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Whispering River Music presents

RIVERSONGS 2020

A Cultural Fall Fair

Friday Coffee Houses, Saturday Workshops, & Sunday B.Y.O. Picnic Concerts

Sept. 11th - 13th: Local, Organic

Sept. 18th - 20th: A 40 Year Garden

Sept. 25th - 27th: Bert Weir Days

Foley Community Hall

60 Rankin Lake Rd., Foley, ON

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Our Commitment to COVID-19 Safety 

In these uncertain times, we are committed to making sure you and your children are safe at Riversongs!  We are taking all the necessary precautions to run our Riversongs Cultural Fall Fair.  Our concerts will have limited seating and all performances will be held outdoors (weather permitting).  We will also enforce social distancing protocols and have smaller groups during performances and weekend event sessions.  If we come and make music, art and poetry, together we can show the strength of the human spirit!

Invitation To Local Businesses

To celebrate our Local & Organic sustainability, we are extending the invitation to any locally owned businesses in the Parry Sound and surrounding areas to join us for our round table discussions in September!  For further information contact us at: whisperingriverorchestra@gmail.ca or call Brenda Muller at 905-960-9281.  We hope to see you there!

3 WEEKENDS OF ART, MUSIC, AND POETRY

Local, Organic
Growing the Culture of Sustainability

Friday Sept. 11th - Sunday Sept. 13th
 

Friday Coffee House:
Hosts: Rick Capreol & Brenda Margaret Muller

 

Saturday Open Doors Workshops:
Art, Orchestral Instruments, Composition

Saturday Discussion Circle:
Growing a culture of sustainablity, with local
artists and businesses

 

Sunday Concert: Music includes Bach & Greig,
Riversongs Commission Award premier:

Saman Shahi

A 40 Year Garden
The Cultivation of the Association of Canadian Women Composers

Friday Sept. 18th - Sunday Sept. 20th
 

Friday Coffee House:
Host: Catherine Wheatley

 

Saturday Open Doors Workshops:
Art, Orchestral Instruments, Composition

Saturday Discussion Circle:
Cultivation of the A.C.W.C., with
many renowned Canadian Women Composers

 

Sunday Concert: Music by Canadian Women,
ACWC Riversongs Award premier:

Janet Danielson

Bert Weir Days
Sustaining the Interface between Music, Art, & Nature

Friday Sept. 25th - Sunday Sept. 27th
 

Friday Coffee House:

Songwriter Terry Christenson & Poet Ken Christenson
 

Saturday Open Doors Workshops:
Art, Orchestral Instruments, Composition
Saturday Discussion Circle:
Sustaining Nature with Culture

 

Sunday Concert: Music includes Elgar

• Britten • Selections from Mozart

FRIDAY COFFEE HOUSES

Sept. 11th ● 7:00 PM

Local, Organic

Opening Ceremony with Marilyn Capreol

Join hosts

Rick Capreol & Brenda Margaret Muller

Paul & Ella Cowan ● Harbour ● Terry Storr

WRO Summer Students & local musical friends

Sept. 18th ● 7:00 PM

A 40 Year Garden

Join host Singer Songwriter

Katherine Wheatley

Margaret Kamerman ● Kyung A Lee

Paul & Ella Cowan ● Patricia & Phillip Morehead 

& music from inspiring local artists

Sept. 25th ● 7:00 PM

Bert Weir Days

Join host singer songwriter 

Terry Christenson

Ken Christenson ● Brenda and Rick

The Usual Suspects ● Fabian Arcinegas

& more from original local artists

SATURDAY DROP IN WORKSHOPS

Sept. 12th 

Local, Organic

Workshops for Beginners

Drop In: 10 AM - 11 AM

Orchestral Workshop: 11 AM - 12 PM

Private lessons: 10 AM - 12 PM

Brenda Muller Headshots.png

Featuring

Sonia Klimasko             Brenda Margaret

   Muller

Violin/Viola                   Cello

and

Emma Vachon                    Terry Storr

      Violin/Viola                        Clarinet

10 AM - 11 AM:

  • Drop In Workshops for Beginners - Meet and greet a new instrument! Learn to play the violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, piano, or percussion. Instructed by Sonia Klimasko (violin & viola), Emma Vachon (violin & viola), Brenda Margaret Muller (cello), and Terry Storr (clarinet & woodwinds). Limited to 10 minutes per person.

10:30 AM - 11 AM:

  • Music Moppets with Zach Louch

11 AM - 12 PM:

  • Orchestral Workshop for Beginners - Join us and rehearse beginner's pieces Ash Grove and Cripple Creek to be performed at Sunday's concert. Led by Sonia Klimasko, Emma Vachon, Brenda Margaret Muller, and Zach Louch.

