Aldo, the donkey who used to live beside the Anglican bishop’s residence in the Old City, is now enjoying country life in Beauce, where the grass is much greener. A “city boy” for many years, Aldo just loves it in the country. (Photo by Shirley Nadeau) Where’s (W)Aldo hanging out these days? Shirley Nadeau shirley@qctonline.com Like the famous series of puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford, in which readers are challenged to find a…
Heather Alloway of the Eagles’ Wings Charitable Trust and sculptor Timothy Schmalz unveil the statue of the welcoming pilgrim, who appears to be an angel once a visitor sits beside it. (Photo by Shirley Nadeau) Cathedral garden construction should begin this summer Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter editor@qctonline.com Construction for the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity garden project is expected to kick into high…
Musical Wednesdays are back at Chalmers-Wesley Church
Submitted by Shirley Nadeau, co-ordinator of the Summer Open Doors Program, Chalmers-Wesley United Church
For the 43rd year, the Musical Wednesdays summer concerts return to Chalmers-Wesley United Church on Rue Sainte-Ursule in Old Quebec.
What started in the mid-1980s as Sunday afternoon organ concerts evolved in recent years into Wednesday noon-hour presentations with a great variety of musicians. The Musical Wednesdays concert series is still attracting appreciative music lovers to the heart of the Old City.
The first, on June 25, features soprano Sharon MacLeod, who will sing classical selections by Orff, Debussy, Handel, Liszt and Mozart, and contemporary pieces by Jake Heggie and Mary Linklater. She will be accompanied by pianist Marie-Hélène Greffard, who will also perform three solo pieces by Denis Bédard, Scott Joplin and Alfred Lefébure-Wély on the organ.
On July 2, listeners will be treated to the rich contralto voice of Priscilla-Anne Tremblay, a member of the Opéra de Québec chorus who has planned a delightful program of arias from works by Vivaldi, Handel, Gluck, Rossini, Verdi and others. She will be accompanied by pianist Jean-François Mailloux, who will also perform solo J.S. Bach’s Partita BWV 825 Sarabande and an excerpt from Massenet’s Cendrillon.
On July 9, tubist Lance Nagels, who was with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec for 44 years, will perform with pianist Jean Sutherland. The unusual combination of tuba and piano will surely delight audiences.
On July 16, Élise Guay and Liette Remon come together to share their love of music with a selection of vieux airs traditionnels québécois on fiddle, flute and bagpipes!
July 23 will see violist Eline Brock (another former member of the OSQ) and Chalmers-Wesley organist Gordon Brown performing together.
On July 30, The classical guitar duo Si ça vous jazz – Denis Poliquin and Marc Bélanger – will perform pieces by Québécois legends Robert Charlebois, Beau Dommage, Harmonium and Félix Leclerc along with music from well-known films and a few original compositions.
One of our favourite regular performers, pianist Alain Châteauvert will return on Aug. 6 with a classical program of works by Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and Rachmaninoff.
On Aug. 13, we will receive the Duo Cziffra, pianists Ludmilla Guilmault and Jean-Noël Dubois from France who will perform “Exotisme, Sonorités Pittoresques” for solo piano and four hands, featuring works by Debussy, Ravel, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Satie and Séverac.
Another of our annual favourites, bagpiper Alan Stairs and drummer Yves Tremblay of the 78th Fraser Highlanders, will delight our audience with their traditional Scottish music on Aug. 20.
We will welcome a saxophone quartet from La Musique du Royal 22e Régiment on Aug. 27.
Finally, the musician who started the summer concert series at Chalmers-Wesley back in the 1980s, organist Jacquelin Rochette, will perform at the last concert on Sept 3.
All Musical Wednesday concerts are free, but we suggest a voluntary contribution of $10 or more to help cover our expenses. We receive financial assistance from the Ville de Québec, the Government of Québec through its Cultural Development Agreement and our local MP, Jean-Yves Duclos. The nearby Café-Bistro Omelette (Café de Paris) on Rue St-Louis also provides gift certificates for the door prize draws at the end of each concert.
