SACKVILLE, N.B. — He spent a lifetime sharing his love of music with others.
And those contributions will be recognized this weekend as the late Ernie Sears becomes the latest inductee to be added to Sackville’s Arts Wall.
Sears will be inducted posthumously as an arts builder during a ceremony this Sunday afternoon, an event that will pay tribute to his lifelong commitment and musical influence in the town of Sackville.
Sears was nominated for the honour by musician and teacher Shawn Bostick, backed by more than a dozen letters of support from his fellow performers, former students and longtime customers of his music store.
“More than anyone, over the years Ernie Sears cultivated the live music scene in Sackville, especially in country/bluegrass and gospel circles,” Bostick stated in his nomination. “But he was also often found teaching everything from the Beatles to Metallica to his guitar students. He had a lasting impact on so many people, sharing and fostering a love of music making.”
Sears, a lifelong resident of Sackville, began performing on the radio while in his teens with the Gateway Rhythmaires. He continued to play guitar and sing with many other groups throughout his music career, including country band Bordertown, country-folk group Pick of the Crop, gospel group Roses and Thorns, among others.
Upon his retirement from Lounsbury’s, he opened up Ernie Sears Music, where he sold instruments and taught guitar, sparking a love of music in countless members of the Sackville community.
“Mr. Sears was a wonderful guitar teacher,” said former student Hannah Kenny in her letter of support. “He made a big difference in my life. Because of him I learned to love the guitar and music.”
“His love of music has been instilled in each of his students, including me, and for that I will always be grateful,” former student Spencer Acton stated in his letter.
Sears also regularly contributed his own time and money into helping ensure the presence of live music at seniors’ homes, churches, charitable fundraisers, and local events of all sorts, performing with friends and often donating the use of sound equipment.
“He was a man who gave of his time with no hesitation,” stated musician Eddie Chase in his letter of support for Sears’ nomination. “Ernie would help any organization that needed him.”
Sackville musician Allan Balser said Sears was an outstanding citizen, “never turning down a request to play at concerts to raise money for cancer benefits and churches and always supplying his own sound systems for shows, setting up equipment and tearing down at the end of shows.”
Sears was also known far and wide for the weekly Sunday Night Jams that he hosted in the back of his shop, where musicians ranging from novice to professional gathered to make music together.
Sears joins a growing list of distinguished performers, artists and arts builders featured on the Arts Wall, located along Main Street in front of the Sackville Waterfowl Park.
The Arts Wall, which recognizes contributions to the cultural life of the community, was initiated in 2009 as a lasting legacy project of Sackville’s national designation as a Cultural Capital. The wall boasts such names as painter Alex Colville, poet Douglas Lochead, photographer Thaddeus Holownia, author Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, philanthropist Pauline Spatz and musicians Ivan and Vivian Hicks, among others.
The induction ceremony will get under way at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Sackville United Church.
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