Concerts

Narration – Muriel Smith

Andrew Balfour – Music is Vibration

Norman Chief Memorial Dancers

George Handel – From Messiah: And the Glory of the Lord

Felix Mendelssohn – From Elijah: He Watching Over Israel

W.H. Anderson – Come, I Pray Thee

Herbert Belyea – Close Thine eyes

Scott Reimer – Be Love
          Solo cello Deverson Santos De Sousa

Jocelyn Morlock – One Black Spike

Robert Turner – From Five Canadian Folk Songs:
The Carion Crow
          Cold Water Song

Rabinovitch’s – Choral Trilogy from the Manitoba School Songbook:
Way, Haul Away
          What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor
          Lillibulero
          Snare drum – Jackson Bartel

Neil Weisensel – Birthing a New Seed

• Soloists:
  Ainsley Wray (soprano)
  Susanne Reimer (alto)
  Josiah Brubacher (tenor)
  Bake Collis (baritone)
  Drum: Jackson Bartel

Andrew Balfour – Vison Chant

Artistic Director & Conductor
Yuri Klaz - Bio

Pianist
Donna Laube - Bio

Soprano
Marni Enns, Ainsley Wray, Dawn Marie Wilson, Jan Bird, Celina Morphy-Simmens

Alto
Pat Wray, Brittany Dheilly, Donnalynn Grills, Susanne Reimer, Jodie Borle, Angela Neufeld

Tenor
Josiah Brubacher, Greg Wiebe, John Eisma, Doug Pankratz, Blake Collis

Bass
Nicholas Borkowsky , Bruce Waldie, Steve Ens, Al Schroeder, Greg Cooper

Muriel Smith is a highly experienced music professional with a PhD in Musicology from the University of York, UK. Over her 20-year career, she has made significant contributions to the commercial music industry through roles as an educator, administrator, adjudicator, writer, and performer. Muriel is well-versed in music education and brings a range of skills including public speaking, academic writing, and text editing to her work. Her scholarly achievements and practical involvement in the music world make her a respected figure in both academic and professional music circles.

In addition to her academic accomplishments, Muriel has been actively involved in supporting music education and promoting cultural heritage. She has contributed to organizations like the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers' Association (MRMTA), where she has played a pivotal role in promoting music education across generations. Through her efforts, she has helped foster young musical talents and been involved in significant initiatives such as celebrating MRMTA's 100 years of contributions to Manitoba's music community.

The Norman Chief Memorial Dancers, founded in 2004 by Sonny and Terri Delaronde, honor the late Norman Chief, a Métis musician and entertainer. Their primary goal is to foster community spirit and promote Métis culture through traditional music and dance. The group performs at various fundraising events across Aboriginal communities in Manitoba, supporting children and youth initiatives like fiddling, jigging, sports, and cultural programs, while also raising funds for causes such as Cancer Care Manitoba and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

The dancers have performed at numerous cultural events throughout Manitoba and northwest Ontario, including Folklorama and St. Laurent Métis Days. Their energetic performances, blending modern moves with the traditional Métis Red River Dance style, inspire enthusiasm and cultural pride. They also promote cultural awareness in schools, supporting Aboriginal Academic Achievement initiatives, with the Honourable Yvon Dumont often serving as spokesperson and MC for many of their events.

The Spirit Sands Singers are a pow wow singing group from Swan Lake First Nation, Manitoba, of Plains Ojibway and Plains Cree descent. Formed in 1997, the group is composed of family members and close friends who share a deep connection to their heritage. Their name honors the Spirit Sands, a sacred desert in Southern Manitoba, revered by surrounding Indigenous communities as a place for Vision Quests, special ceremonies, and traditional hunting by their ancestors.

Known for their powerful performances, the Spirit Sands Singers describe their style as "A Northern Style With a Southern Blast," blending Northern pow wow traditions with vibrant Southern influences. Their music resonates with cultural significance and deep respect for their roots, offering an unforgettable experience for audiences everywhere.

