Nice interview; nice comment; nice guy...Very Canadian. I hope we have the beans to make this the kind of place where stories like this can come true again - and not the sort of place where the only thing young people think about is 15 minutes of fleeting fame under the tutelage of Ben Mulroney.

Dawson Creek...small city that mounts an opera every year....great stuff...often have musicians from other places come to sing or work in the orchestra...operas are in Unchagah, usually over two weekends with all kinds of local talent taking part.
To me,the people who have put this together year after year, and decade after decade are worhty of all the honours that this country has to offer.

Heppner is from a community which has a rich musical tradition.
(And...John Vickers came from Prince Albert...small communities can have lot going for them.)

Thanks for that inside story, macsasquatch.

I had no idea that Dawson Creek does an opera every year. What kind of operas do they perform?

This probably means that they have a symphony orchestra? And some extra emphasis on music in their schools?

Ben Heppner keeps a firm grip on his roots. One of his recent CDs was made up of the songs his mother (I think) sang in their family home ... and he wanted them preserved.

Yeah, Jon Vickers too. But it's tough for the young singer -- or any serious professional musician -- to find the right coach to safeguard their skills while bringing them up to world standards.

Thanks again.

To answer Mary,

Dawson puts on many different kinds of operas and musical performances throughout the year. I grew up there and was very invovled in the arts scene- there is always one incredibly professional high school play and one big opera, a summer musical theatre camp for kids and a highly active community band. Keith Hall, another amazing opera vocalist from Bermuda lives there and there are many wonderful local singers. When they tried to cancel the music program at the high school the students stormed into a city hall meeting and won back the funding for a band room and full time teacher. And I havent even mentioned the art gallery.

Not to brag, but the music scene in dawson kept me sane in my youth- part of the excitement was singing with Ben Hepner when he came to town- everyone knows who he is and loves when he shows up. Importantly- most of the music is supported through the municipal authorities and the school district- having good local politicians and a keen community has kept the city vibrant.

hope that helps.

Hey Mary:

They haven't been mounting a full opera for the last few years. Last year they did "A night to remember", which was a collection of Music from all over. Peer Gynt, La Traviata, Tannhaeuser, Faust, Rigoletto, Marriage of Figaro, Barber of Seville, etc., etc.

The DC Symphonette and Choir has been very much a love child of Rotruand Lopp, who has retired/quit/stepped down/whathaveyou. We're not sure what's going to happen this year but it'll be sad if this is the end.

In other news, you'll note that the comments that smacked of being insulting to small towns have been excised; that was a function of getting the article in late on the copy editor's day off. Heck, I live in Tumbler Ridge. Dawson is the big city for me. What I was trying to get across was how the perception (of Heppner, of opera divas, of Dawson Creek) didn't sync up with the reality.

Trent

OMMENTATOR: seaotter

Yes, Ben Heppner has a truly remarkable talent
and a great voice. His CD’s are a rare gift!

But what on earth does the location of his conception
and subsequent birth have to do with his talent?

The very notion that gifted artist come only from Big
cities is, in itself, a form of cultural snobbishness.

When TSO conductor Walter Susskind joined Dutch/Canadian
conductor, Harman Haakman (and myself) to launch the
National Youth Orchestra of Canada, we chose Stratford
Ontario for the first NYOC session. Toronto was not
even part of our thinking. Moreover, the majority
of the 81 students who were selected (from nation wide
auditions) came from small towns. In fact, we planned,
announced, and promoted the first Stratford workshop as
“Launching platform: The National Youth Orchestra of
Canada.” (Please click below for official NYOC history)

http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC873907

If we had relied mainly on The Royal Conservatory of Music
(or it’s affiliates) we would have automatically negated
participation of gifted students that we recruited through
word of mouth and independent music teachers.

We knew that many gifted instrumentalists can not afford
‘Big City Life.’ Most North American conservatories rely on
‘head count’ for funding. Since natural, raw talent is not a
product of wealth, we chose to expand auditions through
all kinds of cultural organizations. To a measurable degree
we relied on private teachers, Provincial Youth Orchestras,
and the Department(s) of education to identify outstanding
talent.

Ben Heppner is a prime example of ‘big talent’ from a
small town! Small in population - but big in spirit.

Since good old Canadian hockey is (ahem) like ballet
on ice, is it not safe to mention ‘hockey’ in the same
breath as Opera? In this regard, two b’s - Ben Heppner
and Bobby Orr, fit the small town syndrome. (Yuck)

But back to Canada’s cultural monopoly. Toronto is a
prime example of intellectual Fartism. Cultural Boards
of directors and woman's committees are all too often
contrived and manipulative. More social than cultural.

Ben seems to have moved beyond the bloated social
circle so prevalent in big Cities - world wide.

His voice is beautiful. His range is exciting,
and his control is profound. Thank you Ben.

Aw, seaotter, did you really have to spoil that lovely comment by dissing Toronto? How's that different from dissing small towns? [grimly, I overlook this horrendous lapse ... grumble...]

