WALTER LOEWEN

Condolences & Memories (1 entries)

• To my friend and first cousin once-removed, Bob. The influence the Loewen family has had on me cannot be understated. My father and I would travel from Winkler to Winnipeg quite often, so that he could buy wholesale dry goods for our store. Our first stop would be Loewen Piano House where as a kid, I would head straight for the player pianos. As a teenager, I was passionate about the clarinet and one day Walter called me into his office upstairs. He asked me what kind of a clarinet I would like to have. I told him and he immediately made a phonecall. A short time later and another trip to his office, I saw on his desk a large case containing a professional, top of the line matching set of A and Bb clarinets. I graduated with a music degree majoring in voice, clarinet and minoring in cello, while also studying conducting and piano, teaching band, and choral music from Gr. 5-12 in Altona part-time and later full-time. Within a few years, I was invited to become Head of the Music Department at University of Waterloo based at Conrad Grebel College after achieving a post-Masters degree in orchestral conducting at University of Madison Wisconsin. The life was too theoretical for me and one day at a wedding, I expressed my reservation to Bob and he encouraged me to start a piano business. I eased out of academic life and started a piano business which I had for 30 years. Walter would once again come into the picture years later when I would phone him to find out certain trends in the business. Without hesitation, he would tell me what he knew. Of course, I would phone Bob what must have seemed to him to be twice a week for advice. The piano store subsidized a wonderful conducting career giving me time to study in preparation for directing the various choirs and orchestras, specializing particularly in oratorios. My sincere condolences to family members. Bill Janzen Jr. - Posted by: Bill Janzen (first cousin once-removed) on: Feb 19, 2023