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Karen Sunabacka (b. 1975)
Born by the River
Composed: 2012
Premiered: 2013, Winnipeg
Duration: 6 minutes

Born By The River is a piece in which I explored my Manitoba heritage through the visual art, music, and stories of my Métis Grandmother Lenore Clouston (nee Birston). My grandmother (on my mother’s side) was born by the Red River in the Selkirk area, north of what is now Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lenore Clouston was a farmer, visual artist, and local (Selkirk) community activist. She came of age during World War Two when her own family’s aboriginal roots were hidden. My grandmother met my Scottish grandfather in a band where he played fiddle and she played the piano. As a child, I spent much time at my grandparents farm near Selkirk, and the highlights are the times my grandparents performed together. For this reason, it is the Métis music of the Red River Valley that is the background of this piece as it brings together this multicultural past. The fiddle tunes show up in fragments and is the major rhythmic pulse throughout the work.

The piece was commissioned and then premiered by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November  27, 2013.

Program note by Karen Sunabacka.

Karen Sunabacka (b. 1975)
Born by the River
Composed: 2012
Premiered: 2013, Winnipeg
Duration: 6 minutes

Born By The River is a piece in which I explored my Manitoba heritage through the visual art, music, and stories of my Métis Grandmother Lenore Clouston (nee Birston). My grandmother (on my mother’s side) was born by the Red River in the Selkirk area, north of what is now Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lenore Clouston was a farmer, visual artist, and local (Selkirk) community activist. She came of age during World War Two when her own family’s aboriginal roots were hidden. My grandmother met my Scottish grandfather in a band where he played fiddle and she played the piano. As a child, I spent much time at my grandparents farm near Selkirk, and the highlights are the times my grandparents performed together. For this reason, it is the Métis music of the Red River Valley that is the background of this piece as it brings together this multicultural past. The fiddle tunes show up in fragments and is the major rhythmic pulse throughout the work.

The piece was commissioned and then premiered by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November  27, 2013.

Program note by Karen Sunabacka.