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Keyword: Music
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.
Continue ReadingFaculty: In Their Own Words - Dr. Jonathan Dueck
Thursday, December 15, 2022 @ 9:10 AM
Dr. Jonathan Dueck, Vice-President Academic, Academic Dean, Associate Professor of Social Science (Ethnomusicology), and of Writing, has taught at CMU since 2017.
What do you love about your work here?
I like the sense of play that we have as an institution. We invite people to do things they care about, things they're passionate about, and to try them out. As students, as faculty members, and even as an institution, we're willing to try new things in a way that is about what we love.
Continue ReadingFaculty-alumni collaboration explores decolonizing music education in the classroom
Monday, July 4, 2022 @ 10:52 AM
Studying music education means learning scales and chord progressions, practicing how to move your hands while conducting, and planning out class schedules. But sometimes it also involves examining and re-evaluating the entire education system at its core.
This is what a group of CMU students did every week last semester, when they gathered for one of CMU's newest courses: Decolonizing Music Education, guided by Associate Professor of Music Janet Brenneman. Through listening, reading, discussing, and creating, students learned about the history and current forms of colonialism present in Canadian music education classrooms, and explored how to put the concepts of decolonization and indigenization into action.
Continue ReadingPianist wins 2022 Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition
Monday, May 9, 2022 @ 9:25 AM
A pianist from Fort Frances, Ontario is the winner of the 17th annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).
Anna Schwartz's performance in the finals, held on Friday, April 8 in CMU's Laudamus Auditorium, earned her first place and the $700 prize that comes with it.
Continue ReadingCMU student and instructor make music come alive through synesthesia, art
Tuesday, May 3, 2022 @ 10:00 AM
Imagine if you could see sound. When Anna Schwartz listens to music, she not only hears the different instruments, keys, and dynamics—she sees them. That's because she has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which information entering a person's brain stimulates multiple senses at once.
Only four percent of people worldwide are synesthetes. For some, biting into a juicy apple might cause them to see a specific image, while others might experience a physical feeling of touch when they hear a certain word. Schwartz sees a kaleidoscope of colours when she listens to music.
Continue Reading2022 Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition Finals (video)
Friday, April 29, 2022 @ 12:00 AM
View the full performance of each finalist, hear the jurors' comments, and learn the outcome of the competition.
View DetailsCMU alumni collaborate on book featuring women in music
Wednesday, December 22, 2021 @ 8:21 AM
A vibrant children's book featuring 26 women in music will soon be hitting bookstore shelves, and it was created by two CMU alumni. Anneli Loepp Thiessen (CMU '18) first wrote The ABCs of Women in Music in fall 2020 as a creative project for a feminist theories class at the University of Ottawa, where she is a PhD student in interdisciplinary music research.
Continue ReadingDual winners mark the 16th annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 @ 2:47 PM
For the past 16 years, the CMU School of Music hosts the Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition for music students capable of performing at a high skill level. It is a time, as adjudicator Henrietta Schellenberg puts it, "of comradery and competition for music students, a chance to bring their art to the public, a jewel in the life of the musical calendar at CMU."
Continue ReadingFinal Performances from the 2021 Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition (videos)
Thursday, March 25, 2021 @ 7:30 AM
The 16th annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition finals are held virtually in 2021, with performanaces recorded to comply with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
This year's edition of the competition features two seperate categories and winners in both voice and piano performances. The winner of each category is announced by adjudicators Henriette Schellenberg (voice) and Dr. Edmund Dawe (piano) at the conclusion of each video below.
View DetailsStudent assistantship with Li Keur project yields golden opportunities for two PACTS majors
Monday, October 5, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
Peacebuilding students Bryna Link and Hannah Connelly describe joys and challenges of their work on the Li Keur Podcast, interviewing creators and collaborators from the eponymous new opera.
Bryna Link and Hannah Connelly joined the production team of celebrated new opera Li Keur: Riel's Heart of the North as student assistants back in July. What began as a summer position—and for Connelly, a practicum placement ahead of graduation next Spring—has developed into a long-term student assistantship that will take both women all the way through Summer 2021.
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