Love and Longing
Music of and for the heart
Sunday, May 4, 2025 | 3:00pm
Knox United Church
Program Notes
Love and longing are often very much intertwined. Loving someone and longing for someone are similar but there is a sense of yearning to the latter. Sometimes this longing is a result of unrequited love or because of distance. The pieces on this concert look at both of these emotions. One can cry for joy but also cry out of longing for someone, of missing someone. Music can soothe the heart but also speak from the heart.
James Hawn, Artistic Director
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If Music Be the Food of Love is the first line in a poem written by Henry Heveningham. Many will be familiar with those words, but few will have heard of their author. The words immediately following those title words are “sing on till I am filled with joy.” David C. Dickau has taken this poem and written a piece in a very romantic style that allows for flexibility with tempo and dynamics. The piece also allows for a full palate of tonal colours in response to the text. The piece is clearly divided into sections that allow for this flexibility but opens and closes with the same musical statement.
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Tyrell Hardlotte, oboe
The Scottish poet Robert Burns is a familiar name to most everyone. James Quitman Mulholland has taken four poems by Burns and set them for mixed chorus and piano and entitled this grouping Four Robert Burns Ballads. The first of these is A Red, Red, Rose, probably one of Burns’ most famous poems. This is a gentle, sensitive, almost folk-like arrangement that combines in equal parts urgency and tenderness. Green Grow the Rashes, O! is a heartfelt Scottish poem celebrating love and the joy of life with lasses – a timeless ode to nature and romance. The piece alternates between slow legato passages and energetic sections beginning with the words “lasses, O.” Mulholland makes use of duple sections throughout the piece which is written in 6/8 throughout. The third piece in the set is The Banks o’Doon (often called Ye Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon) and has an optional oboe obligato. The poem “looks at the natural world while one is full of worries and cares because one’s love has been untrue. The natural world continues to be fair and carefree, the birds singing merrily, but the speaker is full of woe.” Mulholland’s setting is slow and solemn to express the speaker’s sadness about his “fause luver.” The last piece in the set is Highland Mary which Mulholland has set to a dance-like tune which varies in tempo to match the lyrics. The piano keeps up a constant driving rhythm. Burns’ poem is dedicated to Mary Campbell with whom he was in love. He speaks of his affection for her, the melancholy of her death, and his continued memory of her.
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Down By the Salley Gardens is a poem by William Butler Yeats and set to music and reproduced with the permission of Michael B. Yeats. The composer is David Mooney who was born in Sligo, Ireland. He has taken a traditional Irish melody and arranged it into this piece. A “salley garden” is really a garden of willow trees. This simple poem describes a speaker’s past relationship and how it failed. Mooney’s setting is also simple with the sopranos having the tune for verse one and the tenors for verse two.
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Wagner Barbosa, violin
Tanya Bergen, sopranoEric Whitacre writes that “in the spring of 1996, my great friend and brilliant violinist Friedemann Eichhorn invited me and my girl-friend-at-the-time Hila Plitmann (a soprano) to give a concert with him in his home city of Speyer. ‘Friedy’ asked me to write a set of troubadour songs for piano, violin, and soprano. I asked Hila (who was born and raised in Jerusalem) to write me a few postcards in her native tongue, and a few days later she presented me with these exquisite and delicate Hebrew poems. I set them while we vacationed in a small skiing village in the Swiss Alps.” Subsequently, Whitacre made several different arrangements of Five Hebrew Love Songs and the one we will perform is for SATB choir, piano, and violin. The first of the five (Temuná – A picture) is an introspective piece for sopranos and altos. “Kalá kallá – Light bride,” says Whitacre, is “a pun that I came up with while she was teaching me Hebrew.” It alternates between slow legato passages and very spirited dance-like passages. Lárov - Mostly is once again slower. “Mostly” said the roof to the sky, “the distance between you and I is endlessness; but a while ago two came up here, and only one centimeter was left between us.” The beginning of the fourth piece Éyze shéleg! – What snow! begins with the choir imitating the pitches of the sound of the bells that awakened Eric and Hila each morning in Germany as they rang from a nearby cathedral. The only words in this piece are whispered by a soloist before she vocalizes over the choir on an “ooh.” The whispered words are:
What snow!
