Producer makes music for Creemore
Clive VanderBurgh’s new album is his gift to children.
“I wanted to make a contribution to the community using the talents that I have,” said VanderBurgh. “My joy is creating media for children, especially in the three- to eight-year age range.”
The title track from Hair Between His Toes is about a musical pig who takes a hissy fit while strolling through Creemore and eats most of the town “except The Bank Café, Affairs and Cardboard Castles”.
VanderBurgh worked in children’s media for CBC and TVO on Today’s Special, Sesame Street, Math Patrol, Math Makers, Cucumber, Roots and Wings and McCabe Mysteries.
He spent four decades producing and teaching children’s media. He has worked as a producer, director, writer, musical director, and has written more than 1,000 songs.
This was in the heyday of children’s media, said VanderBurgh, when television was based on new research into the cognitive development of children.
He was part of a group of experts who explored the possibilities of the media and produced the forerunners of educational television. VanderBurgh said each script was scrutinized by several levels of producers, advisors and education experts before being filmed. Some shows were specifically designed to teach the approved curriculum.
“I always joke, I have written more songs about triangles that anyone else in the world,” said VanderBurgh.
Some of the songs on the album are favourites from the past and some are very new. The album includes silly songs, lullabies, songs with social messages of safety, acceptance and coping. The track On This Day, for instance, has an anti-bullying theme.
“I have found the world to be quite unsettled in the last five to six years. Demands on children and families are enormous,” said VanderBurgh, adding the album is designed to bring comfort, joy, laughter, dance and silliness. “We have always needed that and it seems to be we need that desperately now.”
The self-produced album is a project VanderBurgh undertook without any commercial aspirations in mind. He simply wanted to put his talents to work to produce something for children. So, he pulled together some world-class talent and using only the best musicians, studio techs, illustrator and art director to collaborate on a wholly Canadian project.
“There are a lot of well meaning people in children’s media, people who are very smart, they don’t get the opportunity to work with the best in the world,” said VanderBurgh, who pulled in some people he has worked with before and some new.
The official CD release is happening on August 5, during the Creemore Children’s Festival. VanderBurgh is scheduled to hit the main stage on Mill Street at 11:15 a.m. The songs will be available on all online platforms and the CD will be for sale at Cardboard Castles Children’s Emporium.
To check the full entertainment lineup for the Creemore Children’s Festival, visit creemorechildrensfestival.com.
