Artwork | Lynne Huras
Join in this unforgettable journey through story, music, and cross-cultural sharing, led by musician/storytellers Samantha Whelan Kotkas (trumpet) and Juno nominated Walter White Bear (courting flute/guitar/drum).
Inspired by the land, water, and sky, this interactive performance blends Indigenous and classical musical traditions, bringing nature’s beauty to life through melody and imagination. Through the arts, we are invited to connect with nature and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Samantha and Walter have been a cross-cultural team for over 10 years and have shared their love of music and stories with audiences across Canada and around the world. They were recently invited to speak at a teaching artist conference in Auckland, New Zealand where they shared their cross-cultural approach to working in community with an international audience.
“Just wanted to say how blown away everyone was with the performance Samantha and Walter did at the concert last night…amazing!”
“Totally spellbinding!”
Audience members at a Jack Singer Concert Hall performance
photo | Chris Malloy
Samantha Whelan Kotkas
trumpet
Born in Canada, raised in Africa and educated in Calgary and Houston, Samantha Whelan Kotkas (M. Music, B. Music) has been praised for creating truly unique and totally engaging experiences for young audiences. She is an award-winning producer, storyteller, trumpet player and teaching artist who has traveled internationally as a creative consultant and performer. Her creative efforts have focused on combining her love of music and the outdoors with her desire to enhance arts education in Canada.
In June of 2018, Samantha was honoured to be asked to serve as the “Distinguished Graduate” at the University of Calgary’s convocation ceremony. In conjunction with her active career as a performer, Samantha is the education advisor for Calgary Pro Musica and a teaching artist for the National Arts Centre of Canada (NAC) where she finds the cross-cultural work she does with Walter MacDonald White Bear, as part of the Arts Alive Program, very meaningful.
She has written outreach and music teaching guides for the NAC, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Samantha just completed writing and producing ‘Wandering with Wonder’: an immersive outdoor musical storytelling experience with original live and recorded music, story, puppetry and dance which was successfully premiered to a sold-out audience in September 2021 at the Leighton Arts Centre and then made into a film by the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra with full orchestrations in October 2022. The film was awarded the Best Musical Film for 2023 by the Alberta Media Production Industries Association.
Learn more
www.samanthawhelankotkas.com
Walter White Bear
Courting flute, guitar + drum
Walter MacDonald White Bear (B.Arts) is a Cree singer-songwriter, educator, and motivational speaker originally from the First Nation of Moose Factory, Ontario. Walter has been performing acoustic and flute music for many years. His music is a reflection of his personal journey as a First Nations person in Canada.
Performance highlights include The Edmonton Folk Music Festival, The Chiefs Summit with Tom Jackson, The Dream Speakers Festival, The Mountain Song Native Theatre, and the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education.
Walter has shared his cultural knowledge with various audiences from correctional services to principals, teachers and students. He has been invited to give keynote speeches on a range of topics, including social services, justice, education, wellness and the environment. Walter’s music is a reflection of his personal journey as a First Nations person in Canada. He has shared his cultural knowledge with various audiences that range from correctional services to principals, teachers and students.
Walter has worked with Samantha Whelan Kotkas for ten years as a teaching artist and performer for the National Arts Centre of Canada.
Learn more
walterwhitebear.com
Want to support this initiative?
Donations happily accepted via CanadaHelps
