PRESENTS
I was born in 1953. I grew up in Lynn Valley, British Columbia in North Vancouver, in a musical family; my mother and father were singers and musicians. From my earliest memories, a musician was the thing to be in our family. Some families valued professions like doctors, lawyers, engineers. But our family valued musicians...
I started Orff lessons as a pre-schooler. Piano lessons from age 6 to 12. Then studied French horn for eight years. Sang folk and jazz songs always. In 1975 four things happened: I moved to Cortes Island, gave birth to my son, acquired my chromatically-fretted dulcimer and started writing songs. I’ve been performing and songwriting professionally ever since. My musical path has been wonderfully diverse, intense, rewarding, frustrating and life-expanding. This past year I’ve wanted to sing some songs that are milestones for me. I love them deeply, but don’t often get the opportunity to share them. Here they are, with their stories.
Ask the Boatman - In May 1998, I got on a water taxi on Stuart Island with my late husband, Stephen Foster. We asked the skipper to take us one last time through the Arran Rapids. We rocketed along on a flood tide of the icy green waters in the narrow channel. On shore I saw a candelabra of dozens and dozens of white-headed bald eagles sitting in the dark green trees...
White Rock Pass - As you travel north up the Salish Sea, past Campbell River and through Johnston Straits… the coast is riddled with these deep inlets. Bute Inlet, Kingcome Inlet, Rivers Inlet, Knight Inlet are all long mountain fjords that stretch up to the north east, bordered by steep mountains. In the winter the cold Arctic air drops down to the south and whistles down the inlets. The icy outflow winds can be hurricane force
at times....
3 Minute Culture - It’s 1990. The Mulroney government has announced funding support for The Green Plan. The Artist Response Team has conceived of a project called EcoFest ’91. A national broadcast campaign that will involve artists from coast to coast to coast singing songs about the Earth and delivering PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) via radio and television. We’ve gathered together a library of Letters of Support from the likes of BC Premier Bill VanderZalm, Scientist David Suzuki and many, many more illustrious folks. Environment Canada had committed $50,000 to this project that will ultimately see more than $3.75 million raised in cash and in-kind support. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and artists including Bruce Cockburn, Sue Medley, Mitsou and Barney Bentall, along with 50 others had signed on.