Renaissance Resoundings @ CMU

[The unfortunate consequence of my attending Missionfest was me missing the CMU concert "Renaissance Resoundings".  Fortunately some of my friends did go.  What follows is a one perspective of the concert by my friend Beth. -- Edit]

Right!  I recently attended a concert of Renaissance at CMU and subsequently spent a great deal of time and energy trying to convey to my good friend David just how magnificent it was.  This struggle to overcome my awestruck speechlessness got me commandeered into writing the little tidbit you are now reading.  So, here is my opinion on the grand affair.  Some of my descriptions may be a little abstract for some but hey, it was a renaissance concert; expect the artsy. 

            The concert consisted mainly of songs in Italian, but there were also some in Latin and maybe two in English.  There were two singers: a lady mezzo soprano, and a gentleman somewhere between tenor and baritone.  The concert began with a second lady performing on the harpsichord.  Now, if you have never heard a harpsichord…you are missing out.  All ravings aside about how fantastic this woman was (like how her fingers seemed to dance over the keys while she herself remained completely serene and reverent in her playing) the sound of this instrument was nothing if not stirring.  It sounds…like sparkling raspberry and apple pie.  Warm low tones that seemed to wrap around you and hug you, and ringing high tones that made you tingle, all sprinkled over with a refreshing twist on the tonal precision you get from a piano.

            The mezzo soprano singer was absolutely moving.  Thirty seconds into her first rendition I was in tears.  That has never happened to me before, so don’t ask me to explain it, but something about the way she sang just tugged at the heart-strings.  A word often seen on vocal sheet music is expressivo; that’s her to a tee.  Her facial expressions were so full of conviction that I felt I could understand everything she said, even though I don’t speak Italian or Latin.  I won’t rant about how flabbergasting she was technically, but let me assure you most emphatically that she did some UNBELIEVABLE things with her voice.  The runs she executed without ever muddling the sound, the way she married the head and chest tones to make the richest sound possible, or how her high notes seemed to dance in the ceiling… each could be a blog entry all their own.  The gentleman who sang was equally impressive, and once again, I could talk for ages about his technical abilities.  Both singers seemed to perform with a poise that spoke volumes more than I could about their obvious years of experience and study.  I felt very blessed and privileged to be sitting in the auditorium listening to them.

            Accompanying the singers were a flautist and a cellist.  I cannot begin to tell you how delicious the sound is when an airy, shining flute, a warm fuzzy cello, a harpsichord, and two pro-grade singers join forces to tackle the musical genius that was the Renaissance.  Think of the last time you had your favorite food for the first time in ages, or somebody gave you a piece of fantastic news; that kind of thrill is exactly what resulted.  On top of all these wonders, one of the university’s many distinguished choirs graced us with a performance.  The song I found particularly wonderful contained this line, “Here my prayer, and let my crying count.”  The harmony of the voices echoing this plea… it made you want to pray.  It was one of those songs that just gets under your skin and reminds you what a great and awesome God we serve; One who is ever present.  I would close with the suggestion that God was deeply pleased to hear the music He inspired so many years ago brought back to life with such tender fondness as it was Friday night.  Cheers!

Hanging out at Missionfest

Hanging out at Missionfest.

     On Friday, I attended Missionfest Manitoba with with a group of students.  The event is sponsored by over 50 churches in Winnipeg and was taking place at Grant Memorial Church.  It is an extravaganza of sorts with many organizations articulating their own understandings of Christian mission.  Friday's event was a concert featuring Matt Brouwer.  

     The place was packed.  Even though my own church wasn't a sponsor, I saw several people from my church there.  Quite a few people from CMU showed up.  As did some of my cousins.  It's times like these when the church family really does feel like a family!  I was just as surprised to see that my school was helping to sponsor the event and so of course I had to go to the pavilion and say hi!

Jesse Doell helping out at the pavilion

     Overall,though, I got the sense that the event wasn't really targeted at me.  There was a more subdued event next door for adults and if I hadn't been so enticed about the concert, I might have gone to that.  Unfortunately, I had to leave before the actual concert -- it was one of those events which has a very long lead-up to the main thing.  What I saw was a discussion with two missionaries from Guatemala where they talked about unconditionally following the lead of God.  I could have enjoyed their point if I wasn't so thrown off by their presentation, which was of the uber-charismatic variety.  The event seemed to me to be a bit like a crusade, where the faith gets over simplified for the sake of getting people going.  Still, if I didn't connect with the content of the evening, I did enjoy the fun atmosphere.

The Burning Kettles, Alanadale, and The Natural live @ Park Theatre!

Anthony Sweet has got to be one of the most relaxed people in the world.

