Category: Canada

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

We attended a concert last week at the Danish Guitar Camp, where Carlo Marchione played a collection of music written for various instruments in the 1700s. One of those pieces was an arrangement of the Adagio from Mozart’s Klaviersonate in B-Major K. 570, which I had never heard before.

As soon as he started, I thought…. waitaminute…. this tune sounds awfully familiar… as a Canadian…

wait… what?

Have a listen to the first 10 seconds of the Mozart, then listen to the first 10 seconds of the Canadian National Anthem. I suspect that Calixa Lavallée might have had the Mozart tune in the back of his head when he sat down to work on Théodore Robitaille’s commission.

WUSC / EUMC

I was listening to an episode of People Fixing the World on the BBC today and learned for the first time about The Student Refugee Program. Turns out that, since 1978, it has supplied placements for refugees to come to Canada and study in universities across the country. It’s primarily funded by students as a small surcharge built into the tuition fees, so it’s not contingent on governmental budgets and therefore passing trends in attitudes about immigration.

Listening to the interviews with participants and the organisers made me proud to be Canadian…

More information at wusc.ca.