Like little dreams falling from the sky.
The full chorus then vocalizes on an “ooh” over the violin and piano and the piece ends with the altos and tenors intoning at random the notes of the cathedral bells. The last piece Rakút – Tenderness has a gentle, lyrical feel underlined for the most part by the tenors and basses repeating the word “tuhm.” The work ends with the piano repeating the same fragment with which the piece began. -
In addition to his vast output of German poetry, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote nearly 400 poems in French. Morten Lauridsen selected five of these poems and composed a set of pieces entitled Les Chansons des Roses. He goes on to say that “these exquisite poems are primarily light, joyous and playful, and the musical settings are designed to enhance these characteristics and capture their delicate beauty and sensuousness.” Once you have heard music by Lauridsen, his distinct and unique style is easily recognizable - many eighth notes, much repetition, and close harmonic clusters with melodic interest passing between the voices. The last two pieces in the set areLa Rose Complète (The Complete Rose) and Dirait-on (So They Say). This last piece is composed as a tuneful chanson populaire, or folksong, that weaves together two melodic ideas first heard in fragmentary form in preceding movements.
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Dan Forrest was in search of a suitable text to set to music after having gone through a very personal tragedy. He found it on the tombstone in the cemetery in his hometown of Elmira, New York where the great American author Mark Twain and his family are buried. “My brother and I, from our youth, have known the poem that Twain placed on the tombstone of his beloved daughter Susy, when she died unexpectedly at age twenty-four and left him heartbroken. I was stunned by the bittersweet irony of this text being from our hometown, and in honour of a beloved daughter who died so suddenly. I wrote this setting within a day and gave it to the BJU Chorale for a reading. They learned it in only a few rehearsals and premiered it in a concert one week later. The piece is called Good Night, Dear Heart and is incredibly moving in its simplicity and heartfelt emotional impact. The piano writing provides an elegant accompaniment throughout except for a short a cappella section.
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Erik Robertson was born in Scotland but immigrated to Canada in 1963. He has long been active as a composer in the fields of film as well as commercial and concert music. In 1997 he composed a set of Four Gaelic Folksongs for SATB choir and piano. The first in the set is Mairi’s Wedding which is set as a dance tune:
Step we gaily, on we go,
Heel for heel and toe for toe,
Arm in arm and row on row,
All for Mairi’s wedding.
The second piece is entitled My Faithful Fair One and is much more gentle and somewhat solemn. The tune is initially sung by the sopranos and then in a fugal pattern with the tenors before the full choir enters. The piece ends much as it began, with the sopranos and the tenors. In A Boat Song the trials of a ship amidst an angry sea are revealed. As in the previous piece it is the sopranos and the tenors who unravel the tale with interjections by the other two voices. There is also much unison here or a pairing of the sopranos and tenors and the altos and basses. The last piece in the set is Ho Ró, My Brown-Haired Maiden. The speaker is a love-sick fellow who longs to be reunited again with the lass with whom he has been in love forever and hopes one day to marry. There is a pulsing energy to the music. Each of the eight stanzas of the song are treated in different ways, sometimes a cappella and sometimes with piano accompaniment. The four pieces make extensive use of the piano and all, except for the first piece in the set, include sections that are sung in Gaelic.
Text and Translations
David C. Dickau (b. 1953): If Music Be the Food Of Love
Text by Henry Heveningham (1651–1700)
If music be the food of love,
Sing on till I am fill’d with joy;
For then my list’ning soul you move
To pleasures that can never cloy.
Your eyes, your mien, your tongue declare
That you are music ev’rywhere.
Pleasures invade both eye and ear,
So fierce the transports are, they wound,
And all my senses feasted are,
Tho’ yet the treat is only sound,
Sure I must perish by your charms,
Unless you save me in your arms.