Alanadale, the Burning Kettles, and The Natural (featuring Anthony Sweet, above) are three bands with strong connections to students here at CMU.  Last Sunday, they performed a show at Park Theatre on Osborne.  It was a last-minute decision to go, but it's a good thing I did!  Here are some of the highlights:

Act I: The Burning Kettles

The Burning Kettles are a folk music band who play a variety of original pieces.  What I enjoy most about them is the way they variate in interesting ways on songs I already know.  I know the band through being friends with Rabecca Hill (centre of the picture).  

Intermission

Rob Martins, a fellow student, is excited and ready for more!

Act II: Alanadale

     I remember early last year when this band began.  It was comprised entirely of CMU students, namely Thomas Krause and Josie Guenther (pictured) and George Dyck III.  In this show they announced the addition of a new member on keyboard: Dale Thiessen.  In most of their previous shows they had mainly covered songs  written by others with their own unique spin.  They are now performing more original material.

Gerald, Peter, and Krista  -- "The Blowers".

    In one of their songs "the blowers" (pictured above) were enlisted to provide some additional layering. 

George Dyck III in his many varied musical talents.

     And then, mid-way through the performance, the lights went down, the crowd grew silent, and George Dyck III took out a giant scroll and began reading an incantation.  I didn't know what was going on until I saw a giant mysterious object gently floating down to the stage.

...This is Spinal Tap, anyone?

Act III: The Natural

     

     The Natural is a band led by Anthony Sweet with Andre Forget, Colin Clay, and Alanadale's George Dyck III.  They are hands-down my favourite CMU band.  They have a very polished and diverse sound -- from the mystically quiet to the loud and driving.  Anthony has been making music for quite some time.  Although his band hasn't released any recordings yet, you can find some of his slower, stand-alone songs on cbc radio 3.  

Andre Forget gets into the music.

We're here to rock!

     The theatre was packed throughout the entire performance with many people I knew and many others I didn't.  I had a great evening and I'm sure glad the three bands put their all into this show.  Thank you!  Thanks also to Matthew Veith for these pictures.  Until next time!

    

Being Grounded

     In my spare time, one of the things I do is help out as a youth leader for my church.  In this role I get to meet and connect with lots of youth and parents from both inside the church and around Winnipeg. We recently had a leader retreat in which we talked about how to better improve our program.  It's an interesting question.  As leaders, how can we share the love of Christ with the youth who come through our doors?  As we discussed how to do this in one of our sessions, the idea kept coming up of being grounded in God -- the idea being that if we're not basking in God's love for us, then it is impossible for us to show that love to others.  

     I know for myself that this is hard sometimes.  It's so easy to forget that your ultimate worth as a human being doesn't come from anything you do, but rather comes from the fact that God, the creator, loves you.  When I rely on my own efforts to show love to others, I can often fail.  But if all I'm trying to do is reflect the love God has for me, then I can be loving.
     The thing is, I don't think this grounding should be an obligation.  Instead, it should give us great strength to know that our lives are not solely up to us -- we can draw on God for strength.  We are grounded in God when we let go of any negative energy, and focus instead on the positive loving force of God.


     

Back Home!

I duck out of the frame on an interesting talk about politics to take this picture

The Christmas break really did fly by!  I always feel kind of sad when everyone has to leave to go home for Christmas, but it's an important time to connect with family and friends back home.  Well, now everyone's back and ready to go for a new term.

     At the beginning of the year we had a few days to settle in, but this time round we're launching right into the semester.  The cool part about the second semester is the reading break in Mid-February.  The workload is a lot easier to stomach for me if I know I'm going to be getting a break in the middle!
     This past week and weekend has been going really well for me.  I've had a good start on my classes while at the same time spending lots of quality time with old friends and making some new ones.  A group went out to see Where the Wild Things Are (which I would highly recommend if you're in an artsy, eclectic mood), and there's talk of skating at the Forks* tomorrow.
     Judging by how life is right now, I'm expecting 2010 to be a good year.  I hope the same for you!


* "The Forks" is a really cool place near downtown Winnipeg, located where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet.  These rivers, when frozen, provide a great place to skate -- I'm going to have to grab some skates at Value Village tomorrow!

Spirit

So I'm sitting on a bus going somewhere downtown. And I'm people watching, because it's always interesting to do so. In front of me, there's this lady who is probably in her late 30s early 40s. She's in a wheelchair. 

Immediately, what strikes me is this sort of cynical, detached look on her face. She has this angry, self-confident negativity written all over her features.

