Tag: School of Music

CMU, community orchestra to celebrate the Reformation at special concert

Post author By CMU
Post date October 17, 2017

The public is invited to a concert at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) celebrating the Protestant Reformation.

CMU, in collaboration with the Mennonite Community Orchestra, will present “Reformation 500” this coming Sunday, October 22 at 3:00 PM in the Loewen Athletic Centre (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.).

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students, and are available at the door. Children 12 and under receive free admission.

The orchestra, under the direction of conductor Neil Weisensel, will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, also known as the Reformation symphony.

Dr. Janet Brenneman, Associate Professor of Music, will lead a choir made up of CMU alumni, the orchestra, and soloists in performing J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 79 and Cantata No. 80.

Soloists include acclaimed Winnipeg singer Rachel Landrecht, as well as three members of CMU’s faculty: voice instructor Rose van der Hooft, political studies instructor James Magnus-Johnston, and music lecturer Matthew Pauls.

The concert is a way for CMU to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation through music, says Dr. Dietrich Bartel, Dean of CMU’s School of Music, who will host Sunday’s concert.

The Reformation was sparked on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther sent his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the Archbishop of Mainz.

“My hope is that we can celebrate the Reformation as part of the story of the church, while also being careful to make sure that we also are critical of the story,” Bartel says.

He adds that the three musical pieces that will be performed are linked. Each significantly quotes “A Mighty Fortress is Out God,” one of Luther’s best known hymns.

“I always thought we should be putting our CMU choirs and the Mennonite Community Orchestra together,” Bartel says of the collaboration, adding that the rehearsals for the concert have gone well. “Everybody’s pretty excited about how things are coming together.”

“Things are sounding really great,” he adds. “It’s going to be grand.”

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over 800 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2

Tags choir, Mennonite Community Orchestra, School of Music

Articles

Interplay workshop offers opportunity for composers to hear scores come to life

Post author By CMU
Post date March 24, 2016

Three CMU students and one alumnus recently had a unique opportunity to receive professional feedback on their scores from the Vancouver Chamber Choir and conductor Jon Washburn.

At the Interplay workshop on February 20, CMU students Mark Holmes a Court, Dominique Lemoine, Tirzah Lyons, and alumnus Jesse Krause (CMU ’10), heard their scores come alive as they were sight read by the choir. Their scores were chosen from among those submitted in response to an open call for compositions.

Interplay is an opportunity for Canadian composers who write for chorus to workshop their in-progress or recently completed choral works with Jon Washburn and the twenty-member Vancouver Chamber Choir.

“It was an amazing opportunity to receive such valuable feedback and to hear my piece being performed by a professional, talented choir. I was able to get a sense of what worked and what didn’t,” says Lemoine. “Being immersed in the choral workshop environment gave me a better understanding of choral music. In addition, all of the gorgeous tones coming from the choir as they performed the various pieces in the workshop inspired me to want to produce more music for choirs.”

Each composer was allotted individual rehearsal time of approximately half an hour and the composers received comments and suggestions from Washburn and choir members. CMU music instructors Neil Weisensel and Randolph Peters were in attendance at the workshop.

“CMU is a place where choral music and singing is taken seriously. It’s nice to get a professional perspective as well—a professional critique will both appreciate beautiful things and good things the student has written and can also provide critique on page, notation, and stylistic elements,” says Peters.

Feedback provided in these workshops may focus on the score’s musical and technical features, pitch selection, strengths, flaws, textures, colours, presentation on the page, and notations, among other aspects of choral writing.

“It was great to hear my piece sung by a professional choir and to work with Jon Washburn, who has a lot of experience in conducting new music. Some of my compositional choices were confirmed and others were challenged, both of which will help me improve future compositions,” says Lyons. “I wish more people had attended, as I feel there was something for everyone to learn. I hope I have the opportunity to be a part of something like this again.”

Tags Articles, CMU, music, School of Music

Student Profiles

It is God who makes the music

Post author By CMU
Post date January 25, 2016

A lifelong love of music and a fascination with worship led Anneli Loepp Thiessen to pursue a Bachelor of Music at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).

Loepp Thiessen says her studies offer opportunities to explore questions such as: why do we worship? And what does it mean when we worship? Answers to questions such as these are complex, yet Loepp Thiessen suggests the root of the answer lies in viewing worship as a conversation.

“We are very used to worshipping and making music as a community, but it’s more than congregations often realize,” she says. “It’s about gathering as a community and what we’re saying to each other—what does it mean to us and what does it mean to God?”

