Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to return to Brandon

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This article was published 19/10/2022 (1075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time in more than two years, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is returning to Brandon and it is doing so with an emotional composition that captures the transition Alzheimer’s patients face due to memory loss.

It was Konektis choral conductor Michelle Chyzyk of Virden who brought the orchestra back to Brandon. She said that during the COVID-19 pandemic she had been in search of meaningful music and came across “Shadow and Light, An Alzheimer’s Journey.” Chyzyk said she connected with the piece as her mother has Alzheimer’s.

“It captivated me,” Chyzyk said in an interview with the Sun on Tuesday. “The topic is something that so many people in our world are dealing with.”

Chyzyk contacted the composer to find out if there was a piano score for “Shadow and Light” because, as she lightheartedly puts it, she doesn’t “have an orchestra in her pocket.” The composer told her no, it has to be done with an orchestra.

“I decided to phone up the Winnipeg Symphony and say, ‘Hey, I have a great idea,’ and they agreed,” Chyzyk said.

After many meetings, discussions and organizing, the orchestra will perform “Shadow and Light” at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium Oct. 30. The performance will feature Konektis and include other local choirs: the Brandon University Concert Choir, Mecca Community Choir, Prairie Blend and Strathclair Theatre Chorus.

Konektis and the local groups will join as a mass choir that will perform two opening numbers.

“It’s really going to be a very special event,” Chyzyk said, adding that her sister, who is the main caregiver for their mother, will sit with her for the performance.

“Shadow and Light” is a work of 16 movements that captures the change to a person caused by memory loss. It’s based on the composer’s research of medical and personal aspects of Alzheimer’s that included interviews with caregivers, people affected by dementia and their loved ones. The piece makes use of quotes from patients and their loved ones, poetry, hymn text and the composer’s own words.

“There’s a lot of tough moments in the work that feel very painful, but it really ends on a happy and loving, magical note as the journey progresses,” Chyzyk said.

WSO associate director of education and community Brent Johnson noted that the Brandon performance will be the Canadian premiere of “Shadow and Light.”

“That’s exciting for us,” Johnson said. “Any time that we can present contemporary work, it’s pretty cool. To be able to premiere it in Brandon, we’re excited about as well.”

Johnson said the subject matter is one that many people feel a connection with. His own grandmother is currently going through dementia, he shared.

Each of the soloists who will perform — Clint McLachlan, Hailey Witt and Naomi Forman — have a Westman connection. Forman is a former professor of Brandon University’s School of Music, and McLachlan and Witt are both former students of the school who earned their undergrad degrees there. McLachlan is also a music teacher at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, Chyzyk said.

Former CKX “The Noon Show” host Karen Chrest will be the narrator for the performance.

Johnson said it was important to include as many performers from the Westman area as possible.

“Choirs in particular have been so severely limited, restricted, hampered throughout COVID,” Johnson said. “I think for a lot of them, this is a return as well, and we wanted to facilitate an opportunity to share their joy with everyone.”

» ihitchen@brandonsun.com