James Mulholland: Four Robert Burns Ballads
Poems by Robert Burns (1759–1796)
I. A Red, Red, Rose
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
II. Green Grow the Rashes, O
Green grow the rashes, O!
Green grow the rashes, O!
The sweetest hours that e'er I spend,
Are spent amang the lasses, O!
There's nought but care on every han'
In every hour that passes, O;
What signifies the life o' man,
An 'twere na for the lasses, O?
The warl'ly race may riches chase,
An' riches still may fly them, O;
An' though at last they catch them fast,
Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O.
But gi'e me a canny hour at e'en,
My arms about my dearie, O,
An' warl'ly cares an' warl'ly men
May a' gae tapsalteerie, O!
For you sae douce, ye sneer at this,
Ye're nought but senseless asses, O;
The wisest man the warl' e'er saw,
He dearly loved the lasses, O.
Auld Nature swears the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O;
Her 'prentice han' she tried on man,
An' then she made the lasses, O.
III. The Banks O’Doon
Ye banks and braes o’ bonie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care!
Thou’ll break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed never to return.
Aft hae I rov’d by Bonie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o’ its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o’ mine;
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.
IV. Highland Mary
Ye banks, and braes, and streams around
The castle o' Montgomery!
Green be your woods, and fair your flowers,
Your waters never drumlie:
There Simmer first unfauld her robes,
And there the langest tarry;
For there I took the last Farewell
O' my sweet Highland Mary.
How sweetly bloom'd the gay, green birk,
How rich the hawthorn's blossom,
As underneath their fragrant shade,
I clasp'd her to my bosom!
The golden Hours on angel wings,
Flew o'er me and my Dearie;
For dear to me, as light and life,
Was my sweet Highland Mary.
Wi' mony a vow, and lock'd embrace,
Our parting was fu' tender;
And, pledging aft to meet again,
We tore oursels asunder;
But oh! fell Death's untimely frost,
That nipt my Flower sae early!
Now green's the sod, and cauld's the clay
That wraps my Highland Mary!
O pale, pale now, those rosy lips,
I aft hae kiss'd sae fondly!
And clos'd for aye, the sparkling glance
That dwalt on me sae kindly!
And mouldering now in silent dust,
That heart that lo'ed me dearly!
But still within my bosom's core
Shall live my Highland Mary.
David Mooney: The Salley Gardens
Poem by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970): Five Hebrew Love Songs
Text by Hila Plitmann
Hebrew Text:
I. Temuá
Temuná belibí charuntá;
Nodédet beyn ór uveyn ófel:
Min dmamá shekazó et guféch kach otá,
Usaréch al pańa’ich kach nófel.
II. Kalá Kallá
Kalá kallá
Kulá shelí,
U’ve kalút
Tishákhílí!
III. LARÓV
“Laróv,” amár gag la’shama’im,
“Hamerchák shebeynéynu hu ad;
Ach lifnéy zman alu lechán shna’im,
Uveynéynu nishár sentiméter echad”
IV. ÉYZE SHÉLEG!
Ézye shéleg!
Kmo chalomót ktaníim
Noflím mehashamá im.
V. Rakút
Hu hayá malé rakút;
Hi haytá kasha
Vechól káma shenistá lehishaér kach,
Pashút, uvlí sibá tová,
Lakách otá el toch atzmó,
Veheníach Bamakóm hachí rach.
English Translation:
I. A Picture
A picture is engraved in my heart;
Moving between light and darkness:
A sort of silence envelopes your body,
And your hair falls upon your face just so.
II. Light Bride
Light bride
She is all mine,
And lightly
She will kiss me!
III. MOSTLY
“Mostly,” said the roof to the sky,
“the distance between you and I is endlessness;
But a while ago two came up here,
And only one centimeter was left between us.”
IV. What Snow!
What snow!
Like little dreams
Falling from the sky.
V. Tenderness
He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason,
He took her into himself, And set her down
In the softest, softest place.
