A Look Back at 90 Years of Department of Music Alumni

Of Note: A Look Back at 90 Years of Department of Music Alumni

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of our department, I set out to write a brief article highlighting some notable alumni from the University of Saskatchewan Department of Music. What was intended to be a brief article has now turned into an ongoing project to find and highlight alumni and stories from our past. We will have this project launched on our website in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are few updates on just a few of our notable 1970s alumni:

BMus graduate and voice instructor Marilyn Whitehead (1972) began Saskatoon’s Fireside Singers the year she completed university. Now in their 49th year, The Fireside Singers are a Saskatoon institution beloved around the country. The group started out small and now regularly sell out the Teacher’s Credit Union Centre (formerly the Centennial Auditorium) for their annual Christmas Memories concerts and spring operas.

In 2017, Shaw TV profiled the Fireside Singers for their 45th anniversary. For those in the know: spot the alumni! Whitehead’s granddaughter Kennedy Whitehead-Siba (interviewed in the video) is a current undergraduate in our BMus program.

Our own Dr. Glen Gillis (1979), composer, conductor, music education professor, and saxophone instructor completed his BMus MusEd at the University of Saskatchewan before studying at Northwestern University and the University of Missouri. In addition to his numerous compositions and albums, Dr. Gillis has published numerous articles in Canadian Winds, Canadian Music Educator, and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.

Ross Ulmer (1976) won the National Music Festival Finals in 1973 and was a semi-finalist in the 1974 CBC Talent competition performing a national concerto broadcast with the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra. After graduating from the U of S, Ross majored in trombone performance with a minor in jazz education at the University of North Texas where he completed his MA. Ulmer began working in the auto service industry in 1981, and in 1987 he opened Ulmer Cadillac in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Today, Ulmer Motors manages 15 car dealerships throughout Alberta. Ulmer continues to perform in the Saskatchewan jazz community, an won the Saskatoon Jazz Festival Special Recognition award in 2018.

Winston Wuttunee joined the Department of Music in 1973 after 13 years as a clarinetist in the Canadian Guards Regimental Band. His recording career began to take off that same year. Born in Saskatchewan and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation, Wuttunee went on to become a well-known recording artist, keynote speaker, and comedian, touring throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Wuttunee opened for artists such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, was a guest on Sesame Street, acted in several movies, and created a collection of First Nations music for elementary and secondary students that is used throughout the Canadian school system. Wuttunee has taught at the University of Brandon, and in 2019 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, and a 2013 Indspire award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality. “Winston Wuttunee: Kitochikew, The One Who Makes Music,” a short documentary about Wuttunee, was released in 2008.

Moving ahead a few decades, we recently learned a great story about two of our early 2000s grads who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this year. Erin Romanyshyn (BMUS 2001) and Allan Parson (BMUS 2001, BEd 2007) were married at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in April of 2001, shortly before they graduated from the department. Scheduled for the same day, then-Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Perry Bellegarde, was also touring His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, around Wanuskewin. This was of course prior to 9/11, so security was limited and thus both events were able to go ahead without concern. And that is how Prince Charles attended the wedding of two of our BMUS students!

If you have any great stories about our alumni or news to share, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us at music.department@usask.ca.

Compiled and written by Allison Fairbairn

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