ROCKLAND, Maine — When Gordon Page was in fifth grade, his school passed out musical instruments for students to try. Page went home with a saxophone but his parents said he could not keep it because of the weekly cost.
Nearly 50 years later, Page began his long-delayed musical life by organizing a group that plays ukuleles.
The group, UkesROCK, gets together weekly at his downtown office overlooking Main Street. On an extremely stormy Tuesday night in early December, Page and Lynne Hall were the only two people who braved the weather for the gathering.
The sessions, though, normally draw as many as 10 each week, Page said.
Ukuleles have become popular across the country in the past several years and several enthusiasts have formed groups in Maine, from Portland to the University of Maine at Machias. A ukulele gathering in Newport in 2011 attracted 45 people. Belfast had a ukulele picnic this past spring.
“They’re all over the place,” he said, pointing out that they are ad-hoc groups.
Since his parents said no to the saxophone those many years ago, Page had not played a musical instrument until about four years ago, when his eldest daughter bought him a ukulele for Christmas. Still, he did little with it until the fall of 2013, when he took six weeks of lessons in Belfast from Frets Halligan. Page enjoyed it so much that he sent out notices on social media a year ago seeking like-minded fledgling musicians; thus was born UkesROCK.
Hall said she had played the guitar and piano a little bit but because of arthritis she looked for an instrument that would be easier on her hands. Her choice was the ukulele.
“The ukulele is more portable and more fun,” Hall said.
Page said the UkesROCK members do not consider themselves part of a band but more a jam and strum group. The people who come to the sessions have a wide range of skills.
Referring to the surge in popularity of ukuleles, Page said 35 people participated in the course when he took his lessons last fall in Belfast. He said he and many of the other participants were reluctant at first about playing in front of other people and left their instruments in the car. But when the instructor said he wanted them to play, they all went out and got them.
“Soon, we were all plucking away,” he said.
A person only needs to know a few musical chords to play the ukulele, he said.
Page acknowledged that the ukulele might be best known as a Hawaiian instrument, but he said that is not the type of music played by the Rockland group.
“We do not play ‘Tiny Bubbles,’” Page said.
Instead the members of UkesROCK play popular and classical songs.
Page made his first public performance on the ukulele during this past year’s “Midcoast Maine Has Talent” show that was held at the Strand Theatre. Page is the executive director of Rockland Main Street Inc., the business group that organized the event.
Page performed both a solo and duet in his inaugural performance.
He said the UkesROCK members are considering giving a performance during the Pies On Parade fundraiser organized by the historic inns of Rockland in January, but those plans aren’t yet final. Proceeds from Pies on Parade go to the Area Interfaith Outreach food pantry in Rockland.