The Road Home – Winnipeg Free Press

Born in the snowfields of northern Manitoba, renowned Canadian playwright/writer/musician Thomson Shawey lives in the Laughing Key.

As the Winnipegger Women's Music Club wraps up its 130th anniversary season with “Thomson Highway: A Musical Journey,” a gala champagne dinner offers a rare opportunity to hear the award-winning artist's joyous songs and stories from her vibrant life. Leaf at Assiniboine Park on Saturday.

The event also marks a road-friendly homecoming. The then 23-year-old musician won the top prize in the 1974 WMC Scholarship Competition, a $500 prize in recognition of his outstanding gifts as a classical pianist—a career-boosting fortune at the time.

Canadian philanthropist Tannis Richardson, past president of the WMC, presented a check to the star artist who dreams of a career as a professional musician.

The gala has been in the planning stages for more than two years.

WMC committee chairwoman Alison Baldwin contacted the highway in February 2022, hoping the in-demand artist would be available to reunite with the local organization after half a century.

Highway responded the next day, saying he would be happy to return to the group that honed his youthful craft and continues to inspire the next generation of professional musicians through its wide-ranging initiatives. (One of these is the biennial WMC McLellan Competition for solo performance with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra; finals, including $20,000 in prize money, are Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jubilee Square Auditorium, 180 Riverton Ave. )

“The WMC is proud and excited to welcome Thomson Highways, an international Canadian icon in the music and literary worlds,” says Baldwin. “He should remember this achievement 50 years later and so it's great and exciting that he's generously returning to perform at WMC 130.”

“The Women's Music Club is a great organization and I love them so much,” Highway, now 72, says by phone from her home in Gatineau, where she lives with her life partner, Raymond Lalonde.

“They made me believe that the world was my oyster and I could do whatever I wanted. I was extremely grateful for this award and used it very, very wisely. It gave me the confidence to keep going and be the best in whatever I do.”

And he did great. A member of the Cree and Badlands First Nation, Chausway would become one of Canada's most respected playwrights. His innovative plays Rez sisters (1986) and Dry lips should move to Kapuskasing (1989) made him internationally famous for his unique blend of Native American mythology and wit.

Highway also became the first Indigenous writer to be awarded the Order of Canada in 1994. He has received 11 honorary doctorates and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (2022), among many other awards and honors.

He is fluent in “about seven” languages, including his native Cree, which he describes as a “funny language,” French and English, and continues to write, teach, lecture and perform in Canada and around the world.

His legacy includes plays, musicals, children's books and cabaret songs, as well as his memoirs. Constant admirationPublished in 2021 Pelagie Cooke, bead and quilt maker, and her youth as the 11th of 12 children born to legendary caribou hunter and world champion dog runner Joe Showey and Pelagie Cooke.

Yes, he was indeed born on December 6, 1951, in a hastily pitched tent in the snow on an island near the borders of the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and (now) Nunavut.

Wanting greater opportunities and formal education for his children, the father volunteered to send six-year-old Chossel and his late brother Reni by bush plane to a residential school in Paz.

“He did it voluntarily, happily and proudly, and told us to get on that plane and show them how to do it,” says Highway, who credits his time at boarding school with helping him learn English as well as playing the piano. “He gave us the courage to be brave and do extraordinary things.”

Highway then attended Winnipeg's Churchill High School before studying English literature at the University of Manitoba. He earned a degree in music in piano performance from the University of Western Ontario in 1975, followed by a Bachelor of Arts a year later.

Her writing career took off in her 30s, after seven years working as a social worker on First Nations reserves and urban centers across Canada.

The highway's visible joy and lightness of spirit are like the spring of a well; his speech is full of words like “beautiful” and “love”. “I've been lucky,” he says modestly of his remarkable career.

“All my life I have been surrounded by beautiful people full of kindness and love. I was always impressed. I was always encouraged. I worked very hard and excelled because I had exceptional teachers,” she says, adding that she loves watching classical music videos on YouTube.

She also credits her parents' 60-year marriage for providing a solid foundation that has inspired her throughout her life. “My parents had a marriage that only Hollywood could dream of,” she says.

Among the many dignitaries who will attend on Saturday are Hon. Anita Neville, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. Another notable guest will be Richardson, and their emotional meeting will not leave a dry eye.

“Being a member of the Women's Music Club was very special to me because they are very special,” says Richardson, who turns 98 this summer.

“Damn it!” WMC's treasure trove of archive programs reads like a who's who of classical music history.

After a buffet breakfast featuring a champagne reception, raffle and door prizes, guests will be treated to cabaret songs from Highway's own productions, including Kisaa-geetin means I love you and Taansi From the 2003 musical comedy Rose, the third part of his “rez” series.

Describing her artistic journey as “a magic carpet ride of the first order,” she promises fun and laughter.

“My father gave me a very optimistic personality, everything he touched turned to gold,” says the artist, before adding a final, philosophical note of grace. “We have a limited amount of time left on this planet and we must make the most of it. So my job is to bring joy wherever I go and let people know that we're here to have a good time, and there's still plenty of time left.

“My parents laughed and laughed. Wherever I go, I want to make people smile and show them how to be positive and make their life a great experience. The most beautiful music in the world is the sound of laughter.”

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