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Keyword: Music
#myCMUlife | Finding purpose through music
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 @ 1:36 PM
If you would have asked me back in 2020 where I saw myself in five years, your guess would've been as good as mine. I've always been indecisive, but with the world in disarray, nobody knew what the future had in store. However, I do know my response would have involved doing something I'm passionate about, helping others, and making a difference. Still, I wouldn't have believed it if you'd told me I would be back at school, studying music no less, and just ten minutes down the road from me. Yet here I am, a CMU student looking to become a music therapist.
I have always had a passion for music and art. My mom is an artist, so she raised us surrounded by all kinds of music and art. My favourite childhood show was The Wiggles—need I say more? One of the only after-school activities I was ever in was elementary school choir, and I sang in school talent shows even though my anxiety made it extremely scary. Looking back now, I realize I should have taken band in middle school. I was a bit scared of the commitment to something so foreign, since reading music wasn't something I felt confident doing. Plus it felt like I didn't have the time for the early mornings and late after-school practices. So, I just continued to sing literally everywhere I went, if I could, and I began collecting instruments in hopes of learning how to play on my own (unsuccessfully, I might add). Because when I sing or play, I feel something deep inside connecting me to the music.
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Read MoreChristmas at CMU 2024 (video)
Saturday, November 30, 2024 @ 10:00 PM
Recorded on November 30, this year's event features: CMU Singers, Voice SA, Voices TB, Steel Drums, Guitar Ensemble, Handbell Ensemble, Concert Band, Resonant Scholars, the English Department Radio Players.
View the Christmas at CMU Program
Read MoreMeet Music Therapist Lacey Friesen: She doesn’t sing ALL day
Thursday, May 30, 2024 @ 9:17 AM
I guess you could say that music runs in Lacey Friesen's blood. Her role as a Music Therapist at HSC Children's Hospital could not be better suited to her interests, personality, or way of life.
"I grew up in a very musical family, with a mother who taught private music lessons, a father who plays drums and sings, and two musical sisters. We grew up singing in church together," said Lacey. "There was just so much music around me."
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Read MoreSunday@CMU: May 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024 @ 12:00 AM
Voices of the CMU Community
This month on Sunday@CMU, we are featuring the voices of CMU students. Listen to speeches from the 2024 C. Henry Smith Oratorical Peace Contest and performances from this year's 19th annual Verna Mae Janzen music competition finals.
Read MoreAlumni in Their Own Words - Nicole Richard Williams
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 @ 9:45 AM
Nicole Richard graduated from CMU in 2013 with a Bachelor of Music Therapy.
Where has your life taken you since you left CMU?
After finishing my Bachelor of Music Therapy at CMU, I worked as a music therapist in Winnipeg for about three years. During this time, I started working with many clients on the autism spectrum and noticed that doing rhythmic and drumming interventions with these folks really seemed to help them reach some of their therapeutic goals. I wanted to deepen my understanding of how exactly music therapy could help autistic children. Going to grad school had always been a dream of mine, and so I decided to take some time off working to do a Master's in Music and Health Science at the University of Toronto. During that degree, I decided I wanted to continue on and do a PhD and was accepted again at the Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory (the lab out of which the master's and PhD are based) at the University of Toronto.
Read MoreViolinist wins the 19th annual Verna Mae Janzen Competition
Thursday, April 4, 2024 @ 10:31 AM
The 19th annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) reached a rousing crescendo this year, as the night's final performer, William Harder, was awarded first place.
The Winnipeg violinist says, "It is really rewarding to have some very tangible recognition for all of the work that gets put into practicing music."
Read More2024 Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition (video and photos)
Monday, March 25, 2024 @ 9:00 AM
View the full performance of each finalist, hear the jurors' comments, and learn the outcome of the competition.
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CMU faculty, students, alumnus thrilled to participate in Indigenous opera premiere
Thursday, December 21, 2023 @ 2:51 PM
Li Keur: Riel's Heart of the North premiered last month in a rush of vibrant colour, rich story, and lively music and dance. The production, performed by Manitoba Opera, sold out each of its three performances at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg on November 18, 22, and 24.
Li Keur is the first full-scale Indigenous-led opera to be presented on a Canadian mainstage. "I wish to place the beautiful Indigenous languages, cultures, and narratives of the central continent—those that have been relegated to a historical footnote at best, a nuisance or a threat at worst—to their rightful place at the heart of cultural institutions of the region," said Métis poet and scholar Dr. Suzanne Steele.
Read MoreFrom napkin sketch to piano concerto: two CMU students' collaborative journey
Monday, November 6, 2023 @ 9:48 AM
What began as a student's rough sketch on a napkin has now grown into a sweeping piano concerto commissioned by the Mennonite Community Orchestra (MCO).
Written by Liam Berry and performed by Georg Neuhofer, "Rains Dance" is a piece that carries great significance for the two Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) students. It's the consolidation of musical congeniality, collaboration, and years of friendship.
Read MoreThe Mennonite Community Orchestra to perform a musical tribute to Urkraine
Friday, October 27, 2023 @ 10:00 AM
The Mennonite Community Orchestra in collaboration with the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians will present a musical tribute to Ukraine as part of its fall concert. The concert, titled The Power of Hope, will encourage solidarity with the people of Ukraine and other nations struggling for freedom while carrying hope in their hearts, despite being caught up in war.
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