Alumni Profiles: Music
CMU alumnus gives new voice to historic Métis anthem
CMU alumnus Erik Gillespie spent last year working as a restaurant server, but this summer he took on a tall order of a different kind: updating a 200-year-old anthem of the Red River Métis for a new generation.
The historic anthem, "La Chanson de la Grenouillère" ("The Song of Frog Plain"), is one of the best-known pieces of Métis oral tradition. It was composed by Pierre Falcon, a Métis fur trader, poet, and songwriter, following the Victory at Frog Plain on June 19, 1816.
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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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