Alumni Profiles: Music
Finding connection as an outsider: How CMU shaped a public servant
Marvin Marcial didn't mean to become a CMU student. What was initially supposed to be one music elective as a visiting student from the University of Winnipeg turned him into a full-time student who ended up graduating from CMU with a Bachelor of Music in 2007. "I ended up in choir and that changed the whole trajectory of my education, and I transferred over to CMU the next year," he says.
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Notes, nursing, and new horizons: A journey of learning and service
When Heidi Derksen meets for a conversation in the mid-afternoon, she's wrapping up her day and going to sleep after the interview ends. This unconventional bedtime is because she's an ICU nurse in Saskatoon's hospitals, working alternating day and night shifts. The routine can be taxing, but it allows her a lot of flexibility for one of her favourite activities: travel.
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CMU taught alum how to think "inside out and upside down"
The current Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Winnipeg came to CMU from Providence University College, by way of the University of Manitoba, where he initially planned to become a dentist.
After a conversation with a friend attending CMU, who mentioned a course on the history of rock music, he quickly changed direction. That pivot eventually led him to CMU's Music Department in the early 2000s, where he graduated in 2006.
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CMU alum recontextualizes art song through queer, ecological lens
At first glance, it may not seem like music, climate justice, and queerness would cross career paths. But Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) alum Anna Bigland-Pritchard has built a life that weaves together these strands.
The 30-year-old soprano lives in Victoria, BC, where she divides her time between studying under renowned soprano Nancy Argenta, managing marketing at Vancouver Bach Choirs, directing music ministry at Oak Bay United Church, and teaching through her small business, ABP Music Studio. She also dedicates time to advocating for climate justice and facilitating workshops on eco-mindfulness, which she has done for institutions like KAIROS, University of Toronto, and CMU.
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CMU School of Music alumna awarded prestigious Yamaha Fellowship
CMU alumna Anneli Loepp Thiessen has been awarded the University of Rochester's coveted Yamaha Fellowship: a full-ride scholarship to study for one intensive week at the university's Eastman Leadership Academy this summer.
Limited to just 25 people, the program will include mentorship from faculty, training in essential skills like grant-writing, and support in developing a personal project of each Fellow's choice. Loepp Thiessen says her passion project will, "as always," have a feminist objective:
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