Sask. musician's terminal brain cancer diagnosis prompts outpouring of support - CBC

Julie Atter, seen here with her grandson Kurt, spent years spreading the love of music with young students as a band teacher. Now the Saskatchewan Band Association has launched the Julie Atter Pay It Forward fund in her honour. (Photo by Heidi Atter)Social SharingAfter she was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year ago, Julie Atter's family thought they'd entered the coda of the 65-year-old band teacher's life. 

In the time since, they've taken a series of quarter rests, looking back at a life forged in music —from Atter playing for Queen Elizabeth to teaching kids the ubiquitous school anthem, Let's Go Band. 

"She beat the odds just by building the life that she had and enjoying the life that she had," recalled her daughter Heidi Atter. "So it's been a really challenging year, but at the same time, it's been an amazing life."

It turns out these twilight days are not the end to Atter's legacy as a band teacher, but in fact, just a prelude. 

The Saskatchewan Band Association has launched the Julie Atter Pay It Forward fund, a memorial fund created in her honour to help future students access band scholarships and music camps.

Music gave Julie Atter the ability to travel and perform, a gift she wanted other young people to experience. (Submitted by Heidi Atter)

"When she first found out about the fund, she cried for a very long time and I think it's because she's just as worried about those little kids as I am," said her daughter Heidi Atter. 

"Because going into music and having that place where people can express themselves and be themselves is so important."

Atter's family had to scrape by when she was growing up, sometimes struggling to put food on the table. Band changed everything for her.

"She always remembered that teacher that first looked at her and told her that she deserved to be a musician," Heidi said.

She went on to play as a trombonist in the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and also got a teaching degree, instructing kids in Regina's inner-city schools.

Meeting a band teacher who saw potential in her changed Julie Atter's life, according to her daughter Heidi Atter. (Submitted by Heidi Atter)

Even now, as she lies in bed speaking in a soft and halting voice, Atter's eyes light up when she describes entering gyms and classrooms and seeing children's faces turn toward her.

"Seeing kids succeed, knowing that we only have a small window while they're still young … that's so important, to keep on going while they're still young." 

Her students dealt with problems like having their instruments stolen and pawned off, or not having a lunch to eat, or family who could transport them to band camp, Heidi recalled. 

"None of it phased her because she would look at all of these kids and just know that it did not matter if they went into music. It did not matter if they became professional musicians … that one-hour practice or that two-hour band concert, they were the most important thing in the world to her."

Atter stepped in to fundraise to start a supper club to feed the kids before practices, and cleared away hurdles by getting taxis for students to get to the university for camps.

Friends and family alike say Julie Atter, right, gave tirelessly to remove barriers so that students could get to band practices and camps. Here she's seen with her daughter Heidi Atter, left, and band camp coordinators. (Submitted by Heidi Atter)

Atter's brain cancer diagnosis came after she started noticing strange symptoms: waking up in the night, sweating, shuffling her feet and forgetting dates. The symptoms seemed innocuous but actually were indications of a glioblastoma taking up much of her brain.

"It was a complete turning point in all of our lives, and the scariest part was that none of us saw it coming," Heidi said. 

As the family came to grips with the diagnosis, they reached out to the Saskatchewan Band Association, thinking they could privately sponsor a student or two to go to band camp, in Julie Atter's honour. 

Julie Atter has been known in Regina as a musician and band teacher who supported music programs and band students tirelessly throughout her life. After she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the Saskatchewan Band Association decided to launch a Julie Atter Pay It Forward fund in her honour, to help support students with music scholarships. (Photo by Heidi Atter)

Suzanne Gorman, CEO of the Sask. Band Association, said the association wanted to take that idea a step further, by creating a lasting fund in the name of someone who gave selflessly to others throughout her life.

"Ideally, we hope we can find some musicians that are sort of the new Julies in the future," Gorman said. 

Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum has also created a band piece inspired by Atter, to be played by students in Grades 6 to 8. 

In the dark moments of an impending loss, both the song and the memorial fund feel like a small light that is a true and lasting reflection of her mother's spirit, Heidi said. 

It reflects her mother's true magnum opus — spreading the love of music.

"She spent her whole life reminding little kids that they're not alone, and hopefully we can keep that going into the future and always remind people that they're not alone."

Janani Whitfield is a community engagement producer who also edits feature storytelling and First Person columns for CBC Saskatchewan. Contact her at janani.whitfield@cbc.ca.