We look forward to welcoming Claude Lapalme
Since his appointment as Music Director of the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra in 1990, Claude Lapalme has made his mark as a conductor, music director, orchestrator, arranger and composer. Paris newspaper Le Figaro has called him a “remarkable and superb” conductor; the Toronto Globe and Mail, “assured and highly effective”; the Havana Granma, “surprisingly dexterous, warm and sincere”; and the Calgary Herald, “vigorous and attentive to detail.”
A 1991 laureate of the Besançon international conducting competition, he has conducted orchestras around the world, including the URSS State Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra as well as numerous ensembles in Canada, Hungary, the United States, Cuba, France and the Netherlands.
His own Red Deer Symphony has been featured on several CBC broadcasts and has collaborated with Alberta Ballet, Edmonton’s Pro Coro and Calgary’s Early Music Voices, among others. The orchestra has also toured the province of Alberta as far north as Fort McMurray.
As an arranger and orchestrator, Lapalme has worked with the likes of Marvin Hamlisch and Ian Tyson. His compositions have been heard throughout Europe and the United States. He has also served as an instructor at Burman University and both the universities of Toronto and Calgary.
While studying at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in the mid-1980s, Lapalme developed a lifelong interest in baroque historical practice. His continued interest led him to be the founder of Rosa Barocca, an ensemble in Alberta dedicated to the performance of baroque music on period instruments. The ensemble received the Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) in 2023 for their collaboration with cellist Elinor Frey.
For his contributions to the cultural life of Alberta, Lapalme was the recipient of several awards of distinction from the City of Red Deer and the Province of Alberta.
Day 1: Participants Arrived! <3~
What a heartwarming first day!
We started with an epic omelette breakfast made by Troy, played the icebreaker game “We’re Not Really Strangers” (found our new band name 😉), had a full morning of productive/hilarious/derpy/exciting/fun rehearsals and errands … tortilla wrap lunch again by chef Troy, more rehearsals (Dvorak!), stunning sunset walk, and then FEAST prepared by mama Wang!!!
This is all such a dream come true to finally be together and create such touching, special camaraderie through food, land, and music <3
Truly, so so so grateful for this wondrous group of people. It’s all about the people… (and the Airdrie landscape is not bad either :))~!)
Tomorrow shall be magical.
Behind the scenes…!
First ZERO was so lovely meeting our violinist Aaron and cellist Mairéad! :’) The rehearsals were so fun, we were fed well by Mama Wang’s delicious feast, and took the ritual sunset walk behind the residence house to admire the stunning colors of the Airdrie skies <3
All the residents will be together for a full day of music making!!!
An Open Love Letter
“I don't want us to be burnt out, I want to this to grow year by year.
I want to enjoy the experience and breathe during each step.
It's all going to magic. I promise. I promise. I know it so deeply in my heart.
This is all so special. I am so grateful.
Our sincerity will permeate. The world is full of love.”
Festival Map!
All our concert date, times, and locations are bookmarked here!
Counting down. 4 more days till opening…!
Countdown 5 DAYS!
Next week at this golden hour we’ll be serenaded by Debussy’s beautiful string quartet right here on the water~! 🌅🎻💓(accompanied by football practice in the back! 😂🏈)
String Quartet Concert “Debussy on the Lake”
We’re in the News! We love you, Airdrie!
Thank you, #AirdrieToday for this beautiful, powerful, heartwarming story about why we do what we do. We’re waiting for you, Airdrie! Now you just have to show up <3!
We promise we’ll greet you with our biggest smiles, our sincere open hearts, our most honest, passionate music making.
See you Oct 4th 5PM at the Amphitheater!
Countdown. 7 days till Opening!
We are ONE WEEK away from our opening concert! One week away from sharing what we’ve been planning with you, Airdrie! This first concert is going to be the jumping off point for every event that we have planned for the duration of the festival, and do you know how many events that is? 9. 9 events in 5 days.
To kick off this wild ride, you get… Us. Tong and Maitreyi. And the theme we’ve chosen for this event is “Sowing the Seeds.” It seemed fitting, with the final event of the festival being a big musical harvest filled with food, and this being the first year of this festival. We want to sow the seeds of this festival in Airdrie so that every year, it can grow into something beautiful.
Thank you to our Supporters!
As we’re approaching the opening concert next Tuesday, we’d like to thank in advance our supporters, donors, and sponsors. These aren’t just financial contributions that are crucial to making our vision possible. More than that, they are relationships, human connections, they’re the heartwarming proof that the community is showing up for us. We’ve been so moved, truly, by your enthusiasm, the generous and sincere ways you’ve responded. What we’re trying to do is to share this wonderful art with you, make our concerts free and accessible, and you are welcoming us with open arms. This is truly a team effort.
