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This concert, held as a benefit by Zerf Productions in order to raise money to help the poor children of Africa in their fight agains AIDS, was originally scheduled for mid-December, but was cancelled and postponed because of a massive snowstorm in the Montreal area. It turned out for the better. Gathering to hear and sing Christmas music was the perfect tonic for a bleak, post-Christmas mid-January. The concert was dedicated to the memory of the Reverend Dr. Jan Dijkman, president of Zerf Productions, who passed away the very morning of the concert.
| Wilhelmina Fredericks, of Zerf Productions | ||
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| Concert Publicity | ||
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| Stille Nag Programme | ||
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| Price of Entry: Donation for The Food Bank | Wilhelmina at the door, with Jennifer & Crystal Hooper |
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| Thomas Leslie | Vivianne Deane Trio: Vivianne Deane with Nancy Hinckson &Deborah Burrowes |
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| The Raging Grannies | The Sweet Adeline’s Octet |
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| Chelsea | Local recording artists: David Bloomer and Gil Hymer |
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 See below for information on obtaining the CD |
The church was nearly filled to capacity. The Bach organ prelude played by Thomas Leslie got the ball rolling. St. Ansgar’s church Pastor Samuel King-Kabu, the host of the evening, bid everyone welcome with an invitation to sit back and enjoy the musical offerings of the evening.
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First on the program were two selections by St. Ansgar’s Bell Choir under the direction of Thomas Leslie followed by a rousing rendition of Once in Royal David’s City sung by the congregation and led by Vivienne Deane with organ accompaniment by Thomas Leslie.
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Kenika Martinez read the story of Silent Night followed by a lovely rendition of the carol by young Chelsea, accompanied on the piano by Vivienne Deane. The Raging Grannies followed with some original songs and read stories written by grandmothers in Africa who were raising their own grandchildren, the parents of the children having died of AIDS.
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Vivienne Deane’s trio entertained us with two Christmas carols and two songs written by Deane and dedicated to Reverend Dr. Jan Dijkman, who had passed away that very morning after a short illness. The trio’s close vocal harmony and strong voices of Nancy Hinckson and Deborah Burrowes, supplemented Deane, who doubled as lead singer and piano accompanist.
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Next, the audience sang Go Tell it on the Mountain, directed by Deane followed by several selections by a wind trio, with Philip Cumyn on flute, Irene Lipper on bassoon and Linda Tae at the piano. A women’s barbershop ‘octet’ (actually a septet, as one member of the group was absent) followed with members of Sweet Adeline International singing in 4-part harmony, a capella, of course.
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| Dr. Dijkman addresses Stille Nag in 2003 |
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The message, written by Dr. Jan Dijkman when he first fell ill was read by Pastor Samuel King-Kabu. Dr. Dijkman was the president of Zerf Productions until his death. He had been involved in the community for many years preaching awareness of HIV/AIDS here and in Africa. A native of South Africa, he was well informed and aware of the devastation visited upon the African countries by the AIDS epidemic. His passing leaves a big void.
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Following the message, Thomas Leslie sang O Holy Night, with his lyrical tenor voice, accompanied by Linda Tae while the Raging Grannies collected the donations from the audience to support the work of Zerf. Quite an amount was collected from the people present, an amount expected to rise as more donations are mailed in.
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The Sweet Adeline’s octet returned with some more songs. You could tell they were enjoying themselves, and it was contagious. They finished off with a very funny rendition of The Twelve Days after Christmas that had everyone laughing aloud. Dan Delaney sang a couple of songs with piano accompaniment and then the audience was once again asked to participate by singing Silent Night, directed, once more, by Vivienne Deane.
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Before St. Ansgar’s Bell Choir returned to finish with two more carols, Wilhelmina Fredericks came to the lectern to tell us about her experiences when bringing medicines to Africa. A key item now is getting enough of the new rapid test kits to test African children for HIV. Wilhelmina related that while testing 150 children in one hospital in Tanzania, only 15 children were found to have the virus. The funds collected at the concert will go a long way towards helping purchase medicines and test kits for the ongoing work of Zerf and Wilhelmina Fredericks.
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The concert, which originally had been scheduled for December 16 2007, was cancelled due to a big snowstorm. It was rescheduled for January 20 with the same program. It seemed like everyone enjoyed the evening and the Christmas music, perhaps even more so at this time when the pre-Christmas rush was over.
The concert was recorded by local recording artists David Bloomer and Gil Hymer. CDs are available by calling St. Ansgar’s church office at 514-486-5404. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this exciting concert with talent, food for the NDG Food Bank and last, but not least, monetary donations to Zerf.
Jette Blair
Stille Nag Concert CD Available | ||
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| The CD Costs $15. St. Ansgar's has five copies left. Talk to Jette or call 514-486-5404 for details. | ||