Village Squire, 1976-02, Page 33Music
- Ian Tyson
performs
at Stratford
Television and recording star Ian Tyson
performs in the Stratford Festival Theatre,
Saturday, February 21. Highly acclaimed as a
singer and composer since Four Strong
Winds became an international hit for Ian and
wife, Sylvia, in the early sixties, he'll be
appearing here with The Great Speckled Bird
and special guest, Dallas Harms.
Tyson's musicaLroots and inspiration are in
the tough rodeo rider's life he lived in the
B.0 int�`tLior before Moving e•,tst He became
active i 'folk circles, finding success after'
teaming up with a girl from Chatham, Sylvia
Fucker. Among the leaders of the folk
movement, they eventually decided to record
in Nashville. lan was on the road back to his
e:ount.y roots.
Hits like Someday Soon and Summer
Wages established Ian Tyson as a leading
composer and singer in Country Music. The
Great Speckled Bird provide a solid
foundation for the exciting Tyson sound. A
•new release for Ian op the Broadland label i's
Goodness of Shirley. Ian was honoured with
three "Big Country" Awards last fall for
Canada's Best Country Album, Best Country
Television Show and especially for the
Outstanding Performance by a Male Singer.
Dallas Harms is also a "Big Country"
Award winner. Paper Rosie won the Best
Single Award last year, giving Dallas the
recognition he's deserved for his tremendous
contribution to Country Music in Canada.
The
Press
- Rural base gives
Harry J. Boyle
overview
of communications
needs
Harry J Boyle is 'probably the most
influential man in the Canadian communica-
tions industry today.
Mr. Boyle was named recently as chairman
of the Canadian Radio Television Commis-
sion. His appointment is until October 7, 1980
though few observers feel he will stay in the
post that long.
He's gone a long way in the 60 years since
he was born' in the little Huron county
crossroads town of St. Augustine. ,Still, in
many ways there's still a lot of St. Augustine,
in him. He has, for instance, turned his
boyhood experience, memories and the
philosophy of the area he grew up in into a
successful series of books, plays, essays. His
gentle humour won him a Leacock award for
humour in 1963 for Homebrew and Patches.
Though he's held important positions with
C.B.C. and other influential media in Canada,
he's kept much of that same outlook he had as
child. It's an important step to have such a
man in such a position. Communications
plays a greater role in holding this country
together than in any other country in the
world. It would be easy for it to be misused,
by allowing the natural trend of concentration
in the major urban centres to progress. As
Mr. Boyle showed at a recent hearing,
however, he's concerned that radio and
television not take the easiest route, that
instead it Work to the benefit of the country.
He uses that kind of overview acquired in his
early years to sort out what's just a money
making deal from what can help the people of
the country. People in Toronto may squawk
about losing an* American channel in their
cable selection of a dozen or more but people
in northern Ontario are interested in getting
even one good, clear signal. They are as
isolated from the mainstream of society in
those small mid -north towns and villages as
Mr. Boyle was in St. Augustine in the 1930's
His presence for these people is reassuring
Theatre
-Records fall
for Stratford
Festival in 1975
The 1975 season of the Stratford Festival
was on "Overwhelming Success" according
to John Killer, president of the Stratford.
Shakespearean Festival Foundation. The
foundation recently held its annual meeting
and reported both financial and critical
success.
Attendance was up 36,000 over 4974 and
there was an increase in box office of almost
Mr. Killer credited a "very special kind of
excitement" at this year's festival to new
artistic director Robin Phillips. "Many
writers compared the energy and vitality of
1975 to that shown in 1953 and concluded that
they were witnessing nothing less than a
rebirth of the Festival."
Fundraising in 1975 was up 20 per cent
over 1974 to $285,000 including $42,000 from
the city of Stratford alone, the equivalent of
$1.70 for every person in the community
REANEY NAMED TO ORDER OF CANADA
London playwright and author James
•Reaney will be enrolled in the Order of
Canada in April.
Mr. Reaney is used to honours lately. Last
year he won the Chalmers Canadian Play
award for one of three plays in the trilogy
about the Donnelly family of Lucan. He was
nominated for the same award this year for
the final in the series of plays, Handcuffs
The award was won by John Hebert for
Fortune and Men's Eyes.
The Donnelly story is still fascinating Mr.
Reaney. He visited Ireland in January to trace
the roots of the Donnelly family for a book, or
perhaps two or three volumes, which he is
working on with graduate student William
Butt. Mr.-Reany is a professor of English ,at
the University of Western Ontari and is on
sabbatical until June.
Pe- ?orin a
dead -defying
act.
Have regular
medical check-ups.
Give Heart Fund 4:441
THE
BOOKSHELF
•used paperbacks
•used comic
books
•used hardcovers
we buy/sell/
trade
THE
BOOK SHELF
50 Wellington St.
Stratford
273-3501
OPEN 10 A.M. 1
7 P.M.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1976, 31