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Winnipeg has been “Made From What’s Real,” “One Great City” and “the Heart of the Continent.”
An unofficial new brand, “City of Song,” aims to strike a memorable note among Winnipeggers and city arts groups that place vocals at the heart of their performances.
The campaign and year-long slate of local music performances is part of the Winnipeg 150 celebrations and the Winnipeg Arts Council aims to do far more than belt out Happy Birthday.
Quick spins
● Faouzia’s latest collaboration pairs the Manitoba pop singer with two of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
She’s a co-writer of the track Beg Forgiveness, by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign. It appears on the album Vultures 1, which came out Feb. 10 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200.
● Faouzia’s latest collaboration pairs the Manitoba pop singer with two of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
She’s a co-writer of the track Beg Forgiveness, by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign. It appears on the album Vultures 1, which came out Feb. 10 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200.
“I grew up listening to Ye and dissecting his masterful melodies and production, so this process has been beyond my wildest dreams. So grateful to have been brought on,” Faouzia posted on Instagram.
Musical collaborations have played a big part in Faouzia’s rise to fame since 2020. Her biggest hit, Minefields, is a 2022 duet with pop giant John Legend, and she features on the dance track On My Way, which electronic-music duo Sidepiece released in October.
Hype is building on social media for a Faouzia album in 2024 and the imminent release of a new single, Fur Elise.
● Seven Manitoba acts are on the bill this weekend for the second annual Winter Blues Fest at the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club.
Debra Lyn Neufeld, the Perpetrators and DB and the Deadbeats take the stage Friday, beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday’s show starts at 7 p.m. with Chris Ghidoni, Blue Noise, Little Miss Higgins and Son of Dave.
Weekend passes are $38.55 at eventbrite.ca, with one-night tickets for either Friday or Saturday selling for $28.25.
● Finally, an observation from the Ernest Monias concert last Sunday at the Burt. The show and honouring ceremony, which brought artists from across Canada and dignitaries and fans from northern Manitoba, must have been a challenge to arrange, but it would be cool if it were to grow into a regular event that celebrates other Indigenous artists in Manitoba who have contributed so much to the province’s cultural fabric.
City of Song was born from a brainstorming session that set three goals that would create an anniversary project while bolstering the city’s struggling arts groups, both large and small.
”First of all, (we want to) involve as many people as possible,” says Carol Phillips, the arts council’s executive director. “Secondly, give us a concept and argument that we could go to other funders for because we didn’t have much in-house money to do anything.
“Thirdly, (it) would bring some investment into the arts community in Winnipeg.”
Phillips estimates the arts council will raise about $450,000 for City of Song, mostly from grants from the provincial and federal governments.
Some organizations and concerts are naturals for the singing celebration. The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has already been a part of the event with concerts held during the Winnipeg New Music Festival, and several more City of Song concerts are planned for the rest of 2024.
Winnipeg’s choral groups shift into high gear in the late winter and spring; the Manitoba Choral Association has partnered with the arts council to include many of its shows under the City of Song umbrella, which can be viewed at cityofsong.ca.
Canstar Community News The Winnipeg Music Festival is one of the events under the City of Song umbrella.
They include the Intercultural Choral Festival (March 16, Bethel Mennonite Church) and the Winnipeg Baroque Festival (April 14-21), which will include performances by professional companies Canzona and Dead of Winter, among others.
“It’s such a great strength here in Winnipeg. Choral singing in this city is truly magnificent, both at the professional and community level,” Phillips says.
Dead of Winter, the city vocal ensemble that re-imagines performance with a blend of new work and early choral pieces, brings together musical traditions from South Asia and First Nations for a concert Saturday at the Ukrainian Labour Temple (591 Pritchard Ave.).
AARON VINCENT ELKAIM PHOTO Andrew Balfour’s Transformation pairs the Dead of Winter Cree artistic director (above) with Toronto composer-
performer Hussein Janmohamed.
Andrew Balfour’s Transformation brings together the Dead of Winter’s Cree artistic director and resident composer with Hussein Janmohamed, a composer-performer from Toronto who draws musical inspiration from his Ismaili Muslim background, as well as Swahili, Persian and Hindustani cultures, and Sherryl Sewepagaham, a Cree-Dene composer from Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta.
Also on the City of Song schedule is the 105-year-old Winnipeg Music Festival, which takes singers and musicians of all ages to venues across the city (Feb. 26 to March 17) and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of Carmina Burana, which runs April 25-28 at the Centennial Concert Hall.
“It has so many choirs and solo voices along with the dance,” Phillips says.
City of Song is also reaching out to people who have a song in their hearts, even if their voices are best left in the shower.
For instance, the program launched Jan. 28 with an audience-singalong show of Carole King tunes that included the cast of Beautiful, the jukebox musical production at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s John Hirsch Mainstage.
Ben Symons photo While City of Song highlights plenty of professional acts, music fans are also welcome, such as the audience singalong of Carole King tunes with cast members of the show Beautiful.
”We’ll be creating some surprise events, pop-up events. We envision pub singing, sing along with the movies. All sorts of opportunities,” Phillips says.
“Although we do want to see it as a way to invest additional funds in the arts community, the purpose is to involve as many people as possible.”
Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com
X: @AlanDSmall
Alan Small
Reporter
Alan Small has been a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the latest being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.
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