10 AM - 12 PM:

  • Private lessons - available with Sonia Klimasko, Emma Vachon, Terry Storr, and Brenda Margaret Muller.

  • Drop In Mask Making and Arts & Crafts with Cassie Horley

For more information about our faculty, click here.

12 PM:

  • Growing Sustainable Culture: Discussion Circle - exploring the relationship between businesses and art to create a sustainable future

Brenda Margaret Muller, Artistic Director of Whispering River Orchestra with Composer Saman Shahi

Ron Zytaruck, Tiny Homes and Affordable Housing

Laura Blease, Seeds for Ecology

Mayor Ann MacDiarmid, Seguin

Kelli Ebbs, Muskoka North Good Food Coop

Wanda Davis, vendor (all vendors are also invited to join)

1:30 PM:

  • Composition Circle with Saman Shahi - Meet Saman Shahi, the composer of this weekend's premier! Try your hand at composing your own music or simply listen to a riveting discussion surrounding the composition of Shahi's piece, Suspended Doorways.

  • Songwriters Free-Jazz Jam with Brenda and Rick

3 PM:

  • Orchestral Workshop for Intermediate and Advanced Players - Play and prepare repertoire for Sunday's concert, including Suspended Doorways by Saman Shahi. Led by Brenda Margaret Muller and David McFadden.

 

Sept. 19th 

A 40 Year Garden

Drop In: 10 AM - 11 AM

Private lessons: 10 AM - 12 PM

Brenda Muller Headshots.png

Featuring

Sonia Klimasko             Brenda Margaret

   Muller

Violin/Viola                   Cello

and

Emma Vachon                    Terry Storr

      Violin/Viola                        Clarinet

Emily Sun          

Violin/Viola      

Emily Sun Headshot.png

Workshops for Beginners

9 AM: 

  • Creative Kayaking with Katja Mathys at Foley Matheson Beach 

10 AM - 11 AM:

  • Drop In Workshops for Beginners - Meet and greet a new instrument! Learn to play the violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, piano, or percussion. Instructed by Sonia Klimasko (violin & viola), Emily Sun (violin & viola), Emma Vachon (violin & viola), Brenda Margaret Muller (cello), and Terry Storr (clarinet & woodwinds). Limited to 10 minutes per person.

10:30 AM - 11 AM:

  • Music Moppets with Zach Louch

10 AM - 12 PM:

  • Private lessons - available with Sonia Klimasko, Emily Sun, Emma Vachon, Terry Storr, and Brenda Margaret Muller.

  • Drop In Mask Making and Arts & Crafts with Cassie Horley

For more information about our faculty, click here.

12 PM:

  • Creative Sustainability: Discussion Circle - exploring the relationship between businesses and art to create a sustainable future

Brenda Margaret Muller, Artistic Director of Whispering River Orchestra with composer Janet Danielson

Katherine Wheatley, Singer Songwriter

Carol Ann Weaver, Composer

Jana Skarecky, Artist & Composer

Marilyn Capreol, First Nations Elder

Wave Weir, Fashion Designer & Textile Artist

Mayor Ann MacDiarmid, Seguin

Kelli Ebbs, Muskoka North Good Food Coop

Wanda Davis, vendor (all vendors are also invited to join)

1 PM - 2:30 PM:

  • Poetry Workshop with Gwyneth Storr 

1:30 PM:

  • Composition Circle with Janet Danielson - Meet Janet Danielson, the composer of this weekend's premier! Try your hand at composing your own music or simply listen to a riveting discussion surrounding the composition of Danielson's piece, Frontlines.

  • Songwriting with Katherine Wheatley

  • Workshop on the Textile Mill Project with Wave Weir

3 PM:

  • Orchestral Workshop for Intermediate and Advanced Players - Play and prepare repertoire for Sunday's concert, including Frontlines by Janet Danielson. Led by Brenda Margaret Muller and David McFadden.

Sept. 26th 

Bert Weir Days

Workshops for Beginners

Drop In: 10 AM - 11 AM

Private lessons: 10 AM - 12 PM

Brenda Muller Headshots.png

Featuring

Sonia Klimasko             Brenda Margaret

   Muller

Violin/Viola                   Cello

and

Emma Vachon                    Terry Storr

      Violin/Viola                        Clarinet

Featuring

Katherine Wheatley

Terry & Ken Christienson

Brenda and Rick Capreol

The Ardeleana Trio (Spirit Essence)

The Usual Suspects

WRO Chamber Musicians

Marilyn Capreol

Inter-Arts Jam with

Composer & Artist Alan Torok

1:30 - 5:30 PM

9 AM: 

  • Creative Kayaking with Katja Mathys at Foley Matheson Beach 

10 AM - 11 AM:

  • Drop In Workshops for Beginners - Meet and greet a new instrument! Learn to play the violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, piano, or percussion. Instructed by Sonia Klimasko (violin & viola), Emma Vachon (violin & viola), Brenda Margaret Muller (cello), and Terry Storr (clarinet & woodwinds). Limited to 10 minutes per person.

