Finding our Connection

A Concert Experience featuring beautiful music and spoken word reflections about the composers and their lives.

Stunning music written  for oboe/English horn and piano. Reflections written by Alice Kuipers about each piece are read before each piece.  These exquisite emotional reflections help an audience connect to the beauty and uniqueness of the music making this a rich musical experience. 

Composers featured are: William Grant Still, Nadia Boulanger, Jean Coulthard, Alexina Louie, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Francesca Caccini and Alyssa Morris. Never heard of those composers before? There is a good reason for that; they are people that have been left out of the traditional Classical Music Canon.

Their music has not been performed because of who they are/were and the value they had in our culture. Their music is truly beautiful. It needs to be experienced! 

  • Erin Brophey

    OBOE

    Erin Brophey shares the joy of music-making with audiences across Canada. Erin is currently the Principal Oboe of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (on sabbatical).

    In 2000, Erin earned her Honours Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University. She completed her Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2002.

    As a performer, Erin is interested in the intersection of art forms and offering meaningful cultural experiences to audiences. She has a particular interest in music written n by composers that identify as women and people of colour.

    A joyful educator, Erin Brophey is a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan and is the Woodwind Coach for the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra. In Saskatoon, Erin co-directs a community double-reed band called Squawk. In addition, Erin is on faculty at the Inter-Provincial Music Camp in Parry Sound, Ontario. Erin Brophey is the Director of an online oboe education program called the Oboe Path.

  • Bonnie Nicholson

    PIANO

    Bonnie Nicholson is a pianist, teacher and chamber musician from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her degrees include a Bachelor of Music (Performance, 1984) and a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Saskatchewan (1987), as well as an A.R.C.T. in Piano Performance from the R.C.M. (1984).

    Teachers and influences are varied and include her mentor Robin Harrison (Saskatoon) and Janet Wendland (Prince Albert).

    Bonnie enjoys chasing her grandchildren through their busy lives and maintaining a small private piano studio from her home (Studio Nic).

    She volunteers many hours towards the Saskatoon Music Festival. Bonnie is the pianist for the Saskatoon Fireside Singers.

  • Alice Kuipers

    AUTHOR

    Alice Kuipers is the bestselling, award-winning author of five novels — Life on the Refrigerator Door, The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost for Words in the U.S.), 40 Things I Want to Tell You, The Death of Us, and Me and Me — plus the memoir Always Smile and eight books for younger readers. A bestselling ghostwriter and experienced memoirist, her newest book, Spark, is a guide to writing for young readers, praised by Richard Van Camp as “a masterpiece for anyone wanting to make their literary dreams come true.”

    Her debut, a New York Times Book for the Teen Age, won or was shortlisted for major awards including the Carnegie Medal. Her YA novels have sold internationally and won prizes such as the Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction.

    Her picture books and chapter series — including Polly Diamond (Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, Amazon Best Book of the Month) — inspire creativity in young readers. She’s also written for The Huffington Post and Fierce Ink Press, with her work published in 36 countries and adapted for stage and radio.

    As Head of Coaching at The Novelry, Alice helps writers find their voice and creative flow. Based in Saskatoon, Canada, she specializes in YA, memoir, and children’s writing.

Interested in presenting this concert series in your community?

Please reach out to hello@oboepath.com for pricing and availability or send us a message on this platform.