From a treasured musical heirloom that has been passed down the generations to an unforgettable concert that changed our lives; music enriches our community. The Community Storytellers exhibit presents community members’ musical artifacts and memories in their own words; they are the storytellers.

• "OUR COMMON CURRENCY" GORD DOWNIE ARTWORK -- A portrait in Canadian mint

  

  “OUR COMMON CURRENCY”, 2020
  PORTRAIT OF GORD DOWNIE OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP
  MADE BY & ON LOAN FROM LUKE CARRUTHERS | AIRDRIE, ALBERTA

  “Our Common Currency” is a 5x8 foot portrait of Gord Downie, musician, poet, activist, and most commonly known as the lead singer of The Tragically Hip...(Read more)

• BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE PHOTOGRAPH -- Capturing the incomparable artist up close

  

  PHOTO OF BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE, 1997
  MADE BY & ON LOAN FROM ZOLTAN VARADI | CALGARY, ALBERTA
  
  "This was taken in the building that housed FFWD on 17th Avenue SW...(Read more)

• 54-40 DRUM SKIN -- A gift from Canada's great alt-rockers

  

  54-40 SNARE DRUM SKIN
  WEATHER KING EMPEROR BATTER
  MADE BY REMO | USA
  ON LOAN FROM JULIE C. VINCENT AND FAMILY | CALGARY, ALBERTA

  This drum skin came from Matt Johnson’s snare drum at the end of a performance in Calgary in 1998 on 54-40’s Since When tour...(Read more)

• MEGATUNES MUSIC CCMA AWARD -- Honouring a beloved local music shop

  

  MEGATUNES MUSIC CCMA AWARD, 2004
  RECORD STORE OF THE YEAR
  MADE BY CROSSROADS PROMOTIONS | ONTARIO, CANADA
  DONATED BY JONI PLEAU | CALGARY, ALBERTA
  

  Megatunes [record store] opened the doors of its original location on Calgary’s iconic Uptown 17th Avenue strip in 1988...(Read more)

• 1904 GUITAR ZITHER -- An heirloom older than Alberta

  

  GUITAR ZITHER, 1904
  ST. LOUIS SPECIAL MODEL (COMMEMORATING 1904 WORLD FAIR)
  MADE BY MENZENHAUER & SCHMIDT | GERMANY-USA
  ON LOAN FROM BARBARA DICKSON AND KAREN MARTEL, DESCENDANTS OF THE SEAMAN FAMILY | CALGARY, ALBERTA

  This instrument was purchased by my great grandparents, Wilmer Lewellyn and Arvilla Ann Seaman as a gift for their oldest daughter, Violet, who was born in 1897 in Kalispell, Montana and died in Vulcan in February 1909 at the age of 12...(Read more)

• SMITH CORONA MUSICWRITER TYPEWRITER -- A tool for the musically-inclined

  

  MUSIC TYPEWRITER, 1962
  MUSICWRITER
  MADE BY SMITH CORONA | USA
  ON LOAN FROM BING HAN | CALGARY, ALBERTA

  The Musicwriter is a typewriter that is used to print music. Invented in 1955 by Cecil Effinger, it was designed to be ‘as easy for a musician to use as a standard typewriter is for a novelist...(Read more)

• BUCKSHOT’S GUITAR -- One of the entertainer's trusty sidekicks

  

  BUCKSHOT'S GUITAR
  MADE BY SUPREMA | CANADA
  ON LOAN FROM RON BARGE | CALGARY, ALBERTA

  I was born 9 months after the Buck Shot Show started in 1967, so I never knew my dad (“Buck Shot”) as anyone else...(Read more)

• “100 YEARS STRONG” 45 RECORD -- The writing of a song for Calgary

  
  

  

  "100 YEARS STRONG" 45 RECORD, 1975
  WRITTEN BY GORDON MOFFATT, LOUISE MOFFATT, ROBERT MOFFATT
  PUBLISHED BY SIDE HILL GOUGER PUBLISHING BMI | CANADA
  ON LOAN FROM ROBERT MOFFATT | CALGARY, ALBERTA
  

  It’s a family affair. I wrote “One Hundred Years Strong” with my brother Gord and my wife Louise around the kitchen table in 1994...(Read more)

National Music Centre invites you to share your story in Community Storytellers

How to get involved:
Do you have a music-related item with an interesting story that you'd like us to display? 
Do you have a musical memory that you can't wait to share?

Email exhibitions@nmc.ca and tell us about it!

Thank You

With great appreciation
to the community members and artists who have shared their objects and stories in the exhibition

Design and Development
Chris Pecora