Canadian Staff Band Loses Charter Member

William “Bill” Burditt, one of the founding members of the modern-day Canadian Staff Band, was summoned home to be with the Lord on 27 October 2009.

Burditt loved the Lord and served Him through a lifetime of musical and spiritual ministry. From 1969 through 1976, he demonstrated his versatility by playing Bb bass in the Staff Band under the direction of Major Norman Bearcroft, and soprano cornet in the Argyle Citadel Corps band in Hamilton, where his son, Brian, had succeeded him as bandmaster. Burditt later joined the Staff Band cornet section when Captain Robert Redhead took over the group and played with the Staff Band until 1985.

Bill was the first of three generations of the Burditt family to serve with the Canadian Staff Band. His son, Brian, also a founding member, served as Staff Bandmaster for 19 years. Currently, his grandson, Andrew, is a member of the Staff Band.

In recent years, despite a prolonged battle with ill health, Burditt enjoyed playing with the Salvation Army’s Heritage Brass (formerly the Ontario Central Reservist Band).

The Brass Crest expresses its condolences to the Burditt family at this time of loss.