Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
WINNIPEG PHILHARMONIC CHOIR GALA
Centennial Concert Hall
Saturday, April 1, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
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Fellow Manitobans, I am delighted for the opportunity to join you at this celebration of music.
I would like first to acknowledge that we are gathered in the capital of a province that is the ancestral and present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Red River Metis, Dakota, Dene and Inuit peoples.
We acknowledge northern Manitoba includes lands that were, and are, the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Together, the people of this diverse and beautiful province are working to move forward in harmony to build a society of understanding, opportunity and healing.
Harmony will certainly be in the air at tonight’s musical gala, as we applaud a century of voices lifted in song and together creating beautiful sounds.
Through generations of war and peace, privation and prosperity, social and cultural changes, the likes of which the founders of this choir could not have imagined, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir has allowed music lovers to experience the power and range of the human voice.
Celebrating this centennial season with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra highlights the close relationship between these two essential, foundational arts organizations.
Given the many ties between these two musical mainstays of Manitoba, it is fitting that this is also a year of celebration for the WSO. Seventy-five years as one of Canada’s most innovative and renowned orchestras is also an impressive milestone.
The talented performers who will take us on tonight’s musical journey have brought joy to audiences across Manitoba and around the world.
They give all Winnipeggers and all Manitobans something to cheer and a reason to cry “encore!” in anticipation of the next century of the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir.
To all those who create and support these musical institutions, thank you and congratulations on this milestone season.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich.
