Keyword: Bachelor of Music

CMU alumnus gives new voice to historic Métis anthem

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 @ 10:46 AM

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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CMU alumnus is transforming patient care through music one year after graduation

Monday, July 6, 2026 @ 4:09 PM

Just one year after graduating from CMU with a Bachelor of Music Therapy, Loghan Puhach is working in what he calls "a dream come true."

Upon completion ofhis internship at Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg, Puhach successfully advocated for the creation of a full-time music therapy position. Today, as a Certified Music Therapist, he brings comfort, connection, and healing to patients and their families while helping expand access to music therapy across the health centre.

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CMU alum recontextualizes art song through queer, ecological lens

Monday, January 23, 2023 @ 1:18 PM

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’s Anna Schwartz wins Canada Music Week’s Student Composer Competition for Manitoba

Friday, June 19, 2020 @ 9:02 AM

Anna Schwartz is drinking in the opportunities CMU's vibrant musical community provides. Following her provincial win last month, her original work "Prairie Sunrise" now goes to compete at the national level.

CMU's Anna Schwartz has taken first place at the provincial level of this year's Canada Music Week Student Composer Competition, hosted by the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers' Association. Schwartz's original composition for orchestra, "Prairie Sunrise," earned $200 in prize money and will now go on to be entered in the nation-wide summer competition. Schwartz also entered an original piece for choir that garnered honourable mention.

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