News From Our CBSO Musicians
Grandma Mornings Having little ones under foot all day put many of our parents at risk of not being able to get their own work done while working from home. Mary Kay Winter came to the rescue by offering musical mornings for her three granddaughters. First up was Lisa Riciutti who demonstrated the grumpy grandfather in Peter and the Wolf on her bassoon. The girls were suitably impressed by the velvet tones of her bassoon. Next up was Christine Fong who played her flirtatious flute imitating the birds of the forest from the famous Prokofiev piece. Christine, who is used to teaching tepid teenagers, found the enthusiasm and interest of the young ladies quite delightful and refreshing. Who will be next on the Grandma stage?
Mental Health with Mary Thomson
Mary Thomson, our esteemed colleague in the percussion section is a Registered Psychotherapist and Social Worker. She has put together a Youtube video called, “Coping With COVID- 19 Anxiety” as part of a series of free public Mental Health talks. She had this to say about the on-going crisis: “These are challenging times. The ongoing sense of uncertainty and insecurity caused by COVID- 19 is having a big impact on our mental health, which is an important part of our overall health. I want to help people avoid making things worse for themselves and their families. People who are looking for an in-depth resource to help them understand and overcome their anxiety around COVID- 19 can view my 55- minute video on YouTube. In the video I distill my knowledge and experience from 30 years of helping people cope with and at times even overcome their anxiety and self-defeating behaviours.” Please follow the link below to see and hear Mary on YouTube! Thank you, Mary! https://youtu.be/XDTe8d0np88
Music News
Allan Shantz and friends have been playing string quartets in Dave Colpitts’ back yard for several weeks now. David Rodrigo has been playing cello and Lynda Bush joined them on violin. Allan says that playing outdoors can be a bit of a challenge when there is less resonance. They have tried different configurations and discovered that playing on the patio stones and near a wall made the sound carry better. Things fell apart, somewhat, when a neighbour decided to cut their lawn with a noisy lawnmower next door! Allan and his wife Mairy have also been entertaining their neighbours from his front porch. He said that they sat on the top steps facing the street and noticed that people began to congregate to enjoy the music. They played a sonata for cello and keyboard and some of the Bach suites for unaccompanied cello. Several children played touch tag in the street with long sticks in order to maintain social distancing during the concert. Hopefully Allan and friends will be able to continue, despite the sticky weather.
Your Support is Greatly Appreciated!
We are extremely grateful to you for your dedication and support as we all navigate through this difficult situation. Cathedral Bluffs, as with other arts organizations in Toronto, is facing unprecedented financial challenges due to the effects of COVID-19. We respectfully ask you to consider making a donation which would provide urgently needed support to our organization to weather the current storm. The orchestra is a registered non-profit charitable organization and provides tax receipts for donations of any amount (Charity # 89036 4573 RR0001).
Thank you for your support!
Click on the CanadaHelps.org logo below to be redirected to the orchestra’s Canada Helps page, where you can make a one-time or recurring donation via credit card.
