Tribute To Jane Perry
CRSP joins many others whose lives were touched by Jane Perry in mourning the loss of our beloved former Artistic Director.
Jane assumed leadership of the Calgary Renaissance Singers & Players in 2011. A highly skilled and experienced pianist and choral conductor, she was willing to learn about Renaissance music on the job with the assistance of choir members. She brought fresh energy, creativity, joy and superb musicianship to the organization.
Jane was a brilliant musician who could play any style of music, improvise, arrange, and compose. She was also a gifted teacher, patient, encouraging and able to communicate musical concepts to students and choristers of all skill levels in a humorous and memorable way.
It was always a joy to work with Jane. She was a visionary, always planning well into the future and had a gentle, kind and collaborative leadership style, welcoming the ideas of others as well as articulately presenting her own. Her ideas sometimes took time to gain acceptance, but Jane was a good gardener. She would plant the seeds, cultivate them patiently, and eventually they would blossom.
She led CRSP through some very significant changes. During her tenure, we obtained charitable status and got on a much firmer financial footing, allowing us to modernize our marketing strategies and social media, commission new works in the spirit of the Renaissance, and invest in anti-racism education and artistic relationships. We also started the "CRSP Presents" concert series in which we feature other local artists and ensembles less financially fortunate that ourselves. Jane had numerous friends and contacts in all sectors of the local arts community, which let us collaborate with jazz musicians, early music instrumentalists, musicians from various cultural traditions, poets, visual artists, actors, and dancers.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to suspend live performances and rehearsals, Jane kept us together by initiating weekly Zoom meetings. These consisted variously of virtual rehearsals, presentations on our favourite Renaissance works, singalongs, games nights and social events. She even led us to new creative heights during this time by making "virtual choir" videos and on-line concerts, with the assistance of professional videographers and AV editors. Unlike many other choirs, we emerged from the pandemic with our membership numbers almost unchanged and our close-knit community intact.
Jane's illness was diagnosed during the pandemic and sadly, she was unable to return to the helm of CRSP. She remained involved with us for as long as she could in a more limited capacity, advising us and leading the choir's anti-racism strategy. She directed us to Paul Grindlay as a candidate to succeed her, and he has proven to be an excellent choice.
We miss Jane immensely but are profoundly grateful for having had her in our lives. Jane set an example both of how to live and how to die. She was joyous, exuberant, thoughtful, unfailingly kind and loving, principled, passionate about social justice, endlessly creative, insightful, eloquent with both music and words, courageous, optimistic and never wasted a single moment of her (to use poet Mary Oliver's words) "one wild and precious life". Jane left an indelible mark on our organization and on each of us as individuals. Her spirit will live on in everything we do.
THANK YOU JANE!!!!