cultures could come together.

Walter wasn’t content simply to talk about the arts.

He built opportunities for people to experience them.

🏛️ A City Councillor and Community Builder

Walter’s contribution to Saint John extended beyond music.

He served as a three-term Saint John city councillor, where his interests included the arts and immigration. His obituary describes him as someone who strongly believed that differences in culture and language should be explored, respected and celebrated.

He was also involved with the YMCA and helped newcomers and families settling in the Saint John area.

Through a University of New Brunswick Saint John homestay program, he welcomed international students into his home, including students who had travelled from countries such as China.

For Walter, welcoming people wasn’t simply a slogan — it was something he practiced personally.

🏠 A Life of Making Things

Walter was also a remarkable builder.

Later in life, he began making handcrafted rocking horses. What started with building a rocking horse for his granddaughter eventually turned into approximately 200 commissioned rocking horses over the following years.

It was another expression of his creativity.

Whether he was sitting at a piano, teaching a classroom of students, building a steel drum, organizing a festival or making a rocking horse, Walter Ball seemed to have the same philosophy:

Make something. Share it. Teach someone. Keep learning.

🎹 He Played Piano Until the End

Walter continued to play piano throughout his later years.

He and his wife, Suzanne, were married for 60 years, and the family home on the Kennebecasis River remained an important part of his life. His obituary notes that he continued playing his piano until the end of his life.

That detail perhaps provides the simplest picture of Walter Ball.

After decades of performing, teaching and building communities, he was still doing what he loved.

He was still playing the piano.

❤️ Remembering Walter Ball

Walter Ball’s story is an important part of Saint John’s cultural history.

He was a musician who believed music should be shared, a teacher who believed everyone could participate, a politician who cared about culture and immigration, and an artist who was never afraid to try something new.

His influence can be measured not only in concerts, television programs, festivals or awards, but in the thousands of people he encouraged.

When Senator Jim Quinn paid tribute to Ball in the Senate in October 2023, he remembered him as a concert pianist, music teacher, city councillor, problem solver and community leader.

That may be the best way to remember Walter Ball:

A man who spent his life making music — and making his community a little more creative, welcoming and interesting.

Sources

• Senate of Canada — Tribute to the Late Walter Ball, October 3, 2023.
• Brenan’s Funeral Home / Walter Ball obituary, 1931–2023.
• Government of Canada TERMIUM Plus — Festival by the Sea historical record.
• Saint John High School — Theatrical History, documenting Ball’s work as music director.
• North American Steelband Programs directory, documenting Ball’s steel-band education work in Saint John.