This makes me wonder. What if I ended up in a wheelchair for life? Would I look like her? And I realize that I would have a choice. That this sort traumatic event would change me and mold me as a person, and that I would have the opportunity to choose who that person could be.

It could turn me into a cynical, jaded person, who has lost the beauty and wonder of life. The kind of person who sucks life out of the people around them because they themselves aren't hopeful, aren't enjoying, aren't living.

I could turn into a jaded person. Or I could choose to keep the wonder, the optimism, and the joy. The tragic event of being confined to a wheelchair would not have to dampen my spirit. It could even perhaps help me in certain ways.

Which would I choose?

And then it hits me. I make this decision every day.

Will I keep the wonder, or will I let it die?

Nutcracker Musings

     This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending The Nutcracker, put on by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.  One of the amazing things about Winnipeg is how artistic the city is.  The Ballet is a case in point -- it's the longest-running ballet company in North America, and one of the best known!
     In case you've never been to a ballet, it's a very unique form of theatre which has no dialogue. Instead, the story is given to you to read at the beginning of the performance.  One of the most interesting things for me were the effects and set design.  The set design was absolutely extraordinary -- changing from the inside of an early 20th century house to a majestic Greek courtyard.  The outside scenes were believable with falling snow and a magnificent wilderness in the background.  To say nothing of the dancing!

     Watching the ballet got me thinking about the arts.  CMU is a school which focuses on the arts.   We live in a world which seems to put a lot of emphasis on specialization.  It's best to be very good at something -- a marketable skill -- in order to get a high-paying job in that capacity.  Statistics do show that a university education will help you get a higher-paying job.  But if you were looking just to get education to land a good job, you could go to college and get out quicker.  In my experience, a university education is more general -- it teaches you how to think.  The skills you learn in university can help you in all of life.
     I go to university not only to get a good job, but to educate myself, to develop individuality and to grow into my own person.  Studying the arts helps you learn who you are, who you want to be, and how to express that person to the world.  That expression may be in writing, art, ballet or theatre.  It can be communicated in countless ways.

     Imagine you're walking down a road somewhere in the Middle East.  You're thinking about your family, your friends, how dreadfully hot it is  outside.  Then suddenly off in the distance you hear the loud voice of some man yelling.  And not just the voice -- you can see a crowd of people gathering around the speaker.  They're obviously quite excited.  As you get in closer you begin to hear some of the words that are being spoken.  "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.  Blessed are those who hunger now, for they shall be satisfied."  You wonder what this man is talking about.

     Today we celebrate the birth of this man: Jesus Christ, God incarnate who changed everything.  Jesus Christ, who removes guilt and shame.  Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A Writer's Rant

     It's important to be well read before writing a paper.

     I've heard it said somewhere that the joy is not in writing, but in having written.  This is true, at least for me.  It's hard for me to fully enjoy the writing process, mainly because I'm such a perfectionist.
     If you're lucky in university you'll have all your papers due within a few weeks of each other.  This time around, I had two major, 10 page essays due on the same day.  I spent most of my time (1 week) researching the first paper, and then wrote it and my second paper (which was only partially researched) in 36 hours.  Throw in two smaller assignments also due on the same day, and I had 5500 footnoted words to be written in a day and a half.

The best way to start writing is with a clean and organized workspace.

     It was crazy.  Procrastination sucks.  I managed to handle it without getting stressed, but that was only because I'm a second year and have gone through this process twice before, in each of my previous semesters.  Paper writing was a new experience for me when I came to CMU a year ago.  High school papers (at least in small-town Niverville) are a joke -- there would be times when I received top marks for a paper with one source: Wikipedia!  
     CMU offers a lot of help with essays -- you just need to talk to the right people (a good place to start is the library).  It is thus very possible to get through school without pulling an all nighter (but where's the fun in that?!?)

Christmas @ CMU!

     A end-of-semester highlight for the musically inclined (which, let's face it, is more than 1/2 of us students) is Christmas @ CMU.  This year it took place on November 28th.  It was a musical buffet of sorts with three or four concerts happening all at the same time in different rooms all over north campus.  Gentlemen: this is one of two ready-made date opportunities you're going to get as dorm students.  The other is the Christmas Gala but that's not as musical (read: romantic).  

     This year I was singing in Men's Chorus (you can see my fellow performers above). Between performances there was time to catch some of the other music.  And of course, to have a snack.  A special room was set up so you could grab a hot apple cider and a few cookies.   The students and staff baked 150 dozen cookies just for our beloved audience members! 

     If you missed out, you can still catch some of the performances on radio.  If you live in Manitoba, tune in to either CFAM 950 or CJRB 1220 on December 17th at 2 pm.  You can listen live online at CFAM's website.