Workshops
Loreena McKennitt Composition Competition Workshops
The Loreena McKennitt Composition Competition provided workshops and a juried competition for young music writers in South Central Manitoba. There were two streams –
1. "A Day with Remi Bouchard".
This first workshop, was held on November 10th, 2007, tutoring young musicians (Junior High) who had a working knowledge of music theory and notation. The participants were invited to submit written works. A second workshop, held on the same day, was aimed at Senior High students.
The presenter was Mr. Bouchard, a well-known composer from Neepawa, Manitoba. He has over 500 compositions to his credit, many of them published. Mr. Bouchard has served as a mentor to many young composers and was delighted to share his skills with these young musicians. "How to get started" and "Creating Melodies” were among the topics discussed. This workshop was open to junior high and senior high school students in South Central Manitoba.
2. Song Writing Workshop With James Keeleghan
This workshop took place on March 22nd, 2008 at the Morden Friendship Centre. It 
was a way of preparing local songwriters for the Loreena McKennitt Composition Competition. Chautauqua Spirit and the Back 40 Folk Festival presented this one-day workshop with award winning singer/song-writer James Keelaghan.
Keelaghan's music is saturated with his love of story and his passion for history. His musical influences are as diverse as Jethro Tull, Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger. Keelaghan’s works was honoured by a Juno Award in 1993 and by 1st prize in the U.S.A Song-writing Competition in 2002. The skills and experience that Keelaghan brought to this workshop was an inspiration for all who attended.
THE WINNERS
Loreena McKennitt was sent the 4 winning entries and asked to provide comments. The winning entries were
- Josiah Warkentin
- Nanau Loewen
- Paul Bergman
- Jordan Friesen
Each winner received sealed letters from Loreena McKennitt and a package containing several of her CD's. The gifts were presented on stage at the Chautauqua Celebration Festival.