As a worship director at Doon Presbyterian Church in Kitchener, Ontario for two summers, Loepp Thiessen explored this theory in a practical setting, drawing on her classroom learning, including theories and techniques learned in the course Leading Music and Worship. The position was a foundational one for her.

“I know that I’m going to be involved with church music for a long time,” she says. “Having this foundation from CMU has given me a really realistic expectation for worship and guidelines of how we approach worship.”

A quote by Johann Sebastian Bach encapsulates the connections Loepp Thiessen sees in the two concentrations she’s studying: music ministry and piano performance.

I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music. – Johann Sebastian Bach

“If as a solo pianist I am being true to what Bach intended, then it’s going to be an act of worship—I need to think of it as a conversation with God, which takes it to another level,” she says.

Bach is a favourite composer of Loepp Thiessen’s and at CMU she’s had the opportunity to perform his pieces as a solo performer, with the Mennonite Community Orchestra, with the CMU Singers, and with a solo singer, all of which she has greatly enjoyed. She’s appreciated the opportunities to learn how to provide accompaniment in different performance contexts.

Loepp Thiessen has also experienced the collaborative nature of CMU through faculty mentorships in each department of the music program. Witnessing the care and interest of faculty members has impressed upon her the importance of sharing music with others.

“When I graduate from CMU, one of the things that will stick with me is the idea that as musicians one of the most valuable things we can do is be mentors,” says Loepp Thiessen. She’s already sharing her passion for and knowledge of music with others by teaching piano at CMU’s Community School of Music and the Arts.

Loepp Thiessen says studying music at CMU has surpassed her expectations.

“There is no school that offers such a wide range of disciplines within the music program, does them so well, and within the context of Christian community.”

Learn more about CMU’s Bachelor of Music degree: www.cmu.ca/music

Tags Anneli Loepp Thiessen, Bachelor of Music, CMU, music, School of Music, worship

Events General News News Releases

CMU Opera Workshop class presents The Aria: A Study of the Staged Solo

Post author By CMU
Post date November 20, 2015

Course, concert allow students to learn the art of stagecraft

Canadian Mennonite University’s Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop is proud to present The Aria: A Study of the Staged Solo.

The concerts features more than 15 striking solo performances from more than 10 different opera and musical theatre productions.

Directed by CMU Instructor of Music David Klassen, the production runs for two shows: Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 PM and Friday, December 4 at 7:30 PM.

The performances will take place in the Laudamus Auditorium (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, and available at the door. Tickets may also be reserved by calling 204-487-3300.

The show includes performances of “Dalla sua pace” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, “Caro nome” from Verdi’s Rigoletto, “Juliette’s Waltz” from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette, a handful of hits by Gilbert and Sullivan, and more.

Klassen is looking forward to seeing his 10 students perform.

“I’m always really, really proud of what it is they produce,” Klassen says. “My hope is that the audience comes along on the journey and can see their hard work.”

The Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop course is made available to students of all skill levels and gives them an understanding of the energy and effort required to communicate when performing operatic works.

“Every year I try to build something that fits the skill level and make up of the student body in the class,” says Klassen, who has taught the course for the past 10 years. “What I decided to do this year was take a stagecraft approach.”

That meant teaching the students stage skills such as directing and blocking. Each student is involved in at least three pieces: one they star in, one they direct, and one in which they portray a secondary character.

“What I really hope my students take with them is the confidence in their ability to understand and stage musical pieces on their own,” Klassen says.

The course is valuable because it empowers students to think for themselves about the pieces they are performing, says Nolan Kehler, a fourth-year Music student who has participated in the Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop each year he’s been at CMU.

“David asks questions like, ‘How is your character feeling in this scene?’ and ‘Why is your character moving the way he is?’” Kehler says. “All the questions make you think about what you’re doing on stage.”

CMU’s small student body gives students wishing to participate in Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop an advantage.

Larger universities typically draw from their graduate programs when staging productions like The Aria: A Study of the Staged Solo. At CMU, even non-music students are able to take the course.

Students in the course mount a full-scale production every second year, and present scenes from a variety of different works in the years in between.

“Alternating between a full production and scenes means more people get a chance to be a leading character and get into a leading character’s mindset,” Kehler says. “That kind of opportunity is pretty huge.”

Tags Aria, David Klassen, opera workshop, School of Music

Events News Releases

CMU’s School of Music brings 18th century Germany to Winnipeg

Post author By CMU
Post date October 5, 2015

Canadian Mennonite University’s School of Music presents Bachtoberfest: An Evening in Leipzig.

This presentation of Bachtoberfest, the second biennial Bach event at CMU, will take classical music lovers back to 18th century Germany with performances by music faculty, students, alumni, and guests led by Dr. Janet Brenneman and Rosemarie van der Hooft.

