Leslie Dawn Knowles

My wonderful husband

Is a big part of my inspiration for all I do.

AMAZING GRACE

Is a tune that seems to especially get to our audiences whenever and wherever we play it ....

I've found that most of us develop "relationships",  for lack of a better word, with the music we hear or play. Often we will find that every time we play or sing specific music, the same memories and associations will return again and again. Generally these are our early or first impressions and tend to stay with us regardless of how many times we have revisited that particular work. Up until a few years ago, my "relationship" with Amazing Grace was that it as an old standard played on bagpipes with a lot of ceremony. But things changed for me regarding it several years ago when I was teaching at  my first fiddle camp for Strings Across the Sky. We choose the music we use for teaching in part by asking the students what they are interested in playing. I was expecting that being mostly children, they would pick the happy and lively tunes such as Old Joe Clark, Whiskey Before Breakfast,etc. They did indeed choose those but I was surprised that more than a few of them also wanted to learn to play "Amazing Grace".  It just didn't seem to me like the kind of tune that would appeal to a child.

After the class I decided to ask  them why everyone was so interested in that particular song. A little boy about seven years old looked up at me with his beautiful brown eyes and told me it was because there were many funerals to attend in the community, they thought that it would be nice to be able to play it for the grieving families and friends.

 
Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather hearing that and I honestly thought my heart would break in two.  Needless to say since then on I certainly haven't thought of bagpipes when Amazing Grace comes to mind.  Playing it  is always my prayer, if you will, that things will get better, and those kids will  have more occasions to play the happy songs they learn for their communities. I know for a fact that the Strings Across the Sky programme makes a very positive contribution wherever it is and I urge folks to please support Andrea Hansen and her wonderful work there. And please do remember in your prayers or good thoughts those children and their communities.

 

Ensemble La Rota

What a great world we live in with new discoveries waiting at every turn!

I recently attended a lunchtime performance featuring this group at Trinity Church in downtown Toronto. I sat spellbound from start to finish, completely carried away by the whole concert. These folks are a wonderful young group from Montreal specializing in Medieval music, which is unlike anything most of us are used to hearing. Words like ethereal, calm, beautiful and pure come to mind. I so enjoyed watching and listening to these gifted musicians  skilfully and effortlesly weave a beautiful tapestry of sight and sound. Individually they are all absolutely first rate and as a group they have that rare gift of being able to merge as one. This lovely old church provided a perfect backdrop as a calm oasis in the midst of the busy city life which rushes along all around it. What these gifted young artists did was to take that  atmosphere and complete the transformation to what must surely be pretty close to heaven.

I anxiously await their return and imminent release of their CD, and urge you to enjoy them for yourself. In the meantime please treat yourself to a visit to their website

Ensemblelarota.com

and have a listen at http://www.myspace.com/ensemblelarota