Charles Thiele
| Charles F. Thiele | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 17, 1884 New York City |
| Died | February 3, 1954 (aged 69) Kitchener, Ontario |
| Occupation(s) | Bandleader, Industrialist |
| Instruments | Coronet |
| Associated acts | Waterloo Musical Society Band |
Charles Frederick Thiele (November 17, 1884 - February 3, 1954) was an American-Canadian bandmaster, musician and industrialist. He founded Waterloo Metal Stampings, the first company to manufacture music stands in Canada. Thiele also established the Waterloo Music Company, which produced sheet music used by bands across Canada. Actively involved in the local and national music community, Thiele was a founding member of the Ontario Amateur Bands Association and the Canadian Band Association, and was the driving force behind the nationally recognized Waterloo Band Festival.
Thiele was born on November 17, 1884 in New York City. He was the son of third-generation German-American Elizabeth Kernig, who supported the family as a chef, and Helmut Thiele, a newly landed German immigrant. Thiele married his wife, Louise Freeman, at the age of 19. Their daughter, Carolyn, was born the following year in 1904.
A trained, solo cornetist, Thiele performed with and directed several American bands and founded his own band, the Thiele Concert Party, which featured his wife, who also played the cornet, and their daughter who played the saxophone. Louise and Carolyn also performed as part of circuit Chautauquas throughout the United States in order to supplement Thiele's income while he headed the Rumford, Maine city band as Musical Director.
The Thiele family moved to Waterloo, Ontario in 1919 after Thiele accepted a position as the Director of the Waterloo Musical Society Band. They moved to the region, in part, because of anti-German sentiment in the United States following World War I.
While living in Waterloo Thiele founded two companies - Waterloo Metal Stampings and the Waterloo Music Company - employing as many as 150 employees at the height of their operation. Waterloo Metal Stampings began after Thiele took over a section of an industrial plant in Waterloo. The company produced a variety of music-based items including music stands, drums and cymbals, eventually introducing the production of office furniture. When it was founded in 1922, Waterloo Music Company sold and produced music for pianists working in silent film houses, later selling sheet music used by bands across the country. Thiele started the business in his home, relocating to an office after outgrowing the space. The Company went on to sell and repair musical instruments, as well as offer music lessons and educational resources. The Waterloo Music Company operated for the majority of its time at 3 Regina Street North in Waterloo. The business was relocated to the Tannery building at Joseph and Victoria streets in Kitchener, Ontario in 2011. The business was purchased by St. John's Music in 2004, who dropped the original name after the moving the business to Kitchener. The location closed after 92 years in operation in 2014.
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