Tag Archives: Denise Wolda

Arts

Ann Mortifee: Coming Home To Cortes Island

Conclusion of a 4 part series.

Hollyhock brought Ann Mortifee to Cortes Island. She was one of Vancouver’s leading singers, but had no previous teaching experience when they invited her to do a workshop. That was 40 years ago. 

“Martha Abelson convinced me to give it a go. I remember the first workshop I did. I went into a wild panic because I’m not a teacher, I’m a singer. I went to the library to find out how I could teach,” she explained.  “At the end of the first session in the morning, I told  Shivon Robinsong (a co-founder and Director of Hollyhock), ‘I can’t do this. I’ve used everything that I was going to use in the five days in the first morning. I have no idea what I’m doing for the rest of the week. I have to give them the option to leave. I’ll pay for everything that Hollyhock would lose.'”

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Arts

Kim Paulley (part 2): George Sirk, Cortes Island and the rebirth of her career

Part 2 of a 2 part interview, click here for part 1. 

Her singing career appeared to be a thing of the past, when Kim Paulley came to Cortes Island in 1992. The release of ‘Straight From The Heart’ had been promising, but she turned to Classical music. While there had been ‘fantastic’ moments between 1985-90, there was also the toil of auditions (and sometimes not getting the part). Her career was on hold when a friend  recommended the retreats at Hollyhock, where George Sirk was a naturalist guide.

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Arts, Education

Denise Wolda (Part 2 of 2): Coming home to Cortes Island

The course of Denise Larson’s life took a radical change in 1983, when she and two of her band members came to Merville. They were professional musicians promoting her third record. It was nice to get out of Vancouver, but Denise did not have any expectations of a small dance in the Merville Hall. Then Ron Wolda walked into her life. She had actually met him two years earlier in Courtenay, but at that time they both had other partners. Now they were single. Ron sat himself down beside her at the dinner being given for the musicians. The next morning, Ron took her out to see the home he built beside the ocean.  

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Arts

Why is Lovefest such an ongoing success?

Image credit: Kim Pauley singing ‘The Book of Right On’ during Wiley Ferguson’s performance – Igor Backmann photo

(The podcast of this program opens with a clip of saxophone player Dave Blinzinger’s version of the blues classic ‘Route 66,’ in which he added lyrics like ‘Get your kicks right here on Cortes Island’ and ‘When you take that Linnea Farm trip, get your kicks on Route 66.’)

I can’t take too much heat anymore and had to pack it in by 4:30, but it was already apparent that this year’s Lovefest was another success. 

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Arts

Denise Wolda (Part 1 of 2): From Farmer’s daughter to Professional Musician

If Cortes Island had an anthem, it would very likely be the chorus of ‘Feel the Island.’ The songwriter, Denise Reinhardt Larson, was a professional musician for twenty years prior to her marriage to Ron Wolda. Her story goes back through the Folk Revolution to rural Saskatchewan.

“ My maiden name is Reinhardt. I’m from a grain farm in southwestern Saskatchewan. It’s about 21 miles south of Etonia, and just about a mile and a half up from the South Saskatchewan River, with lovely hills running from the river up to the edge of the farm. It’s a beautiful spot, and I’m the last one of the family to still own land there. I have two quarters. That feels odd, and it feels quite lovely at the same time,” she explained.

“ We had halls in our small towns, just like we have our Gorge Hall and Manson’s Hall on Cortes. That’s where I got my beginning.”

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