ACWC 40th Anniversary
Summary of Events
In 2021, the ACWC/ACC celebrated 40 years since its inception in 1981. This was a time to look back to the past as well as look to the future of the organization and of the music of Canadian women. Many events and activities were planned, check them out below.
Concerts and Events
From This Place: A series of short videos portraying compositions inspired by and dedicated to the place where we live
Members of the Salish Sea Chapter (Vancouver Island), have created music videos to celebrate and honour where they live. Three of the videos are available now. Click below to find links to the videos, to read more about this project and each of the videos.
Ann Southam's Piano Music - Amelia Yates, piano - Lecture/RecitalMonday, Dec. 13 at 8:00 pm EST by Zoom
ACWC member, pianist Amelia Yates presents a lecture/recital, "Ann Southam’s Solo Piano Music - A Performance Guide" on Monday, December 13 at 8:00 pm, EST by Zoom. This lecture/recital is both a performance as well as a summary of Dr. Yates’s research, including an overview of Southam’s wide-ranging music for solo piano. Ann Southam (1937-2010) is one of Canada’s greatest contemporary composers. Best-known for her minimalist music, she composed twelve-tone, minimalist, jazz, and electroacoustic music for a variety of mediums including orchestral, chamber, and solo instrument. A significant portion of her creative output is for solo piano and this presentation demonstrates her wide-ranging approach to composition while also focusing on her minimalist music. It promotes Southam’s music and emphasizes her significance as a contemporary Canadian composer.
Good Hearted Women Singers at Sound in the Land 2014, by Alan Morgan
ACWC Panel • Indigenous Song – Healing, Reconciliation, Partnership
Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 8:00 pm EST by Zoom
Jean Becker — Inuk, founder of Goodhearted Women singing/drumming group, Senior Director, Indigenous Initiatives at University of Waterloo with tribute: Woman of the Drum: A Tribute to Jean Becker and Mino Ode Kwewak N’gamowak – The New Quarterly Digital Edition
Kelly Laurila — Sámi, song-keeper & member of Goodhearted Women, PhD, Lecturer, Renison/UWaterloo, School of Social Work
Beverley McKiver — Anishinaabe, ACWC composer, composer, pianist, educator, website here.
Karen Sunabacka — Métis, ACWC composer, Associate Professor, Conrad Grebel/UWaterloo, website here.
“Building Up” virtual concert in partnership with the CMC, Oct. 7, 2021
As part of our 40th anniversary events, the ACWC/ACC in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre Ontario division presented “Building Up”—a virtual concert celebrating women and gender non-conforming composers and performers supporting each other through their creative practices, featuring ACWC composers Catherine Bevan, Rebekah Cummings, Sophie Dupuis, Heather Hindman, and Cleo Palacio-Quintin, as well as composers Monique Jean, Naomi McCarroll-Butler, Roxanne Nesbitt. Performers: Amanda Lowry (flute), Naomi McCarroll-Butler (bass clarinet/alto saxophone), Yang Chen (percussion), and Cecilia Lee + Stephanie Orlando (piano).
Augmented Trio Promotions presents “Afterglow”
As part of Augmented Trio Promotion’s, August Tunes of Passion concert series, the ensemble ‘on the hat, will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ACWC/ACC in their streamed concert Afterglow.
The concert includes works by members Leila Lustig, Sylvia Rickard, Christie Morrison and Diane Berry and will be coming from beautiful Triangle Mountain, in Victoria. On the ‘hat, consists of Marnie Setka-Mooney, soprano, Diane Berry, flute, and Kathryn Le Gros, piano, and they have often included works by local, women composers in their eclectic mix of musical genres.The concert was streamed on
Saturday, August 28th, at 7:00 pm (PDT) and is now available to watch.
SHHH!!! Ensemble ACWC 40th Anniversary Concert, April 24, 2021
April 24 @ 9:00 pm at 10:30 pm
An ACWC Anniversary special event concert presented music by ACWC composers Patricia Morehead and Monica Pearce,
Hell in a Handbasket to Heaven on Earth: Music by Atlantic / Canadian Women Composers
March 8, 2021, streamed online • Performed by concert pianist Jennifer King.
"Muses Today" – Women in Music Festival, May 22, 2021, Moscow, Russia - An International Panel
This International Panel with Carol Ann Weaver, Janet Danielson and Bekah Simms, along with German archivist Mary Ellen Kitchens (a Board Member of Internationaler Arbeitskreis Frau und Musik/Archiv Frau und Musik, with her presentation, "Closing the Gender Gap in Music: Advocacy for Women in Music at the Archiv Frau und Musik (Frankfurt)," as well as French and Russian contributors, focused on women’s musical work internationally. The fest, organized by Anastasia Koshkina, also invited the Canadian ambassador to Russia to address the panel.
Soundscapes and More Panel
Saturday, May 15, 2021 featured soundscape/electronic composers, Hildegard Westerkamp, Tina Pearson and Carol Ann Weaver.
Hildegard Westerkamp is well known for her works that bring in the acoustic environment, while Tina Pearson is an innovative composer whose work often focuses on breath, attention states and altered performance practice. Carol Ann Weaver is a board member for CASE (Canadian Association for Sound Ecology) and composes using environmental sounds and field recordings. This panel is a part of the ACWC/ACC’s 40th anniversary celebrations. Listen to this panel
ACWC Panel • “Beginnings"
A panel discussion of the history of the ACWC/ACC, Feb. 27, 2021
With founder Caroline Lomax, previous Chair Elma Miller and pianist/associate member Elaine Keillor, hosted by Emily Hiemstra.
ACWC Anniversary Playlists
We're celebrating music from ACWC members all year long! You can find all the ACWC Anniversary Playlists below.
Stories from ACWC Members
Interview with Brenda Muller by Patricia Morehead
Interview with Sylvia Rickard by Patricia Morehead
Did You Know?
Check out the full year’s list of “Did You Know” segments featuring earlier Canadian women composers.