Brazilian, born in Osasco – São Paulo, Déverson began his musical studies at the “Conservatóriode Tatuí” in 2011 and got his bachelor’s degree at the “Universidade Federal de Uberlândia”in 2021. During these years, he participated in important projects for chamber musicgroups and youth orchestras, such as “Udi Cello Ensemble”, “Orquestra Academica Mozarteum”, “Academia Jovem Concertante”, “Cerrado Ensemble”, and “Duo Guerra-Correia”. He also won competitions such as the national prix Side by Side, earning the opportunity to play with the New World Symphony in Miami -Florida, under the baton of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and the nationals of the “Concurso Jovens Solistas SINOS/FIMUCA 2020”, in the cello category. Throughout his musical development, he participated in many festivals in Brazil and had masterclasses with international well-known cellists, such as Antonio Meneses, Sheku Kanneh-Maon, Ariel Barnes, Matias O. Pinto, Leonard Elschenbroich, Jean Queyras, Márcio Carneiro, among others. From 2021 to 2023 he was an academist of the renewed Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra under the guidance of principal cellist Philip Everett Hansen. Currently, he is in Dr. Minna Rose Chung’s class completing his master's degree in cello performance at the University of Manitoba.

Jackson has been playing percussion for over twenty years; he began taking lessons under Ben Reimer at the age of four. He played with the Concert Band and Jazz Band in middle school and high school at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute, as well as the Provincial Senior Honour Band. Jackson has played with the University of Manitoba Concert Band, and is currently playing with both the U of M Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble. He is currently in his second year of studies at the Desautels Faculty of Music under the direction of Victoria Sparks.

Composer of Birthing a New Seed, commissioned by Winnipeg Singers, 2024.

Neil Weisensel is a prolific Canadian composer and conductor, known for his versatility across multiple styles and genres. A veteran opera composer, his latest project, Li Keur, Riel’s Heart of the North—based on the life of Louis Riel and the Métis people—premiered with Manitoba Opera in 2023. Weisensel's operas, including Stickboy, Gisela in her Bathtub, and City Workers in Love, have been performed across Canada and the U.S., with Vancouver Opera and other major companies presenting his works.

Weisensel has conducted for prestigious ensembles like the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, and Edmonton Opera. He co-directs World Village Gospel Choir in Winnipeg and has collaborated on musical projects with his wife, Rachel Landrecht, including performances for President Bill Clinton and other notable figures. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, he is also Assistant Teaching Professor at Canadian Mennonite University, where he teaches Theory and Composition.

Birthing a New Seed
Lyrics: Stephen Lytton & Rachel Landrecht
Music: Neil Weisensel

Birthing a New Seed - Program Notes

The title and lyrics for this piece grew out of a conversation between composer Neil Weisensel and his friend and colleague Stephen Lytton (Nlaka'pamux). Stephen is a member of the Nicomen Indian Band within the Nlaka’pamux First Nation in BC. He lives with a disability (cerebral palsy), and is a survivor of St. George’s Indian Residential School. An accomplished actor, writer and presenter, Stephen has presented in western and eastern Canada to groups regarding his personal experiences in residential school as an Aboriginal person living with a disability. He has lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside since 1992, and his favourite quote is from Brenée Brown: “vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change”. Additional lyrics were provided by Rachel Landrecht, a Winnipeg-based sacred singer, songwriter and lyricist, with music by Neil Weisensel.

The dramatic arc for this piece was suggested by Savannah Walling, a longtime collaborator with Stephen and a Downtown Eastside resident who is a recent Order of Canada recipient. Savannah was adopted by Bernie Skundaal Williams into the St’langng Lanaas clan and given the Haida name "hl Gat’saa," which translates as “supporter of all things”. The four-part dramatic arc consists of: Lament (opening chant); Invocation (calls to listen and invite ancestors); Calls to Action (learning and acting); and Response (building community, engaging in small acts of kindness, walking together in Reconciliation as Treaty People).

In the opening Lament, the choir names some of the challenges facing Canadians and First Nations today in this era of Reconciliation:

• “Too many kids in care “ - The percentage of children in care who are ; Indigenous inn Manitoba is 91%.

• “Kamloops 215 - denied” – Despite scientific evidence and testimony by Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders, some Canadians are skeptical that there are mass graves around many of Canada’s Residential Schools

• “Residential Schools – defended”. There are some Canadians who continue to defend the abuse inflicted on Indigenous children in the Residential School system, despite the indisputable evidence of survivors and their families.

• “MMIWG – ignored” – Only two of the 231 calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) have been completed, and more than half haven’t been started.

• “Penal system – systematic racism” - Despite accounting for approximately 5% of the adult population, Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in the federal correctional system, accounting for 32% of all individuals in custody.

• “TRC calls to Action – dead”. Only 11 of the 94 calls to action from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) have been completed so far, and none were completed in 2023 or 2024.