Time: 7:30 p.m,
Tickets:$52.50
John mcDermott http://www.johnmcdermott.com
As he mentioned to a magazine interviewer, John remembers the
details so well because it was the first concert with his own band,
following a year as the opening act for the internationally renowned
Irish group, The Chieftains. John was thrilled that the Halifax crowd
was wildly enthusiastic – so enthusiastic, in fact, that their
encore-encouraging applause kept the show going for more than four
hours.
Not that many years before, John had been working in the
circulation department of one of Toronto’s daily newspapers, The Sun. As
a creative outlet, he would sing a few Irish and Scottish folk tunes at
staff gatherings – songs he had learned growing up in a musical
household in Willowdale, Ontario after his family moved there from
Glasgow, Scotland. His father Peter – John still considers him the
finest tenor he has ever heard – and his mother Hope encouraged family
sing-a-longs. The only formal musical training John received was when he
attended St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto for two years.
John recorded an album of Irish and Scottish ballads as a nice 50th
wedding anniversary gift for his parents. He recorded 12 tracks, one
for each of the 12 McDermott children, then added one more version of
Danny the way his father liked to hear it sung a cappella. Those who
heard the album encouraged John to have it produced commercially.
Recalling that a couple of entertainment business heavyweights, Michael
Cohl and Bill Ballard, had been impressed with his singing at a Karaoke
Night during the Toronto Floating Film Festival a couple of years
earlier, John took the album to Ballard, who put him in touch with the
president of EMI Music Canada.
EMI released 2,000 copies on November 10, 1992. The next day being
Remembrance Day, famed Canadian broadcaster Peter Gzowski played three
tracks from the album – And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, Danny Boy
and Christmas in the Trenches. The stores couldn’t keep it on the
shelves and more copies were quickly produced. A few months later, Paul
McGrath, a CBC-TV documentary maker who had also attended St. Michael’s
Choir School, profiled John in a short piece that Peter Mansbridge aired
on his prime time nightly newscast The National. Within a short time
the album had sold more than 50,000 copies.
EMI began urging their new ‘find’ to go on tour to capitalize on
the success of the album. John resisted at first because he had a steady
job at the Toronto tabloid. Then he remembered Bill Ballard and Michael
Cohl saying that if he ever turned professional, he should get in
touch. John once again contacted Ballard, who arranged for the gig with
The Chieftains. Hedging his bets, John took a leave of absence from The
Sun in case his musical career failed to take off. As things turned out,
he needn’t have worried.
Throughout 1994, John toured Australia and New Zealand where Danny
Boy had topped the charts. In 1995, Ballard arranged a British tour with
The Seekers. John played his first U.S. concert at Boston’s Ritz
Carlton Hotel in 1995 and a member of the audience went backstage to pay
his respects. It was Senator Ted Kennedy and the American icon invited
John to perform at the Democratic National Convention in 1996. They
became friends and John, at Ted’s request, frequently visited the
Kennedy Compound at Cape Cod. When the Massachusetts senator died in
August, 2009, John was invited to sing at the memorial service.
Since the beginning of his musical career, John has recorded more
than 25 albums, three of which have gone platinum while another has
reached double platinum status and yet another achieved a triple
platinum ranking. His latest offerings are entitled The Old House – a
collaboration with his long-time musical director, guitarist and artist
in his own right, Jason Fowler – and My Gentle Harp: A Tribute To Thomas
Moore, the musician, poet and singer who lived from 1779 to 1852. The
Old House offers such perennial favourites as Wild Mountain Thyme, The
Cliffs of Doneen and Red is the Rose, as well as the hilarious
crowd-pleaser I’m My Own Grandpa. With My Gentle Harp, John pays homage
to the man whose words have been used in opera, in the works of James
Joyce and have been featured in performances on some of the greatest
stages of the world. For more than 200 years, Thomas Moore’s poetry,
prose and music have touched the lives of millions and continue to have
an
important influence on the arts to this day.
There are many other milestones in John’s career. His concerts are
sell-outs and sales of his albums are brisk. In addition, John is a
perennial favourite to sing the National Anthem at Toronto Maple Leafs
home games, and he has met five U.S. presidents. He has been nominated
for a number of Juno awards and received the U.S. Congressional Medal of
Honor Society’s Bob Hope Award for his support for veterans’ causes.
Veterans are special to John. His father, who died in 1995, served in
the Royal Air Force. John’s mother, who lived on for about five years
after her husband’s death, had a brother who died in the notorious
Changi Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Two of John’s cousins were killed
in Vietnam and another took his own life after serving there. In 2010,
John was awarded a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his
work on behalf of veterans. He is also an honorary member of the War
Amps of Canada.
A current project close to John’s heart is his drive to raise $3.6
million to enhance and expand the Palliative Care unit – K-Wing Veterans
Centre – at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. He wants to help the staff
give the best possible care to their patients – veterans, serving
members of the military, First Responders such as police officers and
firemen, and members of the general public who are admitted to the unit.
Funding for the project so far has come from a series of concerts
entitled Music in the Key of Giving as well as from corporate
sponsorships and individual donations made through John’s not-for-profit
charitable foundation, McDermott House Canada. John is particularly
touched by the donations from people with little cash to spare –
especially senior citizens who send in $2 or $5 because they realize the
importance of having the project succeed.
To make a contribution or to obtain information on upcoming concerts, visit
www.mcdermotthousecanada.org.
To keep up-to-date with John’s album releases, news and other information visit:
www.johnmcdermott.com
The Yates Theatre is located downtown next to Lethbidge City Hall. It is a great room which hosts a variety of shows including music and comedy from Ian Tyson to Ron James.
The Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre consists of two performance spaces, the Yates Theatre, a 486 seat proscenium theatre, and the Sterndale Bennett Theatre, a black box theatre with a maximum audience capacity of 180. Several facilities are shared between the two theatres. These include a costume construction/sewing room; a set construction workshop; set, costume, and property storage areas; offices; box office and concessions. In addition to serving as a performance venue, the Yates Memorial Centre also houses an art gallery in the upper mezzanine area. Works from new and established visual artists are displayed on a rotating basis for the enjoyment of both theatre patrons and the general public.
Ticket Centre - (403) 329-7328