[Ken Gray] As I continue my own healing and reconciliation journey both in church and in community I was so pleased to stumble across a Facebook post from critically acclaimed and award-winning mezzo-soprano Marian Newman. As I preside today at an Anglican service here in Summerland honouring Indigenous Peoples Day I will share some of... Continue Reading →
Author, composer and professor Fr. Michael Joncas holding a June 2024 letter from former U.S. president Joe Biden by the bookcase where he framed and displayed the original 1976 score of "On Eagle's Wings," in his apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota, May 2026. (NCR photo/Camillo Barone) by Camillo Barone, NCR staff reporter By the mid-1970s, Fr.... Continue Reading →
Organist Mark McDonald stands below Christ Church Cathedralโs organ, Canadaโs largest pipe organ west of the Rockies. (Olivier Laurin/Victoria News) Published 9:00 am Wednesday, May 27, 2026 by Olivier Laurin Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once called the pipe organ โthe king of instruments.โ Considered by many to be a marvel of music and engineering, the pipe... Continue Reading →
Notes by Ken Gray: I am Looking forward to Sundayโs Pentecost service shared between St. Stephenโs Anglican Church and Summerland United Church. We share costs and facilities between us at our historic 1910 location in downtown Summerland. Now a few years into a very special relationship between our congregations, we occasionally gather together for shared... Continue Reading →
I have a long relationship with the Requiem by French composer Gabriel Faure. Unlike the bombastic operatic showpiece by Verdi, the intensely dramatic rendering by Mozart, or the massive work by Benjamin Britten, Faureโs Requiem is intimate, melodic, of small scale, and sublime. It whispers, though never shouts. Surely we all want to drift off... Continue Reading →
First published on Facebook [Phil Dwyer] When I was a youngster, my parents attended many local dances, and I heard repeatedly about how great a dance band Bill Cave and "The Cavemen" was. When I was in grade 7, Bill took over the music program at what was then Qualicum Middle School. From day one,... Continue Reading →
"The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band embodies defiant beauty." - San Francisco Classical Voice "Julia Keefe came on with her big band and completely blew the roof off of the venueโฆ" - Aisha Ahmad-Post, Newman Center for the Performing Arts Band Statement: Indigenous jazz musicians, ensembles, and big bands have their place in the contemporary... Continue Reading →
Once again, another Jazz Vespers service looms large. Information is on the poster, but allow me to add: Justin Glibbery on pianoStefan Bienz on bassLoni Moger on guitarEric Manuel on drums The announced theme is Joyspring, (I don't expect this to be played as we don't have a trumpeter on this gig), but you never... Continue Reading →
From Anna Lapwood / Marnie Giesbracht, and others Sadly, plans have been made at the highest levels of the University of Alberta, Canada to remove the 1978 Casavant Memorial Organ from Convocation Hall in the Old Arts Building. These plans were confirmed when Joachim and I (Marnie Giesbrecht) met with Dean of Arts, Robert Wood... Continue Reading →
Thirty years is a long time. In a culture that values immediacy over and above consistency and longevity, the long-haul commitment to art and to community seems increasingly rare. Until you discover Musaic Vocal Ensemble. Thirty years ago as an Anglican priest, I was the Rector of St. Stephen Anglican Church in Summerland. Early in... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 