The evening will start in CMU’s Laudamus Auditorum for Vespers at Thomaskirche, where Bach’s uplifting Cantata BWV 70 Wachet, Betet, Betet, Wachet will be presented in its liturgical setting with readings and reflections by Dr. Sue Sorensen and Dr. Dietrich Bartel. Then, as was customary upon leaving the Thomaskirche, the audience will make its way to Zimmermann’s Kaffeehaus in CMU’s Great Hall to enjoy coffee and German desserts while listening to portions of popular secular works—the Goldberg Variations and the Hunting Cantata, as well as arrangements of Bach for jazz guitar duo.

Bachtoberfest: An Evening in Leipzig will take place on Sunday, October 25 at 7:00 PM at 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. General admission is $10, $5 for students. Everyone is welcome to attend.

For further information, contact Rosemarie van der Hooft at rvanderhooft@cmu.ca.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags Bach, Bachtoberfest, Janet Brenneman, Rose van der Hooft, School of Music

Events News Releases

CMU Opera Workshop class presents The Merry Wives of Windsor

Post author By CMU
Post date February 25, 2015

‘Light, entertaining’ production the culmination of seven months of hard work

Canadian Mennonite University’s Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop is proud to present The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Directed by David Klassen, the production will run for four shows: Thursday, March 5 through Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 PM. The performances take place in the Laudamus Auditorium (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, and available at CMU’s main reception desk or at the door. Reserve by calling 204-487-3300.

Written by the German composer Otto Nicolai, The Merry Wives of Windsor is a three-act opera based on William Shakespeare’s comedic play.

After receiving identical love-letters from the repugnant Sir John Falstaff, Mrs. Alice Ford and Mrs. Meg Page play along with Falstaff’s love affairs in order to expose and humiliate him.

While all this scheming is going on, the beautiful Anne Page has fallen for the handsome Fenton, but Dr. Cajus, a quick-tempered doctor, and Slender, a brown-nosing coward, fight for Anne’s favour, while she finds both of them loathsome.

Somehow Anne has to get her happy ending with Fenton, even though Mr. Page promises Slender his daughter’s hand in marriage, and Mrs. Page desires Dr. Cajus to marry her daughter.

“The story is light and entertaining, and the characters are extremely colourful,” says Klassen, Instructor of Music at CMU. “It’s a production that will be entertaining for nearly all age groups.”

The four performances are the culmination of seven months of hard work for the more than 25 students enrolled in Klassen’s Opera Workshop course.

The course gives students an understanding of how much energy and effort it takes to communicate when performing operatic works, and students learn how to work as part of an ensemble.

Klassen says the course is made accessible to students of all levels, and adds that this cast is one of the strongest he’s ever worked with at CMU.

“My hope for this production is that students will walk away from the experience knowing that they have been held to the highest standard possible, and that they have created for themselves one of the most memorable experiences of their lives,” Klassen says.

He adds that as a professional himself, he remembers every show he’s ever been a part of.

“The cast becomes a family, and even within a university like CMU where community is a great focus, they build even stronger relationships through the preparation of something of this magnitude,” Klassen says.

“I hope that my guidance inspires, and that they take what they’ve learned with them into every musical endeavour in the community, staged or not—the understanding that these relationships are meaningful, and that the hard work is more rewarding than they could imagine.”

Opera Workshop students mount a full-scale production every second year. Past productions have included The Mikado, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Die Fledermaus, a German operetta by Johann Strauss II.

In the years in between, students present scenes from a variety of different works.

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences and social sciences, and graduate degrees in Theology and Ministry. CMU has over 1,600 students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury campus and in its Menno Simons College and Outtatown programs.

For information about CMU, visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:

Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2

Tags David Klassen, Merry Wives of Windsor, opera workshop, School of Music

Events News Releases

Students rise to the occasion for Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition

Post author By CMU
Post date March 27, 2014

‘It’s neat to see the hard work … pay off,’ says winner

WINNIPEG – Violin, piano, French horn, and vocal performances were all part of the final round of the ninth annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition at Canadian Mennonite University.

Held on Thursday, March 20 in the university’s Laudamus Auditorium, the competition featured eight performers who progressed from an initial field of 19 competitors.

The competition was exceptional and each of the eight finalists gave outstanding performances, said Janet Brenneman, Dean of the CMU School of Music.

“It was exciting for the audience to see the performers rise to the occasion and genuinely enjoy the experience,” Brenneman said.

