Opening the Marilyn Perkins - Memorial Hall

I was privileged to be able to make some remarks at the opening of the Marilyn Perkins - Memorial Hall in Scarboro United Church this past weekend.  Some of you who read this blog were there so feel free to skip it. Others, I know, wanted to be there but weren't able to. I thought you folks might be interested in what I said. It was a great evening and the hall was filled to capacity with people who knew Marilyn over the years or who came to celebrate the official opening of this wonderful new space. There were people in wheel chairs and with walkers, people who were in their 90's, people who came from out of town to pay their respects and celebrate the legacy of their former teacher. There were children and young people who are completely at home in the hall although they never met Marilyn. Sorry I don't have any photos of the actual event.  I inadvertently left my phone at home.

Good evening and once again, welcome. Since Marilyn’s death I’ve been the keeper of many of her personal papers and I’m pleased say that her papers now have a permanent home in the library here at Scarboro United Church. In organizing this material the word that surfaced most often in my mind was ‘giving.’ The stories of what and how Marilyn gave are legion. Some of you knew Marilyn longer and better than I did and I hope you will tell many Marilyn stories during tonight’s celebration. As is the way with stories someone has to go first.

Marilyn was my teacher, my mentor, my choir director, my vocal coach, and my friend. Before I retired I taught high school. I had some time during the school day to prepare lessons and mark papers and I looked forward to those periods of quiet. I was less than gracious if someone asked me to give up a prep. Marilyn, on the other hand, regularly filled her preps by working with individual students on vocal technique, repertoire, and interpretation. I don’t know how many people over the years benefited from this generosity but I know I did.

Marilyn was a great problem-solver and if she saw a need she stepped in to fill it. While she taught at Viscount Bennett there was a need for teachers to drive football players to games. Marilyn got her chauffeur’s license, drove the the bus and managed to recruit some of the football players to sing in the mixed chorus.

Tyrone Patterson, now a well-known Canadian conductor and the artistic director Opera Lyra in Ottawa for years, was one of Marilyn’s football recruits. He mused that he was probably one of the few young men who went to university with both a football and music scholarship in his pocket. He also noted that when he first conducted a choir it was much harder than he anticipated. As a student he watched Marilyn conduct and Marilyn, of course, made it look easy.

When one of her students desperately wanted to learn to play the piano Marilyn somehow arranged for the family to have access to a piano. When another student was about to get kicked out of school for being late and absent so often Marilyn phoned her in the mornings to make sure she was up. A number of people say it was only because Marilyn cared that they finished high school.

Those of us who had Marilyn as a conductor retain a persistent voice in our heads. “My tempo!” “ Now don’t get mad.” “Put the consonants ahead of the beat.” As we rehearse pieces we did first with Marilyn we remember her words, dynamics and phrasing. Most of the time that’s a good thing. Once when we were practicing a piece with Liz some of us insisted that the version we were singing had the wrong words. I don’t remember if Liz rolled her eyes or not but, during a break, she managed to dig up the copies with the ‘right’ words. We used that version even though the piano part was quite a bit harder.

Marilyn was a great supporter of the arts. While still quite young she worked as a coach accompanist in the Voice Opera department at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Marilyn conducted productions by the Calgary Theatre Singers where many singers got their first taste of being on stage in front of an audience. She directed many high school musicals. Years later, people with grey hair fondly remember rehearsals and performances of musicals such as The Fantastics, Bye Bye Birdie and Little Mary Sunshine. Marilyn also supported the arts by commissioning paintings and sculptures, attending performances and donating time and money.

Then there are the many, many ways Marilyn enriched the life of this church and helped with social services programs in Calgary. I haven’t even touched on Marilyn’s membership in the Order of Canada. There are many people here tonight who can tell those stories. As we celebrate the opening of this beautiful space I hope you will share your own stories of Marilyn or take a moment to listen to the stories of who she was and the many ways her kindness and generosity enriched people’s lives. I think Marilyn would be very pleased with this hall and the opportunities it offers to this congregation and the wider Calgary community. Enjoy the space, the experience of being here on this special evening, and, if I got a story wrong, feel free to tell the correct version.