Remembrance through art
Since the 1940s and even earlier, the relationship between Canada and the Netherlands has always been a close one. From the several annual commemorations honouring each other’s wartime efforts, including at the three Canadian war cemeteries in the Netherlands, to symbolic and meaningful actions such as the gift of thousands of tulips for the annual Canadian Tulip Festival held in Ottawa, the two countries have remained allies for decades.
Last fall, three Allisonians were brought together at another significant event between the two countries — the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.
The anniversary celebrations, held in Nijmegen, NL on September 21, 2024, included the European premiere of Tracing Colville, an orchestral composition by Dean Burry (’94), inspired by works in Alex Colville: Diary of a War Artist by the great Canadian artist and fellow Allisonian, the late Alex Colville (’42, LLD ’68).
Burry’s composition was played by Symfonieorkest Nijmegen as part of a concert featuring music from the allied countries that took part in the liberation. The presentation also featured visuals of Colville’s wartime pieces.
“This collaboration aimed to underscore the interplay of art, history, and music in commemorating Canada’s role in World War II and help share and pass along the importance of remembrance to a wider audience,” says Burry. “When preparing for the event, I was over the moon when I learned that [fellow Allisonian] Hugh Adsett was the Canadian Ambassador to the Netherlands. It was like it was meant to be.”
Enter the third Allisonian. Hugh Adsett (’87) is the Canadian Ambassador to the Netherlands and has worked with Global Affairs Canada in various roles since 1995. He and Burry connected throughout the project, along with Nancy Canning (’02), who also works at the Canadian Embassy in the Netherlands. It’s a small world, indeed.
“[Alex] Colville’s war art is not as well known outside Canada or internationally as his post-war work,” says Adsett. “However, his war art is deeply evocative and moving, particularly when paired with Dean Burry’s wonderful score. The night itself was very special — it took place in a huge concert hall, before a packed audience that warmly and enthusiastically received the work. It is a great gift that through Dean’s music, more and more people will become aware of Colville’s work during WWII.”
Adsett says the impact of WWII on both Canada and the Netherlands still resonates.
“The 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands is deeply significant, on both a personal and diplomatic level,” says Adsett. “The Dutch do not take their freedom for granted, nor do they take for granted those who fought to free them. The Second World War had a profound impact on both of our countries and the relationship between them, which can be felt to this day.”
Alex Colville: Diary of a War Artist covers Colville’s postwar journey through Europe, done just shortly after his own graduation from Mount Allison in 1942. The publication became the source of inspiration — and a guide — for Burry’s European journey and the Tracing Colville composition.
“In 2018 I received a research grant as part of my new professorship at Queen’s University and was gathering information for the project. I had always been intrigued by the idea of ‘war art’,” says Burry. “I was at the Queen’s library and when I found a copy of the book, being familiar with Alex Colville’s work from my time at Mount Allison, I thought, this is it.”
The Tracing Colville project plan was born.
Using Diary of a War Artist as a guide in 2019, Burry set out to follow in his footsteps some 75 years later, touring Europe in the exact places and producing an orchestral composition inspired by the artist’s works and stories. Burry travelled the same path across Europe, including Yorkshire, the Mediterranean, Holland, and the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
He documented his trip online, working to explain his process and the connections to Colville’s works at each stop. He has shared this trip in a series of journals and videos.
A professional composer for more than 20 years, Burry has taught at Queen’s DAN School of Drama and Music since 2018. His move to academia followed a successful career with the Canadian Opera Company where he composed several noted pieces including a children’s opera based on Brothers Grimm, which has been performed over 600 times and translated into several languages.
Through the Tracing Colville project Burry brought together partners from the Canadian War Museum, which loaned images from Colville’s wartime collection for the performance; the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, who played the composition’s Canadian premiere in 2022; and later Dutch counterparts for the anniversary event of the Netherlands Liberation.
“[The September concert] was my first time back to Nijmegen since my initial research trip in 2019. This time, however, I knew people, and it was so exciting to get to know the place through the eyes of the locals,” explains Burry. “They brought me to numerous locations visited by Colville and together we worked to pinpoint some of the locations he painted. I was even shown trees where Canadian soldiers had carved their names back in 1944.”
Burry worked with members of Symfonieorkest Nijmegen and the May 4 and 5 Committee who sponsored the concert. He also gave presentations on the project at Ambassador Adsett’s home in Wassenaar, a local Nijmegen WW2 Info centre, and Radboud University. The 2024 trip cumulated with the packed concert at the Concertgebouw Vereeniging.
Adsett, who attended the concert, says the event was a deeply moving one.
“War on the scale and destruction of the Second World War is very difficult to comprehend. Each of the disciplines of history, music, and art offer a way to understand the enormity of what occurred,” Adsett says. “There are photographs and old films from that time, but Colville’s art captures the atmosphere and lived experience in a way that photographs cannot. And Dean Burry’s music captures the emotion in a way that words cannot.”
In addition to the Nijmegen concert last fall, Burry also embarked on a collaboration to bring a related project back to campus — and to Mount Allison students.
In the spring of 2024, Burry partnered with Music professor Dr. Kevin Morse (’02) and Acadia Music professor Dr. Derek Charke to invite students from both universities to write their own piano compositions inspired by Colville’s work. The compositions were performed by pianist Dr. James Coghlin as part of the Symposium on War and Music at Mount Allison last October.
“This event was absolutely magical to witness. I’ve had a few more decades to consider my interpretation of Colville’s work and the war, but the thoughts of these young people are as poignant and illuminating — more so, perhaps given that they are the same age that Lt. Colville was,” says Burry. “I hope they came away with the notion that their work has relevance and can give them a voice to address the big issues in their world.”
Cover photo by Dean Burry,