The Canada Music Week Gala Concert normally features songs by Canadian composers, but this year, one of the songs will have a strong Summerland connection.
Anita Perry and her daughter Sacha Perry-Fagant have written one of the songs in the concert.
Perry, who teaches music at Summerland Montessori School, has also composed many of the school’s musical concerts.
This is the first time she has worked in collaboration on a composition.
In summer, when the two decided to work together on the piece, Perry urged her daughter to write lyrics which she would then put to music.
“It’s much easier to do when you have the lyrics,” she said.
But Perry-Fagant wanted to have the music in place so she could write lyrics to fit.
Perry said the musical composition was difficult.
“I had no idea of the subject matter,” she said.
She created a piece of music which she gave to Perry-Fagant, who then wrote the words.
Once the words and music were both in place, they worked together to ensure the song worked as a seamless unit.
“I’m very attached to the notes; Sacha was very attached to the words,” Perry said.
While composing together was challenging, the finished piece pleased both of them.
“There were times I felt like weeping with joy,” Perry said.
She added that she would like to work on another composition with her daughter, but the next time she wants to have the words in place before she writes the music.
The song, When The Last Tree Died, is an environmental piece, about a time when the trees have died.
“It’s a song about how humans try to get the trees back,” Perry-Fagant said. “Even when they think they succeed, they can’t.”
While the concept may sound depressing, Perry-Fagant said it ends with a hopeful message.
The Canada Music Week Gala Concert will be held on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Cleland Community Theatre in Penticton.
Tickets are at the Penticton and District Community Arts Council at Leir House in Penticton.