“The competition is important because it gives the CMU community, as well as our wider public, an opportunity to see and hear the students perform on their solo instrument. We often present ensemble performances, but this showcases another important aspect of our program: the solo and collaborative performance.

Peter Janzen with finalists (l-r) Rachel Enns, Breanna Heinrichs, Anna Bigland-Pritchard, Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, Deidra Borus, Ashley Fredette, Josiah Brubacher, and Sean Goerzen. — Peter Janzen with finalists (l-r) Rachel Enns, Breanna Heinrichs, Anna Bigland-Pritchard, Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, Deidra Borus, Ashley Fredette, Josiah Brubacher,
and Sean Goerzen.

Deidra Borus, Rachel Enns, Ashley Fredette, Breanna Heinrichs, Josiah Brubacher, Sean Goerzen, Anna Bigland-Pritchard, and Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe were the eight students who competed on March 20.

Klassen-Wiebe, a fourth-year pianist, was awarded $700 and first place in the competition. Borus, a lyrical soprano who is studying music therapy, placed second and received $500

Heinrichs, a pianist studying music at CMU, and Bigland-Pritchard, a soprano in her fourth year of her Bachelor of Music in Music Ministry and Vocal Performance, tied for third place. They will share a $300 award.

Peter Janzen with winners (l-r) Breanna Heinrichs, Anna Bigland-Pritchard, Deidra Borus, and Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe.

Reflecting on her win, Klassen-Wiebe said that placing first was meaningful because it meant her performance connected with the judges and the audience, and evoked their emotions.

“I’m super excited that I won the money, but it’s more meaningful because it means I succeeded in my musical goal of touching people,” she said. “That’s better than any prize.”

Klassen-Wiebe added that competitions make her nervous, but she enjoyed the opportunity to perform music she had spent a lot of time practicing.

“It’s neat to see the hard work and emotions you’ve invested into your education and pieces pay off,” she said.

The competition is made possible by Peter Janzen of Deep River, Ontario, and named in memory of his wife, Verna Mae, who died of cancer in 1989 at age 53. Janzen attends the final round of competition each year, and speaks with competitors.

“It’s very personal,” said Klassen-Wiebe, who has competed for three years and spoken with Janzen each time. “I’ve gotten to know him a little bit better each year, and that’s a very cool part of this competition.”

Brenneman added that the event is a friendly competition among the students. They are genuinely excited for each other and always enjoy the performance.

“Many of them comment to me that they forget they are competing against each other – they simply enjoy being on the stage and putting together this great concert with their friends,” she said, adding that the audience is supportive, too.

“Sometimes at competitions, the only people present are a few immediate family members,” Brenneman said. “Here, the entire CMU community is interested in this event and the competitors themselves bring in friends and family from all over. It’s fascinating!”

____________________

For more photos documenting the 2014 Verna Mae Music Competition, please click here.

Tags Anna Bigland-Pritchard, Ashley Fredette, Breanna Heinrichs, Deidra Borus, Janet Brenneman, Josiah Brubacher, Rachel Enns, Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, School of Music, Sean Goerzen, Verna Mae Janzen Competition

Events News Releases

CMU School of Music in Partnership with Professor Bach Project Present Bachtoberfest: An Evening in Leipzig

Post author By CMU
Post date October 16, 2013

For the fifth annual Professor Bach Project, co-artistic directors Rosemarie van der Hooft and Mel Braun have teamed up with Dr. Dietrich Bartel, Musicology Professor and Dr. Janet Brenneman, conductor and Dean of Canadian Mennonite University’s School of Music, to offer a unique experience of Bach’s music.

Hosted by Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), Bachtoberfest: An Evening in Leipzig will transport audience members to 18^th century Germany. Beginning in the Laudamus Auditorium with Vespers at Thomaskirche, Bach’s Cantata BWV 78 Jesu, der du meine Seele will be presented in its liturgical setting.

Then, as was customary upon leaving the Thomaskirche, the audience will retire to Zimmermann’s Kaffeehaus (also known as CMU’s Great Hall) for coffee and dessert, along with varied interpretations of Bach’s secular music – think solo Bach, Hercules, Jazz, and Beatboxing.

Following the mentorship model of the Professor Bach Project, performances will feature professional and student musicians and singers collaborating together, and new for this year, a CMU alumni choir.

Experience Bachtoberfest: An Evening in Leipzig at Canadian Mennonite University (500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg) on Saturday, October 26 at 7:30 PM.

General Admission $10 | CMU Students $5

For more information, please contact:

Rose van der Hooft, Music Instructor
School of Music, Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
Phone: 204.487.3300

Tags Bach, Bachtoberfest, music, School of Music