And thank you for all that you've done to promote young musicians in Canada. NYO is such a valuable experience for kids especially if they're wondering what the future may hold for them if they decide to become professional musicians. And it's a wonderful grounding if they do decide to become orchestra musicians.

I'd really like to know your answer to a question that keeps coming into my thoughts about school band programs. Do you think that "Band" is the best way to go? Or would more individual and small-group music lessons be a better grounding in music?

In other words: is "Band" just a way of teaching 30 kids all at once as a cost-saving measure?

Because it must be very hard on the ears of the District music teacher.

Thanks again.

Trent: Many thanks for the update on the cultural life of Dawson Creek. There's an old saying about being able to measure the quality of a town by the number of bookshops. I think that the number of live concert presentations not involving flashing lights and high decibels has to be very high on the rating of a livable town.

And that cultural richness is not easy to achieve. There's always the pull of the hockey game and the need to sell high-priced tickets before the hall can be rented.

With an opera, my gosh, the guest stars have to be booked, the locals organized. The sets, the scores, the costumes, the number of rehearsals ... several demanding professions which must function behind the scenes for weeks and months to produce an opera ... and then there's the audience which virtually needs to be groomed, prepared in pre-opera lectures, and ready to enjoy. It's tough. What keeps them going is their love of music.

We owe these people so much ... and the very least we owe our performance artists is the kind of appreciation you've given in this article about Ben Heppner. That's the great thing about music ... it envelopes us all in its warmth and understanding.

Trent -
by the time I had the opportunity to read your article you had already posted a note saying that some of the article had been removed as it might have been insulting to small towns.
I actually went back to the article and re-read it to find that amidst the backpedalling style insertion of words like "perception" and "stereotype", I am still left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
I understand that you did not intend to insult anyone, but please consider your audience. Those who do read the Tyee's Entertainment section do so because they care about culture. It's just a guess, but I don't think Tyee readers in small towns appreciate articles that inject inaccurate stereotypes into the visualization of their communities.

I know I don't need to cry to anyone in Tumbler Ridge that we have consistently seen threatened funding for art programs in our area, and I am sure our politically isolated nature has a lot to do with that. Writing articles about arts in our region is noble, but take that opportunity to burst the bubble of preconceived notions suggesting that we might include gum-boots and overalls as acceptable dress for the theatre, or that artistic ability should be measured by where you live. I feel like the article was meant to head there but missed its mark.
The irony in BCMary's e-statement about bookshops measuring a town's quality may be lost on many readers. Though there are fifteen gas stations for each bookstore here, if you don't count online bookstores, many of us are found on the "inter-web" reading our Tyee Newsletters.

Other than its being misinterpretable, I liked your article. It was nice to see the Great White North being included in a respected journal.

Mary asked a very important

Mary asked a very important question about the value oftraining young musicians via a school 'bands' rather than an emphasis on smaller groups. I have no doubt that
Mary would include solo voice or solo training (on any instrument) as part of her equation. In my view, the question is very important.

I think part of the answer to this complex question is 'all of the above.' As you well know, every instrument in the orchestra is important to the composer - when he/she hears music in the inner ear.

In fact, I learned more about music from composer Rudi Martinus Van Dijk (while
being exposed to his improvisation in a studio) than I did from all other musical training I received from many very excellent private teachers.

No doubt Ben learned to be a better musician from frustration with the trumpet and Tuba. While string instruments are the closest in sound i.e. (line) to the
human voice, the collective sounds of percussion, brass, woodwinds, and strings, are enhanced by Band sessions, choral singing, and small ensembles of any kind.

I wish school budgets could be stretched to make creative expression like music, drama, and yes, required skills to 'read out loud,' a vital part of the core curriculum. We have so much to learn about
education. Teach love - not war!

If necessary, budgets for post secondary could be cut drastically in order to increase budgets for early childhood education. But that is another story for
another time. I have been told that most of us learn 'to learn' before the age of seven. Music plays a very important role in appreciation of sound as it (sound) relates to reading. A huge subject!

It would be my pleasure to speak with you on a one to one basis. I did enjoy your comments. Ben's interview with Trent, returned me to memories of reading Stephen Leacock’s fun filled perceptions about ‘small towns’.

On this note (no pun intended) writer Robertson Davies also did a great job in examining life in small towns in 'The table talk of Samuel Marchbanks.' Trent's interview with Ben Heppner made me think of this master work as well. Not in
writing syle, but in the climate we often
cherish in getting to know 'who lives next door!'

In an unanswered letter to current NYOC
directors I quoted Hilery Clinten. She said 'it takes a village to raise a child,' I reminded the current board that it takes a Nation to sustain (and nurture) the National Youth Orchestra of Canada!

An expanded audition sysem and a principal
conductor with world class credentials is
the key to inspiring gifted young players.
In 2004, I heard the NYOC play Oh Canada
at the Chan in Vancouver...' routine' you might say ... but Under the baton of Maiestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama, the students
played 'Oh Canada' as well as I have ever
heard it played - including by the Berlin
Philharmonic at Massy Hall in Toronto.

If Ben Heppner had been at the Chan in 2004, I think he might have agreed with me. I wish him continued success and a
long, happy career. Thank you Mary.