Vol. 7, no. 1, May 2011 

Winter and Spring Recitals 

In a first and very rewarding collaboration with the touring organization Prairie Debut, the Lyell Gustin Recital Series presented Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, “One Piano, Four Hands!” on February 18. Dynamic international prize winners presently living in New York, the pianists enchanted the audience with a Mozart Sonata, Brahms’ 16  Waltzes, and arrangements of Piazzolla tangos.

On May 20, William Lewans, baritone, gave a richly varied recital with pianist Gregory Schulte.  A native of Saskatchewan now based in Toronto, Mr. Lewans sang works that included Schumann’s masterpiece cycle Dichterliebe, arias by Wagner, and songs by Ravel, Vaughan Williams, and others. Mr. Schulte, known for his sensitive insight as a collaborative artist, gave the pre-concert talk on this occasion as well as for the February recital.

This season’s performances are taking place in a venue new to the Lyell Gustin Series, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in downtown Saskatoon. We are grateful for the Church’s warm welcome.

Inter-arts Events at Gustin House 

On Sunday afternoon, January 23, rarely heard trios by Beethoven and Brahms were performed for  a capacity audience at Gustin House: the musicians were Margaret Wilson, clarinet, Scott McKnight, cello, and Gregory Schulte, piano. Alice Kuipers, widely published author and Writer in Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library, read from her works and spoke about engaging in writing and literature  as a way of understanding life.

Audiences gathered in the afternoon and again in the evening of Sunday, March 27, to hear pianist Thomas Yu of Calgary perform virtuosic music of Liszt for the composer’s 200th birth anniversary, and to view watercolours by the distinguished landscape artist Dorothy Knowles. Ms. Knowles’ daughter, painter Catherine Perehudoff Fowler, spoke about family painting trips to scenic places, including to  the village of Fitch Bay, QC, birthplace of Lyell Gustin. To the pleasure of all, Gustin House became an art gallery for the day!

Chamber Music for a Summer Evening

The Lyell Gustin Recital Series presents in recital Contrasts Trio: Eduard Minevich, violinist, Pauline Minevich, clarinetist & David L. McIntyre, pianist, Tuesday, August 23, at 7:30 p.m., St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. A versatile ensemble of fine Regina musicians, the Trio toured in Latin America this spring; their program will include a broad range of repertoire from Mozart to Bartok, Raum and McIntyre. Pre-concert talk by the artists at 6:45 p.m. Tickets: $25 regular, $20 student at Darren's Music, Yamaha Piano, McNally Robinson, or at the door.

Lloyd Rodwell, Visionary and Benefactor

Lloyd Whitfield Rodwell (1927-96), who died 15 years ago this July 24, will forever be part of the Gustin House story. It was this former student and friend of Lyell Gustin who purchased the property at 512 Tenth Street after Dr. Gustin’s death in 1988, and in doing so, preserved for the future the site of the widely renowned Lyell Gustin Piano Studios. Dr. Gustin had bequeathed his residence to the University of Saskatchewan; upon acquiring the property, Mr. Rodwell, a professional archivist, sorted and transferred Gustin papers/files to the Provincial Archives, and also did some restoration. He approached the City for the municipal heritage designation for Gustin and Trounce Houses (given April 1989). For these important contributions, he later received the City of Saskatoon Heritage Award for Voluntary Public Service (February 1992).

Mr. Rodwell provided an endowment for future maintenance of the two Houses, and established the  Gustin/Trounce Heritage Committee to oversee the property and arrange musical activities in the spirit and tradition of Lyell Gustin. The latter work has gone on in the presentation of recitals and inter-arts events, and in the awarding of scholarships to music students. These programs are supported separately, that is, not from the Rodwell Trust, but by grants, ticket revenues, and private donations from Gustin graduates and friends of Gustin House, far and near. Today, the generosity of many is linked with the splendid vision and munificence of Lloyd Rodwell in ensuring that Lyell Gustin, a musical icon of Saskatchewan, is celebrated and his work continued.

Scholarship Winners

The 2010 Gustin/Trounce Heritage award for the highest mark in the province for an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto exam was presented to Chanella Holfeld of Main Centre, SK.

Gustin/Trounce Heritage scholarships at the 2011  Saskatoon Music Festival went to these five young pianists: Melody Song, Isaak LaBelle, Cathy Li and Christina Zhang, and Susan Winmill, for the age  levels 10-, 12-, 14- and 16-and-Under respectively.

