As late summer shifts into autumn, it is a time for gatherings and festivals.

Celtic Colours International Festival is one such event. It takes place across nine days in early October every year all across Cape Breton Island in the north of the province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada.

Music can be a way of connecting community, in hard times, in times of celebration, and in day to day life. Music is helpful for reflecting on one's own, also. Music offers ways of marking things, too, and of considering questions and challenges which may arise.

Whatever season you may be in, consider the work of these musicians as you move through the time.

Shadows slant differently in autumn light. Nights draw in sooner; there may be an edge to the wind. That wind often plays music on the rustling leaves as they turn to autumn's colors of red and gold.

It is a time of gathering as well as solitude, of reflection as well as celebration. All these take place in the frame of the natural world. Those changes and connections are subjects artists often turn to for reflection themselves.

May this music aid in your reflections and actions on the changes of this autumn season.

It’s October. Many school children in the northern hemisphere have now been in school for over a month. Amidst the clamour of all things Covid, schools have gotten back to it. Whether in person, remote, or hybrid, the back to school honeymoon period is waning and we’re full throttle into all things learning. So now what? As the weather turns from summer’s warmth to autumn’s cooler days and soccer, band, theater arts, and more pick up speed, will your student be in the midst of organizations, meetings, and activities, or choose to spend their time in a different way? 

Making sense of the shifts and changes in the world has always been one of the roles of music. This might by songs which teach; it could be through songs which offer escape. Maybe there a tune which gets people dancing together; perhaps there's an uplifting song which opens doors to community, perhaps it is a piece that expresses grief, or joy, or understanding which can be shared as the music is performed and heard. Events change, but the role of music continues on. 

December: it is a time of darkness and light, star-filled nights and bright celebrations.

As the calendar of the year begins to turn, December is a time of reflection.

As winter sets in, December is also a time for community, and for solitude. 

See how the work of these musicians encourages you to reflect on all these things...

Maybe you have offered a hand to steady someone -- friend or stranger -- on an icy sidewalk.

Perhaps you've been the person who accepted that assistance.

There are surely times when you've confided in a friend, secure in the knowledge that what you talked of would be kept between the two of you. Could be you are the friend who has respected that confidence.

These and many other large and small acts are acts of trust.