Watch the video from 1:18 to see our Banner Boat Ballet
and Canoe Choir from 2019!
JOIN THE FUN!
Contact whisperingriverorchestra@gmail.com or call 705-996-0736 to join our Canoe Choir!
Download the Sheet Music to the Canadian Folk Songs that our Canoe Choir will be singing!
Sing along with our practice audio recordings for the Canadian Folk Songs
All levels and experience welcome.
Join our rehearsals on Wednesday 5-6pm in our dome at Foley Fall Fairgrounds
Music for Bert Concert
Saturday September 14th 2024 7pm
Strawhouse Gallery, 3 Lakeside Drive, McKellar, ON
Featuring Whispering River Orchestra
Artistic Director: Brenda Margaret Muller
Guest soloist: Fabian Arciniegas
Guest Conductor: Philip Morehead
An informal concert in the intimate ambience of the Straw House Gallery. Feel the vibrancy of Bert Weir’s paintings resonating through powerfully evocative compositions of five Canadian composers.
PROGRAM (alphabetical order):
Michelle Lorimer, “Gouzenko”
Michelle Lorimer, “Love is a Bird”
Patricia Morehead, “Starfire” (Ardeleana Award Winner) (world premiere)
Saman Shahi, “Suspended Doorways”
Danial Sheibani, “Her Journey, Blossom” (Bert Weir Memorial Commission Winner) (world premiere)
Arianna Verbree, “Late Summer Colours Reflected in Early Autumn Lakes” (world premiere)
Journey 1, 1998 #000628, Oil on Masonite, 122cm x 112cm
Our Composers
Danial Sheibani - 2024 Bert Weir Memorial Commission Winner
Composer Statement: Her Journey, Blossom / Based on Painting Journey 1 by Bert Weir
My interpretation of the death of mother nature is brought to life through the tension in the colour palette, painting her final, tormented, breath. Through this darkness, and malice, surrounded by a harrowing void, comes the inevitability of life in the great abyss.
When I first came across Journey 1, I felt this deep loneliness in the work—it brought with it a sense of hopelessness, exhaustion, and torment. The reds in the piece really show the struggle, while the greens carry this innocence that I really connected with. I tried to bring that out through the viola's character and the solos of the violin and cello. What really spoke to me about this work were the philosophical undertones I picked up on—the idea that there's beauty in the inevitability of death and how it shapes the world you leave behind. It made me think about how, depending on how true you were to your life's purpose and the choices you made, your wisdom and teachings can be something you pass on to the people you care about. That’s a comforting thought. And in the very last bar of music, after all the lamenting, agitation, struggle, and enduring, there’s a kind of peace in the stillness.
Entry by donation
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Linda Gibson and her contributions
to our Beer Can and Bottle Drive