Thank you to our wonderful donors . . .

from Saskatoon: Mary Friesen, Marilyn and Ray Boechler, Maureen Ellis and Gary Young, Ewen Coxworth, Jim and Judith Wood, Peter and Audrey Siemens, Heinrich and Dorothea Feldkamp, Bryce Erickson, Nestor Shinkewski, D2 Construction Ltd., Isabelle Mills, Sr. Dolores Schneider, Eunice Koehler, Leila Nickel, Kathleen Bender, Artistic Imagery Productions, Gretchen Roesler, Michael Williams, Marlene and Denis Reinbold, Serge Martel, Edward Lang, John Botari, Sheryl and Hugh McKee, John and Nancy Senior, Central Mine Supply Company Ltd., Diane Janzen, Herb McFaull, Ilse Guenther, Helen and Allan Few, Kevin Hegedus, Marjorie McFadden, JoAnne Fredlund, Donna Bramwell, Doreen and Bob Hickie, Phyllis Brown, Garry and Janice Shoquist, Jake and Clara Friesen, Jeanne Walters, Jennifer Zhang, Lynne and Jim Graham, Jim and Marion Penna, Michael Pomedli and Joan Halmo, Anonymous, and Anonymous; from other points across Saskatchewan: Verna Veikle (Cut Knife), Lorne Jackson (Riverhurst), Eleanor Bentley (Dalmeny), Donalda Walter (Kuroki), June Barber (Weyburn), Mary McPhail and Jaya Hoy (both of North Battleford), Cathy Donahue (Perdue), Ken Montgomery, Joanne Skidmore, and Edward Geall (all of Regina); from Ontario: Elizabeth and William Pengelly, and Cecily Bradshaw (all of Toronto), Elsie Onysko (Ottawa), Louise Hughes (Oshawa), Joan Sinclair (Oakville), and Alena Krátká (Hamilton); from British Columbia: Shirley Leach and Marjorie Henry (both of Powell River), Carolyn and Ron Cameron (Rossland), Maidrid and Glen Jonat (Vernon), Stuart Gustin, Darryl Downton, and William Bruneau (all of Vancouver); from other locales: Thomas Yu,  Shirley Lockerbie Smith, Ann Burnard Crawford and Constance Hunt (all of Calgary, AB), Sylvia Scott Wortley (Winnipeg, MB), Neal Gripp (Westmount, QC), Ione Minore (Albany, OR), Roy Morden (Bermuda Dunes, CA).

Thank you for services, gifts, support . . .

their art shared: all our performers and presenters;assistance with recitals: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Leo Janssens, Gillian Lyons, Derek Gibson, Flowers by Fred, Lynn Ewing and Bill Feldbrugge; hosting, Lynda Finnimore, Bernice Adolf, Lynne Graham, Eric Bews, Hugh McKee, Randy Rodger, Marlene and Denis Reinbold, Edna Thiessen, Mary Friesen, Karen Wiens; baking for events: Alyssa Thompson, Karen Sterner, Gregory Schulte, Nancy Ladd; phoning, Shirley Pridmore; carpentry, Steve Boechler; items given: Pamela Dymek (Colorado Springs, CO), Kinsmen Series programs from 1940s-50s; Garth Beckett (Toronto), commemorative pictorial volume on Chopin; Vivian Coppola and the Saskatoon Symphony Volunteers, book on Liszt and a letter from Lyell Gustin to a colleague; Margo Rashley, a letter from Dr. Gustin to her father; Lynn Ewing, Etude magazines; special services: Chris Daviduik (Toronto), database work;Sr. Maureen Maier, transcribing interviews; Nadine Charabin and staff at the Provincial Archives, articles on Lloyd Rodwell; grants: Saskatchewan Arts Board and Department of Canadian Heritage, funds for musical programs of 2011; and Nutana Community Association, financial support for exterior work on Trounce House.

May is “Leave A Legacy” Month

Have you considered a planned gift to Gustin House? Help ensure a vibrant future for our ongoing musical, cultural, and heritage activity . . . leave an enduring legacy!  Information: (306) 373-1451.

“Bach is very good for the musical mind.” --Lyell Gustin

Gustin/Trounce Heritage Committee Inc.: Honorary President, Boyd McDonald (Kitchener, ON); President, Gregory Schulte;  Past President, Walter Thiessen; Secretary-treasurer, Joan Halmo; Sheryl McKee, Deborah Rodger, Peggy Sarjeant, Karen Sterner

 

Contact us:  (306) 373-9103; www.gustinhouse.ca           
                  --Joan Halmo, editor