Soft-spoken and friendly, Clive Langley is the selfless sort. Not only does he spend a large portion of the year travelling to Leeds, England to care for his widowed mother, he worked as a crisis line volunteer for several years and is a donor to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Following an adventurous and diverse career in the field of marine inspection/engineering for more than 40 years, Clive is now happiest spending his days honing his skills on the clarinet and classical guitar.
Originally from Leeds, he worked all over the world before ultimately settling down in Vancouver. As a radio officer and electronics technician for large vessels, he spent the early years of his career travelling to far flung locales like Malaysia and Japan, where he quickly fell in love with the Japanese language and culture. He even found himself on the frigid waters of the Beaufort Sea, as part of an oil exploration project.
Clive worked his way through the ranks of the marine industry, starting out as a young man fresh out of school in the Merchant Navy before sailing with Canadian Pacific Steamships as a radio officer. There, he spent days and weeks aboard massive vessels sailing from port to port on the high seas, constantly on the move and continuously learning.
Following that initial time at sea, he upgraded his education to radio communications officer and worked as a marine technical inspector for Coast Guard and Navy ships. Whether he was repairing incoming vessels, evaluating outgoing vessels or contracting vessel refits, Clive’s attention to detail surely made the harbours and oceans a safer place for all.
Before retiring, he worked on contract and had much more free time to enjoy his hobbies. Once fully retired in 2015, he was finally able to travel on his own terms. As soon as he could, he headed for Japan and Thailand, learning the language and absorbing the culture.
Clive visited Spain to purchase a new guitar direct from a world-renowned luthier and explored Budapest with a friend who was a music teacher lecturing at one of the universities in the city. They toured the city with a group of friends on a musical-themed adventure, enjoying operas and other performances, never missing an opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of the musical culture of Hungary.
Music is a large part of Clive’s life, to the point where he practices for upwards of six hours per day and has been playing since his late teens.
“That’s my passion, really, and I’m very grateful I have the opportunity to do it. I want to get good, and I hope when I’m no longer travelling to the UK, I can explore more and be more active again,” he says.
As a member and donor, Clive is more than happy to contribute to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra because he feels music is an important part of the growth process through the entire lifespan, starting at an early age.
“I think music has a tremendous influence on young minds,” he says. “With the generally accepted benefits of improving concentration and listening skills, music promotes the development of creativity at a very influential time of life, where few alternatives exist – at least in a structured educational environment.”
Clive credits music as helping him in two ways: to work and focus on something he thoroughly enjoys; and to experience the social aspect of community events like concerts and recitals.
“I’m especially grateful to the VSO School of Music for the quality lessons, flexibility (in light of frequent travel) and the opportunity to practice on site daily,” he says.
The school, in return, is grateful for Clive’s contributions, which allow the school to continue to grow and flourish with master classes, recitals and showcase performances at top Vancouver-area venues. Now in its 100th year, the VSO plays for over 250,000 guests each season, and offers bursaries and scholarships to talented youth aged 5-18, who may not otherwise be able to attend lessons.
As a long-time study, Clive is confident on guitar, often doing local performances and playing with friends. He is working on getting to the next level on clarinet.
“Clarinet is really more of a challenge than any instrument, but it’s like anything: you’ve just got to work at it,” he says.
Clive has also enjoyed being part of the Vancouver Classic Guitar Society over the past few years and was a volunteer board member to help keep the society active and moving forward in the community.
He volunteered for six years at Chimo Community Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in crisis. He manned the lines on the 24/7 crisis-line program starting in 2004 and spent four years on the phones and another two as a coach, helping volunteers find their footing as trainees.
“I had thought about doing that for a long time,” he says. “It was very tough, but very rewarding. It’s kind of nerve wracking when you first start, although there is plenty of training. You’re not there to give advice, but to give empathy and to report any issues that may need to be reported. There’s quite a lot of suicide training as well.”
Clive has personal experience with suicide as his sister tragically ended her life when she was 26, and he was 22, but he doesn’t feel that incident is directly related to his desire to help.
“Being so distant in the past, I don’t really think this had a significant impact on my decision to volunteer. Instead, I’ve recognized the need to provide phone support with so many people living on their own, who may not have easy access to someone to talk to,” he says.
Clive aims to rejoin the crisis-line program when his travel schedule eases and looks forward to once again being able to help those in need of support, encouragement and compassion. He also vows to resume travelling around the world, collecting guitars, learning languages and honing his musical talents.
“I wouldn’t want or expect any long-term legacy,” he says. “Except, perhaps, the belief that we all contribute in some way to the benefit of future generations.”
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