Black History Month at Mackenzie House

At home, I learn about Black History every month, but February is Black History Month in Canada and there was a special program on at Mackenzie House.

Dad and I went to Mackenzie House on Sunday. We went on a tour of the house and we went to the print shop.

We learnt about Mary Ann Shadd Cary who was the first Black woman publisher in Canada.

She was an abolitionist which means she wanted slavery to end. She also wanted integrated schools where black children and white children would go to school together. She came to Canada in 1851 and opened a school for Black children. But she wanted to publish her own newspaper. 

In 1853, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and Samuel Ringgold Ward started the Provincial Freeman.

In the Print Shop we printed the front page of the paper from Saturday, November 18, 1854.

There was an article about the conditions of the "Fugitive Slaves in Canada". The Anti-Slavery Society of Canada asked Rev. Samuel Ringgold Wald to make the conditions of the fugitive slaves known to the public so they could raise money to help them.

There were about 30,000 to 35,000 fugitive slaves in Canada at that time. When they reached Canada they had nothing because they had to flee very quietly and sometimes suddenly. It was a long, dangerous journey. If they were caught in America it would have been very bad for them. When they reached Canada they were tired and needed compassion. Sometimes they were even sick when they reached.

The Anti-Slavery Society and a Ladies Society in Toronto helped them with food, clothing and whatever they needed until they could find jobs. In the article it said "In no case has the Society been called upon to extend relief for more than six days, except in cases of illness".

I was surprised that the newly free Blacks were able to find jobs and start to settle in that quickly! It must have been so different for them in Canada!

The article pointed out that there was still discrimination based on colour in Canada but the industry of the free Blacks helped to prove that the slaves in America didn't need to be 'prepared' for Emancipation.


Dad took a couple pictures of us printing the page.

And here is the finished product - with dry ink. :-)

TSO's "Once Upon A Time" - The Rehearsal

Today, I had an amazing time at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Josh from the TSO arranged for me to go to the rehearsal for the "Once Upon A Time" Young People's Concert.

The concert itself will be on Saturday, January 18th at 1:30PM and 3:30PM at Roy Thomson Hall.

It's all about Fairy Tales.

Rob Kapilow helps to tell the stories of the fairy tales by conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The dancers from New York's PickleShoes Dance Company help us get lost in the stories.

Saturday's program includes:
Prokofiev: Cinderella 
Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
Copland: "Hoe Down" from Rodeo 
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

I got to see Roy Thompson Hall from a different perspective from normal. Mom and I sat up in the choir loft. 

I enjoyed watching how Rob Kapilow would direct the orchestra. They all knew their parts already and they really were just focussing on dynamics and phrasing. I was impressed with the members of the orchestra being able to concentrate on the music and what he was saying even when the dancers were busy behind him.

In the first part of the rehearsal I really loved Aaron Copland's "Hoe Down". It was bright and energetic and the dancers were cowboys who at first were fighting but they became friends. It's different when we have the dancers there because we have everybody imagining the same thing together. 

In the break I got to meet with Rob Kapilow. I've met him before at his "What Makes It Great" Concerts.

We spoke about how rehearsals are different from performances. In a rehearsal you can work on corrections and make it better for the performance.

After the break, we sat in a different spot.

I really liked Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The music was amazing and they did something that I never expected at all. The dancers were using glow-sticks on fishing rods. It's going to be so cool on Saturday! I'm sure of it.

Here are some more pictures from the rehearsal.
Thanks to Josh C. for letting us use some of his pictures. (You can see me and my Mom way up in the Choir loft.)

For more information about the concert you can check out the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's website:
www.tso.ca

Gin Lane at Mackenzie House's Hogmanay Celebrations

Last night we went to Hogmanay at Mackenzie House. I almost didn't go because my cat scratched me and I wasn't very happy. But, I really wanted to go to have haggis and listen to Gin Lane perform.
I've always loved haggis and it turns out that they got theirs from But'N'Ben which supplies the place where we normally get ours!

Gin Lane does music from the 18th and 19th centuries and it was the first time I got to see them in person. They are really funny and you can tell that they are completely comfortable performing in front of people.

The first thing we did when we got to Mackenzie House was operate the printing press. I put the letters in my slider backwards but Bruce Beaton fixed it before we went to print.

Here's how it came out.

After we printed my souvenir, we went downstairs to listen to Gin Lane play.
They were amazing!

Here's a video from last night.

We had lots of haggis.

And we also had oat cakes with jams and marmalade, mince tarts, ginger cookies, some gingerbread loaf and tea. They also had trifle, but it had alcohol in it.

We especially loved loved their apple cider!

Mackenzie House was decorated for the holidays and it looked very festive.

They really put a lot of effort into everything!

After we ate we went back downstairs to listen to Gin Lane play some more songs.
They were so nice. They signed my CD and they posed for a picture with me. :-)

Thank you to the staff of Mackenzie House and to Gin Lane for a wonderful evening!!!


About my cat - The good news is that my scratches are already healing. I don't have any sign of a fever and I've already forgiven him. It is the first time he's ever scratched me and I know it was an accident. He's an indoor cat but Mom says we're still going to look out for any signs of fever or infection for the next few weeks.
I'm so glad that I didn't let the scratches stop me from enjoying last night.


Happy New Year everybody!

National Ballet of Canada's Orchestra Rehearsal

Last night I had the most amazing experience!
I met David Briskin, the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the National Ballet of Canada. He let me sit in on their rehearsal for the Nutcracker. He invited me after I did a tour of the Walter Carsen Centre. :-)

When we got to the Four Seasons Centre, we sat in the Orchestra seats in the first row. During the break, we met David Briskin and he was very nice. He knows that I want to be a Conductor. He said it's good that I'm learning piano and violin and he also told me that I should listen to a lot of music.

I got to stand at the Conductor's Podium. It was amazing!

After the break, I got to sit in the Orchestra Pit! We were right by the percussion, close to the Celesta and Harp. We were behind the violins! The music was louder in the Orchestra Pit. You could even feel it through your feet.

What was cool was his instructions to the Orchestra. He could pick out when one section wasn't coming in at the same time as everyone else and he could tell if the dynamics of one part needed to change.

He also told the musicians that the tempo might need to change depending on the cast of dancers.

It was really great being there to see the rehearsal!

I'm even more excited about the Nutcracker now.
(I'll be a mouse in this year's Nutcracker. Click here for my performance dates.)