Members of the newly elected board of directors of Voice of English-speaking Québec gathered for a photo at the end of the annual general meeting. Next to executive director Brigitte Wellens (standing, far left) are Balasz Hajek, Eashwar Balaji, Philip Goyer, Amanda Heath (vice-president), Kristy Findlay (treasurer), Razvan Petre (president), Ed Sweeney and Rebecca Gowins Boucher; (front row, sitting) Chantal Dubois (corporate secretary), Laura Mott, Maximilienne Machungwa (member-at-large) and Stéphanie Tassé. Marilyn Marshall was absent when the photo was taken. (Photo by Shirley Nadeau) English-speaking Québecers gather for VEQ AGM Shirley Nadeau shirley@qctonline.com Some 40 people gathered in the Coin Soleil of Jeffery Hale Hospital on June 5 for Voice of English-speaking Québec (VEQ)’s…
Some of the artists performing at the Grand Spectacle de la Fête Nationale in Quebec City are Bleu Jeans Bleu, Garou, Claude Dubois, Alaclair Ensemble and Marie-Denise Pelletier. (Photo by Cassandra Kerwin) Quebec City prepares for the Grand Spectacle de la Fête Nationale Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter cassandra@qctonline.com With summer just around the corner, Quebecers are preparing to celebrate Fête…
TALQ board members were among the several hundred people who gathered to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary and rebrand on June 4. (Photo by Ruby Pratka) Time to TALQ: Community groups federation unveils 30th-anniversary rebrand Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter editor@qctonline.com The province’s largest federation of English- speaking community groups is hoping to get Quebecers…
Ann MacDonald, MQI chair, Geneviève Guilbault and Renée Amilcar, CEO of MQI participate in a key transit announcement June 4. (screenshot) Guilbault fills Mobilité Infra Québec’s top two jobs Kevin Dougherty kevin@qctonline.com Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced on June 4 the names of the president and CEO of Mobilité Infra…
Major (ret). Alec Cooper, MD, Knight Commander of the MHOSL; Dr. Jean-Pierre Canuel, member of the ALS Quebec board; Georges Parent, grand prior emeritus of Canada and past secretary general of the International Grand Council MHOSL; Dr. Nicholas Dupré, neurologist researcher at Université Laval, and Elsa Girard, community engagement co-ordinator of ALS Quebec, pose for a photo with the $5,000 cheque donated to ALS Québec by the Order of Saint Lazarus. Note: PALS (Persons with ALS) are wearing blue and white scarves. (Photo by Mario Walker courtesy of Dr. Alec Cooper) Order of Saint Lazarus makes $5,000 donation to ALS Québec
Submitted by Dr. Alec Cooper
The Grand Priory of Canada of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (MHOSLJ) recently presented a cheque for $5,000 to the Research Committee of the ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Society of Quebec.
The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus is an order of chivalry whose history dates back 14 centuries to the Crusades. It was founded in the Holy Land to care for knights suffering from leprosy. The Order distinguished itself from other orders of chivalry by its green cross, the colour of hope and renewal in the Christian liturgy.
Today, the Order of Saint Lazarus is a federal non-profit corporation active in 37 countries. Established in Canada in 1962, the Order’s primary activity has been the support and promotion of palliative care. In Quebec City, it has been famous for its annual Emerald Ball at the Château Frontenac, which has raised more than $1 million over 25 years. Proceeds from the ball and other events have funded numerous local hospital foundations and educational ventures in the fields of health and ecumenism.
In 2004, the Canadian Grand Priory of the Order of Saint Lazarus, in association with the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, published and distributed A Caregivers’ Guide, a handbook about end-of-life care for those taking care of their loved ones. The free publication is available in English, French, Inuktitut, Spanish and Japanese.
An English version of the booklet can be downloaded as a PDF file at virtualhospice.ca/Assets/CHPCA%20caregivers_guide_2015_en_20170314094930.pdf.
Editor’s note: ALS is a progressive, incurable disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it. The exact cause of the disease is still not known. A small number of cases are inherited.
ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing or slurred speech. Eventually, ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. (Source – Mayo Clinic)
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