Morten Johannes Lauridsen (b. 1943): Les Chansons des Roses
Text by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)
French Text:
IV. La rose complète
J'ai une telle conscience de ton
être, rose complète,
que mon consentement te confond
avec mon cœur en fête.
Je te respire comme si tu étais,
rose, toute la vie,
et je me sens l'ami parfait
d'une telle amie.
V. Dirait-on
Abandon entouré d'abandon
Tendresse touchant aux tendresses...
C’est ton intérieur qui sans cesse
Se caresse, dirait-on ;
Se caresse en soi-même
Par son propre reflet éclairé
Ainsi tu inventes le thème
Du Narcisse exhaucé.
English Translation:
IV. The Perfect Rose
I have such awareness of your
Being, perfect rose,
That my will unites you
With my heart in celebration.
I breath you in, rose, as if you were
All of life,
And I feel the perfect friend
Of a perfect friend.
V. So They Say
Abandon surrounding abandon,
Tenderness touching tenderness….
Your oneness endlessly
Caresses itself, so they say;
self-carressing
through its own clear reflection.
Thus you invent the theme
of Narcissus fulfilled.
Dan Forrest (b. 1978): Good Night, Dear Heart
Text by Robert Richardson (1850–1901) and Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835–1910)
Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.
Eric Robertson (b. 1948): Four Gaelic Folksongs
I. Mairi’s Wedding
Gaelic Text:
Gaol mo chridhe-sa Màiri Bhàn,
Màiri bhòidheach, sgeul mo dhàin,
'S i mo ghaol-sa Màiri bhàn,
'S tha mi dol ga pòsadh.
Thuit mi ann an gaol a-raoir,
Tha mo chridh-sa shuas air beinn;
Màiri Bhàn rim thaobh a' seinn,
'S tha mi dol ga pòsadh.
Cuailean òir is sùilean tlàth,
Mala chaol is gruaidh an àigh,
Beul as binne sheinneas dàn,
'S tha mi dol ga pòsadh.
'S ann aig cèilidh aig a' Mhòd
Fhuair mi eòlas air an òigh;
'S ise choisinn am bonn òir,
'S tha mi dol ga pòsadh.
Bidh mo ghaol do Mhàiri Bhàn
Dìleas, dùrachdach gu bràth;
Seinnidh sinn da chèil' ar gràdh,
'S tha mi dol ga pòsadh.
English Translation:
Love of my heart, fair-haired Mary,
pretty Mary, theme of my song:
she's my darling, fair-haired Mary
and oh! I'm going to marry her.
Last night I fell in love
and now my heart is soaring high;
fair-haired Mary singing by my side
and oh! I'm going to marry her!
Golden hair and kindly eyes,
shapely brow and smiling cheeks,
sweetest voice that ever sang
and oh! I'm going to marry her.
It was at a cèilidh at the Mòd
that I got to know the girl:
she was the winner of the gold medal
and oh! I'm going to marry her.
My love for Fair-haired Mary will be
eternally faithful and heartfelt;
we'll sing together of our love
and oh! I'm going to marry her.
II. My Faithful Fair One (Mo Rùn geal, dîleas)
Gaelic Text:
Mo rùn geal dìleas, dìleas, dìleas
Mo rùn geal dìleas nach till thu nall
Cha till mi fhèin riut, a ghaoi chan fhaod mi
‘S ann tha mi ghaoil ‘na mo laighe tinn.
Is truagh nach robh mi an riochd na faoilinn
A shnàmhadh aotrom air bhàrr nan tonn
Is bheirinn sgrìobag do’n eilean Ileach
Far bheil an rìbhinn dh’fhàg m’inntinn trom. (Sèist)
Thug mi mìos ann am fiabhras claoidhte
Gun dùil rium oidhche gu’m bithinn beò
B’e fàth mo smaointean a là ‘s a dh’oidhche
Gum faighinn faochadh is tu bhi ‘m chòir. (Sèist)
Cha bhi mi strì ris a’ chraoibh nach lùb leam
Ged chinneadh ùbhlan air bhàrr gach gèig
Mo shoraidh slàn leat ma rinn thu m’fhàgail
Cha d’thàinig tràigh gun muir-làn na dèidh.
