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Beach United Church is pleased to present Music for the Soul on Saturday, September 14th at 4:30pm with Mark Battenberg’s ‘Seven Aspects of the Cosmic Dancer’, a musical mediation and journey, guided by the wisdom of the Cosmic Dancer, who is the personification of the universal life force. She reveals her presence in the forms of Rain, Wind, Forest, Music, Meadows, Earth and Sun. Each of the seven aspects is followed by its own mystical composition that will immerse the listener into a harmonic river of sound and carry them to a place of peace and tranquility.

Tickets are pay what you can, with suggested prices of $10 or $15. Proceeds go towards supporting Beach United’s year-round community programs.

Performers

Shakuhachi Flute Master: Debbie Danbrook
Cellist: Dr. Dobrochna Zubek
Vioinist: Oleksandra Fedyshyn 
Narrator: DeAnn DeGruijter
Guitarist: Mark Battenberg

About the Musicians

Debbie Danbrook is a musician, composer and recording artist specializing in music for meditation, relaxation, gentle movement and healing. She is a Master player of the Shakuhachi flute, an ancient Japanese instrument that was originally played by monks as a type of Zen called ‘Suizen’ or blowing Zen. Debbie lived in Japan for several years to study this flute. She is the first woman to have mastered this difficult instrument and weaves the Shakuhachi together with her voice in her ethereal music. Her music has been embraced by healers and spiritual practitioners around the globe. She has released over 20 albums of Healing Music. She has performed extensively internationally and played at EXPO in Japan and also played for the Japanese Prince and Princess at the opening ceremony for a Zen meditation garden. Debbie was invited to offer her healing music at the Genocide Memorial in Rwanda.

Debbie is a founding member of Music Can Heal, a non-profit organization that brings peaceful, healing music to uplift and soothe those in need whether in hospital, retirement homes, long term care or palliative care. Debbie is an ordained Reverend and offers healing music and also officiates at Memorials and Celebration of Life ceremonies. 

Polish-Canadian cellist Dr. Dobrochna Zubek has established herself as a versatile artist dedicated to a wide-ranging musical repertoire and to exploring boundaries between artistic disciplines.  A soloist, chamber musician, orchestral cellist and educator, Zubek’s multi-faceted career has taken her to cities across Europe, Asia and North America. Along the way, she has collaborated with some of music’s most distinguished artists, includingPeter Gabriel, José Carreras, Shauna Rolston and Gioconda Barbuto. She served as principal cellist in the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and the Ontario Philharmonic (2017-2023). She recently was invited as acting principal cellist of Symphony New Brunswick for this and the next season.

Oleksandra Fedyshyn is a violinist, composer and educator based in Toronto since 2008.  She’s got a Master’s degree from The Lviv National Music Academy, M. Lysenko (Lviv Conservatory, Ukraine). Oleksandra performed as a member of symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles with concert tours in Europe (including performances at INSO Lviv Orchestra and Leopolis Orchestra). As a composer, she was awarded as the laureate of The First International Pianists and Composers Competition “Farbotony” and Young Composers International Competition “Gradus ad Parnassum”. Her compositions were performed at the Lviv International Contemporary Music Festival “Contrasts”, The eight International Youth Music Forum (Kyiv, Ukraine), Youth Music Festival “Music of Millennium”. She participated in the 21st IMCM Summer Course for Young Composers, in Warsaw, Poland. Her scores could be seen at the library of The Gaudeamus Foundation (the Netherlands).  

In Toronto, Oleksandra continues to perform as a member of different music projects, bands, and orchestras  (including performances at Trinity-ST. Paul’s United Church, Living Arts Centre, Richmond Hill Centre for  The Performing Arts, Markham Jazz Festival, Koerner Hall, Casa Loma, Gallery 345, Tag Tv, Glenn Gould Studio, CBC.ca Eglinton St., George’s United Church, OAPN Showcase (USA), etc.) She composes music for chamber ensembles, bands, short movies, music arrangements and songwriting. 

DeAnn DeGruijter is a veteran of the musical theatre stage having performed many shows at the Stratford and Shaw festivals, Mamma Mia! and Crazy for You for Mirvish productions and dozens of shows in theatres large and small coast to coast. Her production company deGroovyArts has produced shows all over North America and her voice can be heard for the first seven seasons, as Mayor Goodway on the popular kids cartoon Paw Patrol! Most recently DeAnn enjoyed being part of The Last Timbit at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre. She is also a certified Expressive Arts practitioner, offering courses and workshops that employ arts play (painting, dance, music, sculpture, poetry etc.) for self-discovery, anxiety, healing, memory care and most of all, JOY! “It’s not about making a work of art, it’s about making the art work for you”. DeAnn grew up in the Beach and is proud to call it home.

Composer / Guitarist Mark Battenberg is a multi-disciplined musician, composer, writer, and teacher focusing on meditative and healing music and literature. With over 45 years of experience in composition, production, and live performance, Mark has released 8 CDs of original work for both solo guitar and a large collection of compositions for guitar and string ensembles.   His work has been heard in film and theater as well as being featured at many charitable and fundraising concerts for organizations including Pancreatic Cancer Canada, Princess Margaret Hospital, Daily Bread Food Bank, Pegasus Project for Adults with Special Needs, and countless community events. Twice each year, Mark produces and performs the Winter and Summer Solstice Concert Series, here in the Beaches, to raise food donations for our  local food banks. He has recently released an acclaimed collection of poetry entitled A Leaf in the Wind, some of which is featured in this presentation.