Music for the Soul with Mark Battenberg

Beach United Church August 13, 2024 1 Comment

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.

Tickets Here

Performers

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

About the Musicians

Debbie Danbrook

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. 

Dr. Dobrochna Zubek

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

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.

Mark Battenberg

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.

New Horizons for Seniors Grant

Beach United Church July 2, 2024 No Comments
New Horizons for Seniors Grant

Beach United Church is very grateful to have received a grant to support our Thursday Lunch Program through the federal government’s New Horizons for Seniors Program. The grant provides funding for projects that make a difference in the lives of seniors and their communities.  A big thanks to our volunteers and to our MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith for his support of this community program.

Time capsule from 1924

Beach United Church June 27, 2024 No Comments
Photo of Rev. Greg Daly with the contents of the time capsule - taken by Alan Shackleton
Rev. Greg Daly of Beach United Church with the contents of the time capsule placed in the cornerstone of the Kew Beach Presbyterian Church Extension Sunday School on Courcelette Road in May of 1924. Photo by Alan Shackleton.


From the Beach Metro Community News, June 25th, 2024 (Volume 53 No.9)

By ALAN SHACKLETON

A couple of months ago a man walked into Beach United Church with a time capsule he had found in southwest Scarborough which gave a glimpse of the history of the community and the church from 100 years ago.

The time capsule had been placed at a building at 181 Courcelette Rd. on May 4, 1924 to mark the laying of the cornerstone of the Kew Beach Presbyterian Church Extension Sunday School at the site.

The man who discovered the capsule was redeveloping the house now on the property and thought that Beach United Church was the best place to drop it off, said Rev. Greg Daly who is the current minister at the church located at 140 Wineva Ave. in the Beach. Before becoming Beach United the church was formerly known as Kew Beach United (from 1925 on) and before that as Kew Beach Presbyterian.

“We opened the time capsule at our May 5, 2024 service with one of our oldest and one of our youngest members,” said Daly, who pointed out that there was not one member of the present congregation who had had a direct connection the Extension Sunday School on Courcelette Road.

Inside the time capsule were a number of newspapers including the May 3, 1924 editions of the Mail and Empire, and the Globe and Mail. There were also copies of what was then a community newspaper called Smiles. The May 3, 1924 copy of Smiles had a schedule for the first half of the Beaches Soft Ball league printed on its front page along with a story about the upcoming opening day of the Scarboro Beach Amusement Park on May 17.

“A forty-piece band has been engaged for the afternoon and another one for the evening performance,” read the Smiles story about the amusement park’s opening ceremonies for the 1924 season.

“The ads in the papers were just fascinating to see,” said Daly of the newspapers from a century ago.

For example, the ad for Ferguson’s Markets (with locations at 2070 and 1885 Queen St. E. and at 873 and 1020 Kingston Rd.) showed it was selling a Porter House Roast for 34 cents a pound, 10 pounds of sugar for 94 cents, a package of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes for 11 cents and two “good size” grapefruit for 15 cents. Ferguson’s also offered free delivery on orders of more than three dollars.

Also, there was an ad for the Beach Theatre which would be showing the movies The Hunchback of Notre Dame (with Lon Chaney) and Bright Lights of Broadway (with Lowell Sherman, Doris Kenyon and an actor named Harrison Ford – no relation to the later Harrison Ford of Star Wars, Indiana Jones fame) that week in May of 1924. The Beach Theatre was located at 1971 Queen St. E. and operated from 1919 to 1970. The site is now the location of the Beach Mall.

An ad for the Riverdale Garage at 755 Danforth Ave. reminded readers that “A Ford car is the best spring tonic.” Though not listing a price for the vehicles it was selling, the Riverdale Garage ad went on to say: “Spring is here – Buy a Ford. Get out into the country every minute you can spare. You will tackle your business with greater zest – your wife will forget the monotony of house work – your kiddies will lose their city pallor and have the time of their lives.”

Daly said that while no current members of the Beach United Church congregation had a direct link to the Kew Beach Presbyterian Church Extension Sunday School, a copy of the speech from its opening ceremony on Courcelette Road was included in the time capsule and explained some of the reasons why it was built.

The main reason was the growing number of congregation members as the population of the Beach and southwest Scarborough increased, and the fact that Sunday School at Kew Beach Presbyterian Church was full to bursting with children. At first the Extension Sunday School was housed at a home Blantyre Avenue to deal with the large number of children but it was felt a location further east was needed and that’s why it was eventually built on Courcelette Road.

For a while Sunday School classes took place in Courcelette Public School, but it was felt by the church congregation that a dedicated space was needed.

“The attendance kept increasing steadily until it became quite apparent that a Sunday School building would be needed before long,” said the speech in the time capsule.
“So a Women’s Association was formed to raise money for a building fund. Kew Beach Church also lent money to help pay for a new building. A lot was purchased on Courcelette Road, and on May 3, 1924 the cornerstone of the new brick Sunday School was well and truly laid by Rev. J.A. Cranston.”

The staff of the Extension Sunday School in May of 1924 were listed as Supt. L.J. Potts; Secretary T.M. Hamilton; Treasurer James Hamilton; Teachers Geo. Edmonds, Mrs. Hampton, Mrs. Iland; Mrs. Napier, Mrs. Hamilton; Mrs. Edmonds; Mrs Meikle; Stanley White; Miss Lennox; Mrs. Beverly; Mrs. W. Riddell. The Sunday School’s music committee was made up of Mrs. Hampton, Mrs. Fortier; and Miss McPhail.

The builder and architect of the Extension Sunday School on Courcelette Road in 1924 was Duncan and Napier, Carpenters, Builders and General Contractors located at 44 Chester Ave.