The pressures of raising funds for recordings, arranging tour schedules, accommodation and transportation, and finding time to compose and record can take its toll on a Canadian musician. Jane Bunnett can attest to that.

Twice nominated for Grammy awards, a Juno Award winner, and recipient of the Order of Canada, she was ready to throw in the towel on the biggest project of her career before benefitting from the Banff Centre’s Fleck Fellowships. The support allowed the renowned saxophonist, flutist, and bandleader to complete Embracing Voices, a CD collaboration with 10-piece Cuban/Haitian choral ensemble Grupo Vocal Desandann, featuring contributions from jazz singers Kellylee Evans and Molly Johnson.

“The project wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t get the scholarship. Being in Banff, I was able to block so many of the little things out of my mind; it was an ideal atmosphere to work in,” says Bunnett, who has built her career at the crossroads of Cuban music and jazz. “It’s a remarkable place, I loved it and I love it still.”

As a Paul D. Fleck Fellow, playwright Daniel MacIvor moved into the Valentine Studio in the Leighton Artists’ Colony for five weeks last spring where he was “required to disappear into the woods and write independently.”

While on-site at the Centre, MacIvor took part in a celebration for the 35th Anniversary of the Playwrights Colony and performed at the Governor General’s Art Matters forum.

“This time has been such a gift to me. Not only have I been able to be away from the world, but I also managed to get a screenplay, Understanding How, and a strong draft of the play Communion from my time here. And socially it was great to connect and re-connect with like-minded people. I leave grateful,” MacIvor said. (For more on Daniel MacIvor’s remarkable year, see “Daniel MacIvor’s award-winning season”.)

Utilizing studios from early morning to late evening for six days a week, choreographer Aszure Barton created Jack in a Box, for BJM DANSS (formerly Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal) during her Fleck Fellowship residency at The Banff Centre last spring. Barton and BJM DANSE had access to the Centre’s on-site wardrobe and set shops, lighting and stage design, and the Eric Harvie Theatre prior to the preview of the new commission at the 2008 Banff Summer Arts Festival.

“This institution, and what it facilitates, is essential. The Banff Centre is a nurturer of art that provides time, space, an audience, support, and a stimulating environment for creators,” Barton said. “All these elements are very difficult to come by in this day and age.”

The Paul D. Fleck Scholarship trust was established in memory of former Banff Centre president Paul D. Fleck, and supports senior artists in Aboriginal arts, media and visual arts, music, theatre, and literature.

Photo: Musician and Fleck Fellowship recipient Jane Bunnett. Image courtesy of the artist.