The February/March issue of Canada's History has an interview I conducted with Deborah Davis, owner, producer and director of a song-and-dance troupe called Canadian Musical Odyssey. Canadian Musical Odyssey gave a special performance at our 2010 Canada's History Awards gala this past November.

Due to space limitations we couldn't print the whole interview, so here it is in full:

Please tell me about the origins of Canadian Musical Odyssey.
In 1989, I founded Choonga Changa Productions to create live theatrical musical productions for children. This evolved into the creation of unique productions for schools that blended historical themes with different musical genres. The first major new production of this type was “What is This Thing Called Jazz?”, a historical retrospective of the evolution of jazz. For this show, I also produced a 10-page teachers’ manual. Aside from many school productions, this show highlighted the Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s newly created Family Day for three years.

The detailed research necessary to create that production was an enriching personal learning experience. I became increasingly aware of, and fascinated by the important interrelated influences of jazz on American history (e.g. its influence on the breaking down of the colour barrier) and of the influences of historical, cultural, social and technological events on the development, progress and popularity of the music.

Choonga Changa had become so closely associated with young children’s entertainment (after hundreds of live performances and the production of two children’s audio cassettes) that I adopted a new name for this and subsequent projects: “Canadian Musical Odyssey\Odyssée Musicale Canadienne.”

With these things very much in mind, in 1998 I undertook the creation and production of a show entitled “A Musical Taste of Our Canadian Heritage/Notre patrimoine canadien, une odyssée musicale.” My aim was to show the history of music in Canada and the history of Canada through music in an entertaining way that students would find not only educational, but also appealing, moving, memorable and inspirational.

Most of all, I wanted to do justice to the subject in light of our tremendous heritage both on the musical and historical side and I wanted the students to feel a deep sense of pride in their Canadian heritage with its multicultural origins.

The project grew and became a fast-paced, dynamic, and highly acclaimed, bilingual (and indeed multilingual), 90-minute production that includes fifty performers (including Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis performers), close to 100 pieces of music (mostly in overture, medley and excerpt style presentations), with almost as many costume changes for the vocalists, dancers, actors and musicians.

Both the show and the teacher’s manual were the culmination of many years of development, networking, and a dedicated cast and crew and volunteers.

To provide the broadest base for funding annual performances of the history of music in Canada show, I worked with a team of volunteers to create Odyssey Showcase as a not-for-profit organization in 2004 and it became a registered charity in 2007.

There has been one supporter of this project who is owed a special debt of gratitude for their encouragement, advice, financial assistance and feedback — TD Bank and especially Cathy Jowsey, Manager Community Relations, TD Canada Trust and Alan Convery, National Manager Community Relations, TD Bank Group.

Odyssey Showcase has been recognized as authentically Canadian, inspiring and engaging thousands, especially students, to appreciate anew or for the first time, our rich and diverse heritage. We want to continue our “Proud to be Canadian” production and we need financial support.

How many people are involved in the production each year onstage and backstage?
There are more than fifty on-stage performers including musicians, vocalists, dancers (including, Aboriginal, contemporary, step and tap) and actors. The on-stage performers are supported by fifteen backstage personnel including dressers, wardrobe, makeup, hair and wiggery. In addition, we work with five stage choreography and artistic directors, some of whom are also in the production, who help us through advance preparations and rehearsals. This list does not include the technical and support personnel from the venue, arrangers, office and administrative support personnel, co-op students, translators, legal and accounting personnel.

You are obviously very passionate about this project. Why is it so important to you personally?
This project developed as a natural progression in my personal career as a singer and producer. It is about my country and the music I love. My passion for both is shared by the many artists and others involved in the show.

We all share this remarkable feeling of pride and unity about who we are and we want to share the story of our incredible nation with new audiences. And who are we? We are Aboriginal people and descendants of immigrants from around the world, who all identify ourselves and with each other and our audiences as Canadians.

Many Canadians, particularly young Canadians are not interested in or passionate about the history and culture of Canada. We have seen how this presentation gives thousands of people from all age groups the opportunity to experience the unique cultural history of Canada in a new and innovative way, promoting a sense of national unity, identity and pride.

What is/has been the biggest creative challenge for you in putting together the Canadian Odyssey Show, A Musical Taste of Our Canadian Heritage/Notre patrimoine canadien, une odyssée musicale?
There have been many challenges, but perhaps the biggest was creating a show that relied on music rather than dialogue, narration and visual aids to tell the story of Canada. Another huge challenge was deciding what to include and what to leave out.

How do you think the focus on Canadian music enhances the Canadian history story you are telling?
This is a different way of presenting history. In fact, it has been described as a pioneering effort. There are many people, including teachers, students and new immigrants who have difficulty relating to Canadian history which they consider dry and boring. Through this show, many of them are amazed to discover Canadian history can be not only interesting, but entertaining and moving.

Music has no boundaries. It touches people in a different way than books, films, or other ways of learning. The show also offers a different approach and perspective combined with related regalia, period costumes, dancing styles, language and rhythm, and unique features such as an overture, melodic segues and memorable lyrics.

Is there an era of our musical heritage that is particularly more "Canadian" than any other? Why do you think that might be/have been?
I do not believe so. I think that every part of our Canadian musical heritage is Canadian in its own way, with its own roots and historical and cultural developments.

Whether one thinks of music that is Aboriginal, French Canadian, Celtic, Acadian, classical, jazz, military, country, folk, pop or rock, or any other style or combination of styles, one cannot help but associate it with different eras in different ways, all of which are part of our Canadian story. I would not call any era more “Canadian” than any other.

Is there a personal favorite musical era for you?
I love all music. It really depends on my mood or how I am feeling at a particular time. I think one of the benefits of all my research and experimenting is that my musical tastes and appreciation have expanded. I particularly love the introduction and evolution of jazz and jazz styles.

You just recently completed production of a fully bilingual teacher's guide to the show. How do you hope the show, or the materials will be used by teachers in the classroom? Can they get CDs of the show or musical selections as well? How do they access both the music and the guides?
There are no CDs of the show because that would require finances beyond our means including copyright costs. Teachers have been using the seventy-page English teachers manual Canadian Musical Odyssey: The Invisible Voice for seven years. It has been used primarily to teach students in advance of seeing the show.

In addition, the manual includes student projects and activities, and has proved to be an invaluable supplemental reference teaching tool. Both the show and the manual touch on many fundamental components of the provincial curriculum including; history, music, dance, drama, language, the social sciences and geography.

It was always my goal to have the manual translated, and based on repeated requests for French language materials, we anticipate the availability of our new French language version of the manual, Odyssée musicale canadienne: La voix invisible, will be a welcome addition. Both the teacher’s manual and the live stage production are innovative, pioneering tools for teaching and learning.

Right now, the teacher’s manuals are provided to teachers in advance of the shows but we are working with our major sponsor TD Bank to explore ways to make them more widely available. For more information, photos and reviews of both the live shows and teachers manuals you can go to OdysseyShowcase.org.

What's next for Canadian Musical Odyssey?
My vision all along has been to present the shows as a permanent attraction every year for the world to see and hear Canada. We need to build on our current successes and find additional sponsors to help us achieve this goal.

The shows for April 2011 sold out in about two days, and we had such a large waiting list that we added five additional performances for June 2011, three of which are daytime shows for schools and are very close to sold out. Schools are already inquiring about bookings for 2012 and we always tell them, although the dates and venue are available, we have to ensure continued funding before we can finalize future arrangements.

Can you complete this sentence for me? Canadian history needs...
... to be embraced and celebrated.