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Escarpment Magazine Fall 2012
The design of the church was the simple shoebox shaped configuration
reminiscent of a design that has been the standard of Church of Scot-
land chapels as well as major concert halls throughout Europe. There
was very little ornamentation to distract parishioners from the word of
God. The shoebox design had proven over time to allow a preacher’s
words to be heard in every corner of the room. Unknown to the original
builders, these factors gave the building fabulous sound reverberation
for musical instruments… especially strings.
Other Leith Church events include a couple of special church services.
On the first Sunday in August, there is an indoor service then ‘Lunch
Under the Oak’ after the service, and during Advent there is the Festival
of Nine Lessons & Carols. A summer market is held in August where
local craftspeople and vendors sell their wares, and on every second
Tuesday of the month, Murray Smith hosts a fiddle jam where anyone
is welcome to come and play.
I had the opportunity to sit in on The Steinacher Stars rehearsal at the
Leith Church and very quickly realized that all the accolades about this
facility are true. While experiencing Renee Kruisselbrink perform a
Franz Liszt piano piece I swear I could hear harps, horns and strings
streaming out of that Steinway. Of course the Leith Church acoustics
were only a small part of this amazing performance… Renee is the in-
credible talent who brought this piece to life. Though this historic build-
ing has long since lost its congregation and seemed doomed to oblivion,
it has began a new life as a live performance centre and community
gathering place. It is certainly a credit to its creators and re-creators.
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Many thanks to Pete Telford, Cameron Graham and George Yost for
their valuable help in assembling this story.
The Donna Steinacher Bursary Program
Another facet of the Friends of the Leith Church community involve-
ment is the Donna Steinacher Bursary Program. Donna was a much
loved music teacher in the Owen Sound school system and the
“
Friends” felt using her name for this award was a fitting honour.
For the last seven years this bursary has been awarded to an out-
standing student from the area with an undergraduate degree in
music performance. The awards are funded through the Leith Sum-
mer Festival concerts as well as the generous support of individuals
and businesses.
Each recipient receives a cash award plus the winner has the op-
portunity to perform at a concert in the Historic Leith Church. This
last summer’s concert of Steinacher Stars featured pianists Renee
Kruisselbrink and Kati Gleiser, cellist Sebastian Ostertag and Emily
Aquin on violin. Each of these accomplished musicians have used
their award to continue their education and have created a legacy
for future young musicians to follow.
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FEATURE
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Auld Kirk – New Life
Today the Auld Kirk
celebrates its new life
as a concert venue.
The refurbished front portico
of the Leith Church.
Renee Kruisselbrink
rehearsing for the
Steinacher Stars
concert.
Tim Singbeil (left) and Richard Lyons (right)
work to restore the interior details.