The Cochrane Music Society’s (CMS) Spring Showcase Project will mesh Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural music art forms with a focus on reconciliation and building bridges between all cultures.
A number of workshops have been taking place with guest musicians teaching the history and traditions of their music, to be followed by the Spring Showcase Concert, which will be on Saturday, May 13 at Bow Valley High School.
At a recent Band on the Bow (concert band) rehearsal in the Cochrane High School music room, conductor Adam Mailman explained the impetus behind the idea to merge the different musical traditions into a concert.
“It’s a little bit new and different for us. We usually do a blend of popular and classical music,” he said. “But this time, there was something in the air after our last concert that made me think I wanted to do something a little more important with this ensemble,” Mailman said.
After exploring cultural music genres around the world – South America and China in particular – Mailman landed back on his doorstep in Alberta, with a piece of music written by Walter Macdonald White-bear, called Mother Earth Spring.
“He wrote this piece of music with the intention that it would be able to be played by young musicians, through quite serious musicians. It’s music he has given to us for this purpose,” he said.
Further travels, this time to Manitoba, resulted in Mailman’s discovery of another piece, written by composer Kenley Kristofferson, whose approach was different as well.
“He wrote a piece of music that did not take the music from the culture, but rather demanded an interaction,” Mailman said.
It was a perfect fit for what Mailman was planning on presenting to audiences at the showcase concert: a fusion of Indigenous and non-Indigenous styles.
So the band learns the parts written for the band, and then Indigenous artists are invited to collaborate, in the hope that something magical happens.
Judging by the rehearsals, even to a non-trained ear, that hope was realized.
“The whole piece becomes a conversation,” Mailman said. “The idea is to find each other and explore that music.”
Kyle Snow and Gina Onespot are the Indigenous performers with the band. Snow is a Stoney Nakota knowledge keeper.
Jane Kaczmer of the CMS said there is great need for multi-cultural relationship-building opportunities in the Cochrane area, and this is a great example of what that can look like.
“The new Indigenous Centre, Wazin Ichinabi Ti, is keen to collaborate with Cochrane Music Society,” she said. “They have facilitated the Indigenous drummer and singer connections and will raise their teepee at the concert site in tribute to this reconciliation effort.”
Kaczmer added the workshops with Indigenous teachings and multi-ethnic collaborations gave the 80 members of the CMS the opportunity to make music alongside people they do not usually meet, and start to build relationships with them.
The CMS band and choir also have high-school students as members who will benefit directly.
She said the concert will provide an opportunity for the community to show their appreciation for the various cultures and join in the fun.
The impact will also be farther reaching, as some of the CMS band members are high-school music teachers who will take this experience into their own classrooms.
The concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 13 at Bow Valley High School. Tickets are available at cochranemusic.ca/spring-showcase/ and also at the door.
Adult tickets are $20, seniors and students get in for $15, and children under 12 are admitted free.
