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Q&A -- Telegraph Journal
Ken MacLeod is the CEO of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and founder of its Sistema NB program – a free, daily, after-school program. Sistema NB now operates in six locations in New Brunswick – Moncton, Saint John, Richibucto, Edmundston, Miramichi and the Tobique First Nation, bringing the world of music and the arts to more than 700 children every day. Late last year, MacLeod was one of 43 Canadians to receive the Meritorious Service Medal at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The award recognizes people who have strengthened their community through exceptional work.
Who were your heroes growing up?
My father. He wasn’t well-known or influential. He worked at the CN shops his whole life. Plus held a second job just to get by.I am grateful for his example to us kids of duty, care, honour, love.
What do you treasure most about New Brunswick?
How New Brunswick welcomes people. When the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra was the residency partner for the YOA Orchestra of the Americas Canadian tour, I repeatedly heard the musicians and faculty from more than 25 countries say,“Everyone is so friendly here.”That makes me proud.
What’s the toughest job you’ve had?
A summer as a machine operator, welding together quarter-mile-long rails, on an assembly line with several stations, each set up in a boxcar. I operated the base grinder. I wore coveralls, steel-toe boots, leather gloves, hardhat, goggles and respirator, and worked a nine-hour night shift.The boxcar was hot,near 38 C. I would disappear in a shower of sparks when working on each weld, and caught fire several times a night. I sure respected the crew that did that work year after year.
If you could go back in time, when would you go?
Moments before I agreed to this task. Just kidding.Actually,I loved high school, with great friends, sports, dirt biking in Albert County, summer jobs and a sense of opportunity around the corner.
Is there one particular place on Earth you enjoy the most?
Cora’s. Bacon and eggs. The morning paper.
How do you relax?
At the movies, with the biggest screen and sound possible and the biggest popcorn I can get. And reading mystery novels.
What is your biggest disappointment?
That I never learned to play a musical instrument and don’t have musical ability. I’m in awe of the talent I see every day – from first graders to our most accomplish faculty and even in my wife and daughters. I just don’t have it.
What trait do you admire most about yourself?
An odd question but I guess I’d say “perseverance.” I learned from my parents to have a goal, and work towards it, regardless of challenges, hardships or opposition. Many small acts, done consistently over time, can multiply to have an exponential effect. That’s the story of Sistema NB.
What trait do you despise most in others?
Deceit and backbiting.
What bothers you most about New Brunswick?
How we’re sometimes perceived elsewhere in Canada. That’s a really fun aspect of NBYO and Sistema NB – it blows people’s minds how good our young musicians are.
What is your favourite food?
I love steak. It’s how I treat myself when I’m travelling.
I’m not sure it’s more than all others, but it’s always instructive to think about K.C. Irving. He started with humble means, he took the steps he could to establish a business and he progressively built on his success. I admire his single-mindedness and determination.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Sometimes I meet someone I taught as a very young first-year university biology teacher many years ago. And I am embarrassed inside when I remember how I tried to pump into them, in one introductory course, everything I learned in university. I was quite naive and terribly earnest, so I couldn’t understand why they all didn’t take it all in.
What is the greatest misconception that people have about you?
That I have a big ego and really like attention. It’s just not true. I don’t like talking about myself. And I respect others’opinions and I value good process. But I will fight for what I think is best and I won’t roll over easily on principles. And if it helps to move us forward, I will stand in the spotlight whenever I can draw attention to NBYO and Sistema NB.
What was your happiest moment?
I really can’t pick one. I’ve been so fortunate to have so many good experiences. There have been moments with my wife and daughters when I thought life couldn’t possibly get any better. And there have been times with both NBYO and Sistema NB when I thought I would burst with joy. Yet neither usually are at “milestone” occasions – it’s usually during something that looks ordinary but feels profound to me.
When is it OK to tell a lie?
When filling out a public personality profile.
How would you like to be remembered? As a man who loved his family and accomplished something for his community.
Please share a secret with us.
No thanks.I don’t have many but they will remain mine.
