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Just how important music is in our lives becomes apparent when we
go to concert halls filled with people, arriving a bit
downtrodden and tired and then, when we look at them after the
concert they suddenly look younger, refreshed, revitalized. As
the days get darker we turn more often to music, especially in
the pre-Christmas season. There is not an organization in our
ranks that does not enjoy the comfort of seasonal sounds.
Advent with the Canadian
Austrian Society
Within a few days we visited 4 different venues, starting with
the Austrian Society, which holds its
 Advent celebration in the
downtown Delta Chelsea Inn. The format is always the same:
welcoming address by Christine Meyer, President, and
introduction of the head table. This year there were so many
dignitaries from all levels of diplomacy past and present that
the list is too long to mention.
Immediately afterwards people
settled in to enjoy the cookies and mandarins laid out on the
table while munching along as the music plays.
| Manfred Petz and... |
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| ...Schola Cantorum and... |
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| ...the Edelweiss Choir |
Well, here it was
Manfred Petz and his Scholar Cantorum, as well as the Edelweiss
Choir with Gretel Schauer as soloist singing the old familiar
and not so familiar tunes.
 In rapid succession Gunter Kunzelmann
climbed to the podium to tell one of his stories and poems
surrounding Christmas. This time he especially had a hit with
his last entry about the old Christmas tree that did not turn
around on its base any more after many years of faithful service
and as someone did the good deed and repaired it, and it turned
again so beautifully, and Mama said: if only Papa could see
this, well…You can imagine what happened next! The whole
contraption started to race around faster and faster and finally
 dispersed all its glory all over the room. There was much
laughter in the room after that!
But the music is what holds such events together, and seeing the
few children receiving a Christmas present. After listening to
many
 performances the people feel a need to sing too and thus
that is provided for. Having worked so well the guests feel it
is then time for a traditional Goulash soup which has special
fame. All others pale in comparison, or so I have been told.
It looked to me as if this year fewer people came for this in
the past so very popular event.
Full house at the Danube Swabian House
 There was a lot going on when we went
to this Scarborough club. There was the "Kinderbescherung", an
afternoon organized by the Women’s Auxiliary with the help of
talented and dedicated
 Lorie Szauter. She worked very hard with
the kids to teach most of them German Christmas songs and poems,
did a play with them that ended with the concept of building a
village, and produced fun and games for all.
 It truly is
astounding that these kids in part are very good and not shy at
all in delivering something in a public space.
The most important part of course is to get Santa Clause to come
and hand out presents. He was called with a song, which had to
be repeated again and again, because he did not show up right
away. But when he came he was there for the kids, lifted them
up, bent down on his knee, and had parents take pictures. These
are unforgettable memories for any family.
| Santa loves children... |
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| ...and children... |
...love Santa |
It took a long time for all the many children, orderly in their
age group, to get onto the stage and sit on Santa’s lap and to
receive a gift. It was an afternoon filling event before the
hall got empty and everyone went home.
I darted in an out to be able to be in two places at the same
time. Around the corner behind the offices the Historical
Society got together for coffee and Stollen, for songs and
sing-alongs, and to listen to a few poems.
| Christian Klein... |
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| The Historical
Society of Mecklemburg Upper Canada |
Christian Klein lent
me his so I could make a small contribution to the proceedings,
something that I enjoy, because it makes me feel like I belong.
Stories were told and a visit to the Kitchener Christkindl
Market was recounted. But the big surprise was that Santa came
to these big kids, whom were just as happy as the little ones to
receive a token of sweets for being extra good.
| Santa came... |
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| ...for the... |
...big kids... |
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| ...and... |
...gets thanked with a
kiss! |
Sadly this group is getting smaller and smaller and we remember
a few years back when some members were still vigorous and vital
and participating. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas, but
especially all those that cannot come anymore but would like to.
We shall think of them!
Weihnachtslieder Carolling at the
Hansa
Club
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| Choir & audience in a
festive hall |
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| Dieter Wütherich |
Dieter Wütherich, the
organist |
Dieter Wuetherich keeps his Hansa
Choir pretty busy. On the 7th of December, same as
the other events, he had the choir give a nice Advent concert.
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| The Hansa Choir |
 Rainer Walter was at hand to greet the guests who were sitting
in the festively decorated hall with coffee and lots and lots of
cookies. It was a program of familiar songs in English and
German and poems, always one and then the other.
| Introduction |
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| Dedication |
A Christmas poem |
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| The solo |
Another Christmas poem |
Wish I could
have been there, but I was at the other club while the best of
all husbands was there. He said that he thoroughly enjoyed
himself, just like everyone else that was there. I would have
especially enjoyed to hear "We are marching in the light of
love" and "Lass Frieden sein". Our traditional music and being
together with familiar friends and acquaintances feels like
having an extended family. For us this is particularly
heart-warming because we do not have any family.
Learning from Music
 A few weeks prior to these concerts we attended a concert held by Manfred Petz In the Sr. Clement’s School, where he was a teacher for twenty years between 1979 and 1999. He also was asked to take on the local choir called Scholar Cantorum, which he has directed now, in the coming February for 30 years.
 He is being kept very busy with requests to sing with this choir and others that he conducts at all sorts of venues, but giving this particular concert in “his” school, was especially pleasing to him. Having been a teacher - he must have been a really good one - he has a talent for making concepts visual and interesting.
 His photo safaris through Europe combined with regional songs and other musical fare have become famous in their own right. He has developed a loyal following.
 The hall for “Warum ist es am Rhein so schön”, a repeat performance by popular demand, traveled through parts of the Rhein from whence the river starts. It is in fact a bit confusing and
 actually overwhelming to hear about all these different references to the Rhein, but following the program made it plausible.
The program was very interesting with the many different photos of the various Rhein regions and the intermittent forms of entertainment. His choir performed, as did soloists like Ursula Ivonoffski, Elke & Anton Streisselberger
 with Horn and Piano, the alphorn was played by Eva Haida, Margrith Petermann and Rene Waelti yodeled and the Forget-me-not dancers danced in Trachten.
 What a fortunate combination: Music, entertainments and knowledge shared. We are looking forward to hearing and learning more about this mighty river in the next concert. This series of concerts proves: Music matters!
Until next time
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
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