Thanksgiving Potluck BBQ Feast 10/8 @2PM Nose Creek Park
This is how we do it. 👩🏻🍳👩🏻🌾🥘🥳
Ready to celebrate thanksgiving feast with us? 🍗🥗🌽🍠🥧
Our final concert “A Musical Harvest” 10/8 @2PM in Nose Creek Park will be an epic community BBQ! 🥰 Please come out and join our potluck!!!
There is a movement.
There is a movement. And musicians shouldn’t fool themselves into thinking there’s no place for us in it. After all, we’re in a practice room so much, a small window that can be a refuge from a world of strife. But we have as much to give in this movement as anyone. Connect with your land. Your people. Strangers. Anything that needs healing, anything that gives you healing. You are capable and needed just as you are. Your spirit, that same spirit you pour into your music. Pour it into threads that link people and land in acts of radical kindness, chaotic and reckless love. Pour it into places and people that need their voices emboldened. Pour it into yourself when you need rest. This movement, the energy that it embodies, needs more of you.
2022 Festival Program Announcement
With tomorrow comes the opening day of our festival, and we’re getting ready to work with our residents to prepare a series of events that are going to be… magical. No, really. Magical. We don’t know your experiences with classical music, and we can say with certainty that ours haven’t always been positive. But we also know very deeply that it doesn’t have to be that way. It doesn’t have to be in concert halls, it doesn’t have to be with suits and ties and silence between movements. It can be with barbecued veggies, with storybooks and laughter. It can be with a beer, or two or three. Classical music is “come as you are” music, it’s “we’ve been there too” music, it’s just… music. And music is best shared with those we love. Come out and join us, as you are, and we promise, we’re going to have an incredible time together.
Join our family!
Meet Mama Wang, the Windwood Resident House’s sweetest warmest most generous host mom!!! #airdriemoms 🧡🏡🤗
Join our family here! https://windwoodfestival.com/get-involved
Tomorrow we will announce the detailed programming! 😎
The countdown is about to begin.
💓
Announcing our 2022 Resident Artists!
It is with great joy that we announce our residents for the pilot season of the Windwood Music Festival!
This phenomenal group of people are taking this leap of faith with Tong and I, trusting in our vision while bringing their own incredible creative spirits to the mix. We could not be more excited to welcome them to Airdrie and to welcome you, our wonderful community, to what is shaping up to be a truly incredible experience. Please join us in welcoming the inaugural residents!
So…What is “Creative Programming”?
Tong here!
Some of you have told us: I don’t think I have any groundbreaking ideas, I don’t quite know how to go about this “creative programming”…
Well, great! Same. That’s why we’re here. To take that first step outside the box. And then gradually we daydream, play, experiment, design, and then we bring it all to life.
The more we play, the more we discover. If you love your music, you’re a creative. You have ideas. It doesn’t have to be anything radical. The simplest intentions could have the biggest impact.
Opening Program: Sowing the Seeds
Hello hello! It’s us (Maitreyi and Tong) again with exciting news as we announce Duo Perdendosi’s opening program for WMF!
Origin story…
So who are we?
Here’s the story of Duo Perdendosi, our co-founders and lead artists.
WMF 2022 Launch!
It is a wild time to be a classical musician. A scary time sometimes, but also… exciting. Full of possibility and potential.
Tong and I see connection, a world of connection. Between music and land and people. Between the food we cook and eat, the leaves we see on our walks, the people we meet, the music we play… it’s absolutely beautiful. And we want to share that, celebrate that, bring more of that to the classical music world.
And so it begins…
Welcome, #airdrie!
We can't wait to meet and chat and celebrate and feast and music and laugh and dance and connect with each and every one of you!
❤
We've always dreamed of building a project like this. And we're diving into it, full force, hearts open, magic powers charged. I can't imagine a better community to embark on this journey with.
Let's go.
To the rolling hills of Airdrie, Alberta.
❤
Tong and Maitreyi
My Love Letter to Airdrie
I’ve always thought, that the most miraculous, magical, wondrous place, is right here. 50 steps behind my doorstep, down that small path overlooking the endless rolling hills, the dancing cornfields, the warmest sky.
Right here, the most special place. Right at home.
I don’t even have to go anywhere. The most beautiful, precious things are often already right by us, closest to us. And everyday, we are blessed with opportunities to notice that beauty.