Encore, encore

The founding members used to meet informally in one of their homes on a weekly basis. The first official meeting was held in 1899, where a constitution was drawn up, members and officers were elected and a list of composers whose works would be studied at weekly gatherings was decided upon. It was then and there the club began, what appears to be, an unstoppable legacy.

“The WMC began as a group of women that bonded together, and the present women of the group want to continue that,” says Anne-Marie Brownell, a 12-year member of the WMC, and current fundraising chair. “Many have had musical roots in the community for many years. It started with ‘the old guard’ families that liked the finer things in life and wanted to bring it the city. Those people who were born here, lived here all their lives, want to maintain the group. It’s a matter of pride.”

The WMC is currently made up of 90 volunteers, both women and men, who work diligently to create high-caliber performances for concerts goers, and, most importantly, a stage for rising talent through their scholarship program.

“The Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg is an outstanding organization that has done tremendous work over the years to enrich the cultural life of the city, and to nurture and encourage developing young artists,” says Dr. Edmund Dawe, dean of the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. “Past and current music students have benefited greatly from the experience of performing in the WMC competitions, and we are proud of our many prizewinners who have been featured soloists in major Winnipeg concert venues. The opportunities provided by the organization are essential for young musicians who wish to build performance careers.”

In 1915 the club, intent on furthering the careers of young, local musicians, established a scholarship fund. Winona Lightcap was the first recipient of $350, enabling her to study for three months in New York.

The Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg’s scholarships now include over five annual prizes of $8,000, which go to young Manitoba musicians chosen by audition.

In keeping with their mandate to further develop the careers of young, local talent, the biennial Doris McLellan Competition for Solo Performance with Orchestra was created in 2006. This competition is due to a very generous bequest by the late Doris McLellan, who was a devoted WMC member. The competition is open to advanced Manitoba musicians pursuing performance careers in all disciplines, and offers the winners the opportunity to perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

“Many of our scholarship performers have played at churches or community halls, but never been on a professional stage,” says Margaret Jeffries, current president of the WMC. “Then, once they’ve appeared on our stage, other groups book them to perform.”

These scholarships not only help the recipient further their dream of becoming a professional musician, but with it comes an air of prestige. It’s been said that the WMC list of scholarship winners reads like a “who’s who” of Canadian music, thanks to the club’s uncanny ear and eye for undiscovered talent.

Some winners, all of whom are now internationally renowned artists, have included Keri-Lynn Wilson, Tracy Dahl and Valdine Anderson, who’s spent 20 plus years as a Grammy-nominated, international concert singer and has returned to Winnipeg to teach voice at the U of M.

“Growing up in Winnipeg the Women’s Musical Club was a household word, standing for motivation, inspiration, financial support and ultimately the opportunity for public recognition of one’s hard work,” says Anderson. “When you look at the past winners link on [the WMC] website, it is like a year-book where the particular stand-outs of each year are named. Many of the city’s most well known performers and best teachers are listed there, like a glass ball looking into the future. As a teacher myself, this ‘club’ is the stuff of heady wish lists in the fall when students contemplate repertoire for the annual competition, and the dreamed-about opportunity to work towards a chance to sing with an orchestra for the advanced student in the Doris McLellan Competition.”

But, adds Anderson, the reality check for those initial fuzzy, rosy daydreams is that Winnipeg has an extremely high level of talent and musicianship, so competition is fierce.

“That reality check is what made and makes being a winner, a recipient of a scholarship from the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, one of the most satisfying experiences in a new performer’s early career,” she says.
While the dedication of regular sponsors, both corporate and individual, partially finance the scholarships, the club volunteers continue to seek funding through donations and music tailored events, such as Swing into Spring. The well-attended, annual event is held at a selected Winnipeg home, and features good food, great music and the members' husbands dressed in white shirts and gloves. “They get to serve the ladies wine,” muses Brownell.

The WMC can also be hailed for their efforts to bring in internationally renowned artists to the city. From early on, the WMC worked hard to secure finances and venues to bring in superior talent to perform in their concert series. One of the club’s earliest and most memorable performers was Madame Fanny Bloomfield Ziesler, considered one of the world’s great pianists in 1906. As the years passed, visiting artists continued to be top calibre—Myra Hess, an English pianist appeared in 1922 and 1923, Marjorie Lawrence, an Australian soprano was a guest in 1938, while Nan Merriman, a singer greatly favoured by acclaimed conductor Arthuro Toscanini, performed in 1948. Even a young Glenn Gould graced the stage at club meeting.

The 2009/2010 season, which begins in October at The Winnipeg Art Gallery, includes a few “firsts” for the WMC. Opening the series is cellist David Eggert, winner of the 2006 Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition for Canadian Music. He returns to the WMC’s stage from Salzburg, Austria where he is studying at the Mozarteum. This concert begins a collaboration between the WMC and the CBC, which will feature the performance on Sunday Afternoon in Concert with host Bill Richardson.

A unique and varied performance by faculty and students from the University of Manitoba’s Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music, along with the premier of an exciting new multi-media work, showcases local talent, while the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Competition show features 2009 winner Carissa Klopoushak, a violinist studying at McGill University.

And, finally, the season closes with the Canadian debut of Chinese flutist Lydia Yu-Lun Yang, with New York pianist Peter Vinograde.

While the outstanding performances presented every season play a role in the WMC’s longevity, without a doubt the success of the club can be attributed to the legacy that has been passed down from generation to generation of dedicated and hardworking members over the years.

Former club President Helen Heaton (1942) may have said it more directly—“Let us enjoy music, but let that enjoyment inspire us to an unconquerable determination to preserve our culture and our freedom.”
For ticket/season subscription information please phone Musicnet at 989-6030. Individual tickets may be purchased at McNally Robinson Booksellers or at the door.

Photography by Ruth Bonneville