Adult Ticket for Sherryl Sewepagaham and Chris Andrew
Thursday, June 11, 7:30pm
South Community Hall
141 Sturdies Bay Rd

NEW DATE

This concert features Cree-Dene singer and composer Sherryl Sewepagaham from little Red River Cree Nation in Alberta collaborating with Jazz pianist Chris Andrew. Sherryl has gained international recognition for her work as a Cree singer and composer. She has performed for Queen Elizabeth and at Carnegie Hall. She also teaches elementary school children, focusing on Indigenous Music Education and First Nations songs for the classroom.

Her work integrates Cree language into different musical forms that position those musical forms in service of Cree language pronunciation and meaning. While a typical compositional process might involve making the Cree language fit western musical forms, Sewepagaham’s work instead allows the Cree language to sing itself. From an Indigenous perspective, Sewepagaham’s focus on the Cree language demonstrates a sophisticated practice of Indigenous resurgence, where song is used – as Indigenous people have always done – as a primary vehicle to convey Indigenous knowledge.

Pianist and composer Chris Andrew is one of Canada’s top talents in jazz. Chris’ unique approach and distinct voice on the piano have personally garnered him a CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award, and his ensemble; the Hutchinson Andrew Trio the prestigious TD Grand Jazz Award at the 34th edition of the Montréal International Jazz Festival. With a remarkable career spanning 36 years, he has recorded 15 albums as a leader/co-leader and has received seven nominations for Jazz Recording of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards. Recently, Chris served as musical director and composer for “Wandering with Wonder,” which won the AMPIA Rosie Award for Best Musical or Variety Program or Series (2023).

In addition to his accomplishments as a leader, Chris has performed on over 70 recordings as a sideman and has toured across Canada 11 times, with international performances in Korea, Cuba, London, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Greece. His compositions have been featured in productions by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and Alberta Dance Theatre, as well as in radio themes, TV shows, and short films.

As a performer, Chris’ resume lists a veritable who’s who of jazz. Chris has performed with Joshua Redman, Sonny Fortune, Dee Daniels, Melissa Aldana, Laila Biali, Audrey Ochoa, backed up Jann Arden and Serena Ryder as part of the Leonard Cohen festival in Edmonton, Christine Jensen, Bud Shank, Sherryl Sewepagaham, Pete Christlieb, Joe LaBarbera, P.J. Perry, Kirk MacDonald, Paquito D’Rivera, Brad Turner, Steve Wallace and many more. Locally, Chris has performed or recorded with numerous well-known groups including P.J Perry, Jens Lindemann, the Jump Orchestra, Maracujah, Bomba, Tim Tamashiro, and the Edmonton Symphony.

Currently, he is the Section Head of Piano at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is deeply committed to music education. He believes in the transformative power of a strong musical community in shaping culture and identity.

Creatively, Chris just finished recording his debut solo piano album, “Awakening” (Fall 2025), and is currently preparing for an upcoming ensemble recording. He is also honoured to be working with Honens as composer and performer for the upcoming production “Oscar” along with Marianne Trudel, Montreal based pianist and composer.