10:30 AM - 11 AM:

  • Music Moppets with Zach Louch

10 AM - 12 PM:

  • Private lessons - available with Sonia Klimasko, Emma Vachon, Terry Storr, and Brenda Margaret Muller.

  • Drop In Mask Making and Arts & Crafts with Cassie Horley

For more information about our faculty, click here.

12 PM:

  • Sustaining Nature with Culture: Discussion Circle - exploring the relationship between businesses and art to create a sustainable future

Brenda Margaret Muller, Artistic Director of Whispering River Orchestra with Composer and Artist Alan Torok

Climate Action Parry Sound (CAPS)

Terry & Ken Christienson

The Weir Family Trust: Wave Weir & Joy Allan

Mayor Ann MacDiarmid, Seguin

Kelli Ebbs, Muskoka North Good Food Coop

Wanda Davis, vendor (all vendors are also invited to join)

For more information about the late artist Bert Weir, click here.

1:30 PM:

3 PM:

  • Orchestral Workshop for Intermediate and Advanced Players - Play and prepare repertoire for Sunday's concert, including Elgar, Mozart, and Britten. Led by Brenda Margaret Muller and David McFadden.

Clinics and Workshops to be led by the Riversongs Faculty. For more information about our faculty, please click below.

SUNDAY B.Y.O. PICNIC CONCERTS

Sept. 13th ● 3:00 PM

Local, Organic: A Sustainable Concert with the WRO

Opening and Closing Ceremony with Marilyn Capreol

J.S. Bach: Concerto in D minor for 2 Violins | Edvard Greig: Holberg Suite Traditional, Arr. Hopkins: Ash Grove | Traditional, Arr. Siennicki: Cripple Creek 

 

World Premier of Suspended Doorways by Saman Shahi (Riversongs Commission Award 2020)

Featuring violinists 

David McFadden & Christopher McFadden

Sept. 20th ● 3:00 PM

A Concert from the Garden with the WRO

Opening and Closing Ceremony with Marilyn Capreol

Traditional: Land of the Silver Birch

Kye Marshall*: Variations on a Canadian Folk Theme

Jana Skarecky*: Fantasy on J’entends le moulin

Patricia Morehead: Stolen Moments | Joanne Wu: Three songs by William Blake

Catherine Wheatley: Hallelujah (arr. Robert Morris) and Water Moves Me (arr. Brenda Muller)| Carol Ann Weaver: Parry Soundings

Traditional: Greensleeves | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty Waltz

Bing Crosby Arr. Carrie Lane Gruselle: Beautiful Dreamer

 

World Premier of Frontlines by Janet Danielson (Riversongs A.C.W.C Award 2020)

*Recipient of previous Riversongs Commission Awards

Sept. 27th ● 3:00 PM

Riversongs 2020 Closing Concert with the WRO

Opening and Closing Ceremony with Marilyn Capreol

Elgar: Serenade for Strings | Britten: Simple Symphony (1st movement) |

Selections from Mozart 

The Bert Weir Memorial Commission premiere (Alan Torok's Morning at the Bushwall is postponed until June, 20, 2021. Save the date!

*Note: To ensure audience safety, any music that involves performers travelling from the south or from Sudbury to the Parry Sound area has been reprogrammed. 

 

**Please wear a mask and come and enjoy our local community orchestra.

MEET OUR COMPOSERS

Saman Shahi

Riversongs Commission Award Winner 2020

Janet Danielson

Riversongs A.C.W.C. Award Winner 2020

Alan Torok

Bert Weir Commission Award Winner 2020

For more information about our composers, click below.

PRICING

LOCAL, ORGANIC // A 40 YEAR GARDEN

Coffee House $5 | Saturday Workshops $25 ($10 on Vimeo)   

Sunday Concert $20 ($10 on Vimeo) | Weekend Spectacular Bundle* $40 ($20 on Vimeo)

Early Bird Tickets $30 

Early Bird Sales end on Sept. 4th at 11:59 PM

BERT WEIR DAYS

Coffee House $5 | Saturday Workshops $27 ($10 on Vimeo)    

Sunday Concert $22 ($10 on Vimeo) | Weekend Spectacular Bundle* $45 ($22 on Vimeo)

Early Bird Tickets $30 

Early Bird Sales end on Sept. 4th at 11:59 PM

FULL ACCESS PASS

Access to all events on all weekends for $110 ($55 on Vimeo)

Early Bird Pricing Unavailable.

* Weekend Bundle includes access to Coffee House, Saturday and Sunday events

"Pay what you can" options available.

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