Premiere performance of “The Three Sisters”
February 24, 2009 at 7:30pm
A Tip of the White Hat
The Calgary Stampede Showband takes a bow at the Rozsa Centre, University of Calgary.
“It’s a Calgary tradition,” said Dwayne Engh, Director of the Calgary Stampede Showband, as he presented white Stetson hats to Ottawa composer Dr. Kelly-Marie Murphy and Victoria author Rosalee van Stelten.
The occasion was the world premiere performance of “The Three Sisters,” a concert piece for wind band and narrator, at the 2009 Calgary International Band Festival. The work, about three iconic mountains in Canmore, Alberta had just been given an electrifying rendition by the Calgary Stampede Showband, an ensemble of 135 talented young musicians.
The two creators donned their symbolic head gear amid thunderous applause from a packed house at Calgary’s Rozsa Centre.
The poem appears in Van Stelten’s book, Pattern of Genes, published by Frontenac House.
Author Rosalee van Stelten (left) and Dr. Kelly-Marie Murphy.
Photo credits: Shirley Lavoy
Location
Eckhardt-Gramatté Concert Hall, Rozsa Centre, University of Calgary
