From Goshen to Peru and back again
Born in Portland, Ore., and raised in Goshen, Ind., singer-songwriter Sadie Gustafson-Zook is currently pursuing a master’s degree in jazz voice at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. Last summer, she released I’m Not Here, her first album of original material. The 23-year-old wrote a handful of the album’s eight songs during a study-service…
OMMC offers music, fun, connections
When the idea of the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp (OMMC) was pitched to me at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, I was immediately excited. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when I got there, I knew it would be awesome. In the hallway, there was the plan for the two weeks of camp, describing what we’d…
Music Camp keeps the tunes playing
Marie Penner from Toronto United Mennonite Church had a dream of a camp that would develop the musical talents of young Mennonites in Ontario. Penner remembers going to the Inter-Mennonite Conference, the precursor to Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, for support. Her husband, who was on the conference board, told her that she needed to make…
Jump out of your comfort zone at Peace Camp
Have you ever been in a place, space or community where you have been encouraged to try something new? Have you been challenged to take risks and leap out of your comfort zone? Have you tasted the confidence that comes with mastering new skills? At summer camp, youth often have the opportunity to take these…
Accessing different realms of musical exploration
Since Luke Nickel was young, his parents instilled in him the value of thinking critically. He recalls one conversation—the exact topic escapes him—during which his father said to him and his siblings, “I don’t care what you think about it, as long as you think about it.” “It didn’t matter what conclusion we came to,…
Fifteen years after inspiration struck
Attention, music fans: Next month marks the 15th anniversary of the release of an album you’ve likely never heard of. Let me tell you about it. On Dec. 8, 2002, at Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, we began selling copies of Far Beyond Inspired, a CD featuring original compositions by nine musical acts from the…
‘Participation, not performance’
Like most musicians and artists, Brandon Leis uses his gifts in many places and in many ways to make a living. Most recently, he was appointed as the new music director of the Menno Singers, a Waterloo Region choir founded in 1955 by Abner Martin. Besides that, since 2003 he has been the music director…
Breathing new life into the music
When a Toronto-based LGBTQ orchestra approached queer classical pianist Darren Creech about performing Victor Davies’ “Mennonite Piano Concerto” with it in concert, it didn’t realize what a perfect fit he would be. Unbeknownst to the Counterpoint Community Orchestra at the time, Creech is Mennonite and he grew up listening to the piece. “I’ve owned the…
Ain’t misbehavin’
Old behaviour influenced the music on singer-songwriter Anna Wiebe’s latest musical release, New Behaviour. The 24-year-old folk-pop songstress based in Guelph, Ont., partially attributes growing up in the Mennonite church for the way the album sounds. “The Mennonite church is known for its . . . fantastic singing, and especially my experience of that at…
‘Mennonite’ composers headline concert at WLU
Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Faculty of Music with a concert on April 3, 2016, that featured the premiere of works by two composers with Mennonite roots and connections. Glenn Buhr, WLU’s professor of composition and director of the Improvisation Concerts Ensemble, comes from Mennonite roots in Gretna, Man. His…