English Translation:
My faithful fair darling,
My faithful fair darling, won’t you turn back to me;
I will not turn with you, my love, I cannot
For my beloved is lying ill.
I grieve I am not in the guise of a seagull,
Swimming light on top of the waves;
And I would journey to the island of Islay
Where tarries the maiden who vexes my soul. (Chorus)
I spent a month in the torment of fever
When each night I did not expect to survive;
The object of my thoughts each day and night
That my request be granted and you at my side. (Chorus)
I will not struggle with the tree I can’t bend,
Though each bough be amply laden with apples;
My fond farewell to you if you have left me,
The sea never ebbs, but follows the flow.
III. A Boat Song (Leis An Lurgainn)
Gaelic Text:
The Lurgainn Seisd (Chorus)
Leis an Lurgainn o hi
Leis an Lurgainn o ho
Beul an anamoich o hi
's fheudar faibh le 'cuid seol
An Cuan Eirinn o hi
Muir ag e/irigh o ho
Cha bu le/ir dhuinn o hi
Ni fo 'n ghre/in ach na neoil (Chorus)
Seachad Ile o hi
'M beul na h-oidhche o ho
Las sinn coinnlean o hi
'S chuir sinn combaist air doigh (Chorus)
Seachad Aros o hi
Bha i gabhaidh o ho
'N fhairge laidir o hi
Suas gu barr a' chroinn-sgoid (Chorus)
Hi ho hi ho
Hi ho hi ho (Chorus)
English Translation:
Chorus
With the Loorgeen o hee,
With the Loorgeen o ho,
In the gray dusk of eve,
O’er the waves let us go.
On the ocean, o hee,
Waves in motions, o ho,
Naught but clouds could we see
O’er the blue sea below.
Islay looming, o hee,
In the gloaming, o ho,
Our ships compass set we,
And our lights we did show. (Chorus)
Aros passing, o hee,
“Twas harassing, o ho,
The strong billows to see
High as masthead to flow.
Skipper bellows, o hee,
To his fellows, o ho,
Steady! Courage take ye
Though a tempest should blow.” (Chorus)
“Crowd her sails on, o hee,
And though gales come, o ho,
Light as seagull will she
O’er the heaving waves go.
“Billows lashing, o hee,
Waters crashing, o ho,
Without blenching we see
There be stout hearts on board.” (Chorus)
IV. Ho rò mo nighean donn bhòidheach (Ho rò, My Brown-haired Maiden)
Gaelic Text:
Ho rò mo nighean donn bhòidheach,
Hi rì mo nighean donn bhòidheach,
Mo chaileag laghach bhòidheach,
Cha phòsainn ach thu.
A nighean dhonn nam blàth-shùil
Gur trom a thug mi gràdh dhut;
Tha d' ìomhaigh, ghaoil, is d' àilleachd
A ghnàth tighinn fom ùidh.
Cha cheil mi air an t-saoghal
Gu bheil mo mhiann 's mo ghaol ort;
'S ged chaidh mi uat air faondradh
Cha chaochail mo rùn.
Nuair bha ann ad làthair
Bu shona bha mo làithean
A' sealbhachadh do mhànrain
Is àille do ghnùis.
Gnùis aoigheil, bhanail, mhalda,
Na h-òigh is caomha nàdar,
I suairce, ceanail, bàidheil,
Làn gràis agus mùirn.
Ach riamh on dh'fhàg mi d' fhianais
Gu bheil mi dubhach, cianail;
Mo chridhe trom ga phianadh
Le iargain do ghnùis.
Ge lurach air a' chabhsair
Na mnathan òga Gallta,
A rìgh, gur beag mo gheall-s'
Air bhith sealltainn 'n an gnùis.
'S ann tha mo rùn 's na beanntaibh,
Far bheil mo rìbhinn ghreannar,
Mar ròs am fàsach shamraidh,
An gleann fad o shùil.
