Recipients of the 2018 St. Albert Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Awards are:
Lifetime Achievement in the Arts
Dr. Lillian Upright, Pianist-educator-conductor
Youth Artist Award
Julia Sorensen, Poet
Emerging Artist Award
Zach Polis, Filmmaker-photographer-writer
Established Artist Award
Victoria Armstrong, Visual artist
Excellence in Arts Teaching Award
Colleen Hewitt, visual artist-educator
Arts Leadership Award
Heather Dolman
Community Arts Group Award
Friends of the Arden Theatre Society
On Thursday, the Moonflower Room at the Enjoy Centre overflowed with paintings, sculpture, music, poetry, dance and savoury hors d’oeuvres at the ninth St. Albert’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts.
This year the St. Albert Cultivates the Arts organizing committee opted to forgo a main host. Instead Mayor Cathy Heron and past award recipients partnered to celebrate significant contributions local artists make to St. Albert’s cultural life.
Unlike former Mayor Nolan Crouse’s off-the-cuff theatrical approach, Mayor Heron presented a more low-key understated style where she praised artists from scripted notes.
Dr. Lillian Upright, 85, a triple threat as concert pianist, conductor and educator, was the undisputed star of the evening. Acclaimed for her Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, Upright arrived dressed in a red art deco inspired gown. With silver hair asymmetrically coiffed, she inspired visions of old Hollywood grandeur and drew the evening’s only standing ovation.
Actor Paul Punyi presented Upright with a statuette of a standup leaf designed by metal fabricator Kyle Watson. Her name is now inscribed into the Cultural Wall of Fame.
Accompanied by husband Henk Hulleman, children and grandchildren, Upright was initially overwhelmed by the 50-year floodgate of memories the community acknowledgement inspired.
Gemini Award-winning actor Sherry Miller, one of Upright’s former students, emailed a comical testimonial that was read out loud.
“All the memories of my students came back up. I was so amused, delighted and touched by Sherry’s email. It wasn’t what you usually hear in a tribute. It was so funny,” said Upright.
When asked about a career highlight, she recalled a quote a student gave her. The quote read, “My lesson is an excuse to be with a friend.”
In a voice breaking with emotion, Upright said, “I look back and what was my most important highlight was when we touched each other with our humanity.”
A short film encapsulating the pianist's accomplishments is available at https://stalbert.ca/exp/arts-culture/mayors-celebration/wall-of-fame/dr-lillian-upright/
Other recipients included Youth Artist Julia Sorensen (poet-musician), Emerging Artist Zach Polis (filmmaker-photographer-writer) and Established Artist Victoria Armstrong (visual artist).
Visual artist Colleen Hewitt from Paul Kane High nabbed the Excellence in Arts Teaching Award; Heather Dolman received the Arts Leadership Award, and Friends of the Arden Theatre Society took home the Community Arts Group Award.
The three-hour event followed a predictable format with award presentations punctuated with performances. The first half of the ceremony displayed a diverse talent pool from Stringbeans Quartet’s pop string classics to poet Celine Caruso’s cry for racial understanding and Indigenous dancer Mark McKennitt’s jingle dance.
But without a host tying all these disparate elements together, the first half of the event was lacklustre. That is until the Poet Laureate Finalists were announced in the second half: Julia Sorensen, Zach Polis and Joanne Osborne-Paulson.
The moment Polis, a pop-culture aficionado, stepped up to the microphone, he delivered a series of poetic zingers that had the audience in stitches. His ruminations about life were filled with quirky twists and delivered with natural comedic timing. Polis proved he has the chops to captivate an audience, and I hope he is invited as next year’s host.
The Royal Canadian Artillery Brass Band Quintet, attired in full performance uniform, smartly performed three numbers from the Beatles to Lady Gaga.
And pop-rock band Altameda closed the night proving to all they deserve to be on the track to success.
