For the first time ever, Public Energy and the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) have come together to create an original dance and music performance for Canada 150 celebrations in downtown Peterborough on Thursday, June 29th.
The live performance, entitled “Between the Water and the Sky”, recognizes and celebrates the contributions of indigenous culture to Canada. Along with the music performed by the PSO String Quartet, the performance features vocals by Unity and a dance performance by Jade Willoughby.
Unity is a four-woman indigenous a cappella group formed in Peterborough in 2006 by Barb Rivett, Joeann Argue, Brenda Maracle-O’Toole, and Heather Shpuniarsky. Since its inception, Unity has performed at a wide variety of venues.
They performed as special guests for the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Legal Defense Fund, sharing the bill with Bruce Cockburn and Susan Aglukark among others. They were the featured performers at the Anishnaabemowin Teg Language Conference in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2010. Each year they perform the Honour Song for the convocations at Trent University, and are known as the Trent University “house band” as they perform at many at major Trent events.
In “Between the Water and the Sky”, Unity will be performing “The Medicine Song” and “Ghost Dancer”.
Jade Willoughby is a Northern woodlands Ojibwe of Caribbean/Anglo descent. She was born in Thunder Bay and raised in Wygamig just outside of the reserve settlement of Whitesand First Nation. Willoughby is an international model and speaker who is currently currently exploring movement in response to sound, as a part of her journey to reclaim Anishinaabemowin, her linguistic and cultural heritage.
In “Between the Water and the Sky”, Willoughby will be performing a new solo dance composition.
The musical collaboration was composed by nationally renowned composer Christine Donkin, who was previously commissioned by the PSO and The Canadian Canoe Museum to create a new work, Canoe Legends, in honour of the organizations’ respective 50th and 20th anniversaries. It has been adapted for a chamber string quartet.
Made possible by the Community Fund for Canada 150 (a collaboration between the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, Community Foundations of Canada, and the Government of Canada) and sponsored by the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, “Between the Water and the Sky” will have its debut performance at 12 p.m. at Millennium Park on Thursday, June 29th. There will be two additional performances on June 29th, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., in front of Peterborough City Hall.
All the Canada 150 celebrations over four days in Peterborough are free. Some events are subject to last-minute changes, and other events are weather dependent. For more information and for last-minute updates on Peterborough’s Canada 150th celebration schedule, visit www.peterborough.ca/ptbo150, www.facebook.com/PTBO150, or @Ptbo150, and search for the hashtag #Ptbo150 on social media.