Ach nuair a thig an samhradh
Bheir mise sgrìob don ghleann ud,
'S gun tog mi leam don Ghalltachd
Gu h-annsail am flùr.
English Translation:
Thine eye with love is gleaming;
Thy face with beauty beaming;
When waking or dreaming,
My thoughts dwell on thee.
Forget thee will I never,
But I will love thee ever;
Though many miles sever,
I’m still true to thee. (Chorus)
When I was staying near thee,
Thy prescence sweet did cheer me;
And charming ‘twas to hear thee
Sing gaily and free.
Of cheerful, comely features;
Of gentle, kindly nature;
There never was a creature
More lovely than thee. (Chorus)
But now that thou’rt not by, love,
I often sit and sigh, love,
And wish that thou wert nigh, love,
To bring joy to me.
Though Lowland girls are fine, love,
E’en some may say divine, love,
There’s none can thee outshine, love,
Or lure me from thee. (Chorus)
For ‘mong the hills she’s dwelling,
Where crystal streams are welling;
Like rose all flow’rs excelling,
The maiden for me.
When summer comes again, love,
I’ll seek your Highland glen, love,
Mine own to make you then, love,
And take thee with me. (Chorus)
Artist Information
James Hawn, Artistic Director
Photo Credit: Amy Violet Photography
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James Hawn, Director of Music since 2003, has been active with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for most of its history, and has been involved with singing and choirs for as long he can remember. Prior to his current appointment as Director, he was a long-time member of the bass section, and served as the choir’s president for ten years. James has also been actively involved in national and provincial choral organizations for over twenty-five years. He is a member of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation (SCF) and Choral Canada and has served for a number of years on both organizations’ boards. In 2006 he was presented with the SCF’s Pro Musica Award, which recognizes “exemplary service to choral music in Saskatchewan.” James was an English language arts teacher for thirty- two years with the Saskatoon Public Board of Education. During that time he also taught music, was involved in choral and church music, musicals, and drama both in the school system and in the community.
Connor Elias, Collaborative Pianist
Photo Credit: Rebecca Fisher
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Connor Elias is a pianist from Martensville, Saskatchewan. He holds a Bachelor of Music Honours from the University of Saskatchewan, as well as an ARCT in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Connor has many influences and include his teacher Bonnie Nicholson. Throughout his undergrad, Connor has received various accolades at provincial and national music festivals, including second in the 2023 Saskatchewan Concerto Competition and third in the 2022 Canada West for piano solo. Apart from piano, Connor is involved as a chorister in the Greystone Singers, conducted by Dr. Jennifer Lang. He enjoys teaching his wonderful piano students, laughing with friends, and spending time with his family.
Wagner Barbosa, Violin
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Wagner Barbosa is a Brazilian classically trained violinist passionate about sharing music through teaching and performing. He holds a BA in music from the University of Sao Paulo and a Master's in Music in Performance from the University of Saskatchewan, supervised by Dr. Veronique Mathieu. He has years of experience performing with symphonic and chamber ensembles in Brazil and Canada. In Saskatoon, he is a member of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and the Usask Symphony Orchestra where he is the concertmaster. He also performs with Prairie Virtuosi and has been a guest violinist for the Greystone Singers, the Saskatoon Chamber Singers, and the Cecilian Singers. As a Suzuki-trained teacher, he uses music to inspire character, discipline and self-expression in young and adult students. He gives music lessons at his private studio and Long & McQuade South Lesson Centre.
Tyrell Hardlotte, Oboe
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Tyrell Hardlotte (He/Him) is a Third-Year Music Performance Major and lives and performs on Treaty Six. Coming from Northern Saskatchewan has connected Tyrell to the land and the nature that resides in the Canadian Shield. Today, Tyrell hones his skills on the oboe and English horn, and in his free time makes reeds for his instruments or is out fishing. Tyrell has been part of many different ensembles, including the Usask Wind Orchestra, Usask Symphony Orchestra, Shining Skies Wind Quintet, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony Orchestra, and National Youth Band of Canada.