A Stony Mountain soprano experienced a full-circle moment while singing at a festival dedicated to a composer who inspired her interest — and career — in contemporary classical music.
Stony Mountain soprano Camryn Dewar performed alongside pianist Sandra Joy Friesen during In Violet Light: Celebration Concert of Violet Archer. Dewar served as principal vocalist for the event hosted by the Canadian Music Centre to honour Canadian composer Violet Archer’s legacy
In late November, Métis musician Camryn Dewar performed as the principal vocalist for a celebratory concert called In Violet Light: Celebration Concert of Violet Archer during ArcherFest 2025. This event was held in Calgary on Nov. 22 and 23 by the Canadian Music Centre in honour of trailblazing female classical composer Violet Archer. The event was also professionally recorded for access to audiences across the country and beyond.
Archer, who died in 2000 at the age of 86, was a respected professor and composer who shaped generations of Canadian musicians with her groundbreaking style and composition techniques.
“She is arguably one of the most influential female composers Canada has ever seen in vocal, instrumental, chamber, choral, electronic and educational music,” Dewar said. “ArcherFest honours her contribution to Canadian music, with a program featuring her top piano and vocal works.”
For Dewar, the experience surpassed her expectations.
“It was amazing. The coolest part was for me to be there singing some of her music — and music that I’ve been singing since I was a child. I found her song Green Rain when I was 11 and it just really struck me,” she said.
“That was the first time I remember being a young person and hearing a classical song and really being struck by it. I always remembered it and wanted to learn it. That was the first time I was affected by music in that way.”
In the song, the speaker reflects on her grandmother’s love of green and how she wishes she cherished the last moments she had with her. Dewar recalled how her own grandmother played piano up until a couple weeks before she died at age 98. Some of her fondest memories involved sitting side by side with her grandma, making music together when she was a toddler.
“Green Rain is about a speaker reminiscing about time with her grandmother and how she wishes she had greater appreciated her grandmother when she was still alive, which is something I really relate to. I really wish that my grandmother was still around and I still had the opportunity to spend time with her and listen to her stories. And that’s what Green Rain is about,” she said.
“So, for me, it was amazing to be there singing it and thinking of my own grandmother and my experience of singing that song for half my life. To be singing this in honour of Violet Archer with her own descendants there, it was so powerful and a full circle moment for me.”
Adding to the impact, Archer’s relatives approached Dewar after the concert to tell her how much they enjoyed her performance.
“It meant so much to me to hear how they loved how I brought her music to life and brought her to life,” she said. “It was so beautiful and special.”
Looking ahead, Dewar is preparing to go on tour to share her hour-long lecture recital about Indigenous female representation in opera from 1879 to present. She did her Fulbright Scholarship research on the topic last year at Montclair State University in New Jersey while completing a master’s degree in music. She’ll be performing six shows in Winnipeg, Calgary and Montreal, with Winnipeg dates at the University of Manitoba on Jan. 16 and Canadian Mennonite University on March 12. More details and dates can be found on her website at camryndewar.com.
