The Westerner for April 27, 2009

Posted by Brian F. Thompson 
 

Meeting:   Chair, Al Sanderson; Music, Jerome Martin; Grace, Bob Kimmerly

Attendance / Guests:   31 including Jelto Schiebel - Edmonton Mayfield, Susan Gibbs, Doug Burchill, Tatiana Dobrousin & Eva Bostrand

Announcements:

  • Rotary District 5370 Conference, May 15 - 17, Jasper Park Lodge.  Our Club will pay your registration fee if you attend.  Registration forms available on the District Website to which you can link from our Club Website (to which you can link from this e-bulletin).
  • Last chance to get tickets for the Integrity Awards Dinner on April 29th.
  • Ron Hutchinson announced the Interact Club project "Vow of Silence" is being supported financially by our Club.  They are asking students to pledge to not talk, text or e-mail for one day to build awareness of people in third world countries who are not able to speak for themselves because of bad governments.
  • Mike Ryan spoke last Sunday at the annual RYLA Conference.  We will likely be hearing from the students we sponsored at an upcoming meeting.
  • 50/50 Draw - This week, Charlie Wier and Doug MacDougall left $47 to carry forward to next week.
  • Finemaster Bill Buckham made sure that everyone would be liable for the maximum of $2 for having no guests, supporting the City Centre Airport (a clear majority), having 2 deserts (Bob Lamoureux), not attending the Integrity Awards function, or not wearing a Rotary pin.

PROGRAM - CHOIR AT EDMONTON INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN

Joe Lizotte introduced our speaker Eva Bostrand who is a trained voice instructor and founder of the Sing for life Society.

She started her presentation by having us all stand tall but relaxed, balanced on two feet, head floating above a long neck.  We then put one hand on our bellies and one on our side before making the sounds "HELLO", "AH HA", and "OH CANADA". 

Eva claims that singing improves our ability to think, it raises our spirit and our attitude, we feel better and our immune system is improved.  It makes our glands secrete "feel-good" hormones.  Singing in a group promotes friendship and group support.  It is good exercise for the brain.

Eva is also the founder of a choir known as "A Joyful Noise Choir", which is for people who think they can't sing.  She started with approximately 30 people, and over the years it has developed into two choirs with approximately 90 performers.  The current group is putting on a concert at All Saints Cathedral, 10035 - 103 Street on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 7:00 pm.  Tickets will be available at the door - $12.00 for students & seniors, $15.00 for adults.  Eva believes that many people who think they can't sing actually can sing with some help, and a change of attitude.

Under the Sing for Life Society Banner, Eva started a choir at the Edmonton Institution for Women in 2006.  To date, approximately 90 inmates have participated in the choir and choir sponsored events, and the singers have participated in 9 performances (2 outside the institution).  She is also starting a choir for at-risk aboriginal youth at a local school.

Singing in this choir is quite theraputic for the inmates.  It teaches them to learn and respect rules ("the conductor is a dictator"), teamwork, trusting others, and it builds self esteem.  For many of them it is their only night out of the "house", where they can socialize with other than their regular housemates.

For more information about Sing For Life, visit www.singforlife.ca

Eva was thanked by Bruce Perry.