Part Two

It’s almost 10 years since my dear friend, composer Ann Southam went ‘over the horizon’ on November 25, 2010, age 73.  In honour of the upcoming tenth anniversary of her passing, I'm publishing this In Memoriam & Recollections essay.  The essay explores our close friendship, the early days with her music, the vital role she played at the beginning of my career, and the fledgling art scene we experienced in Toronto, early 1960's.

Henri van Bentum

Part Two

Part of her education was at the elite school for girls, Bishop Strachan. I noticed that Ann was sometimes “far away 'though near"; while at other times she was often bubbling over with enthusiasm. One day Ann said to me, “Henri, let’s take skiing lessons!” Well, coming from the Lowlands, this activity was not my forte. Not to mention the cost - for me - of this expensive sport.

Anyway, we went ahead. After several lessons during which we spent more time falling than standing up, we decided to quit.

Instead, we went tobogganing. A much more fun way of going down those snowy slopes. She really enjoyed tobogganing, it was like being a kid again.

Anything contemporary or avant-garde goings on, Ann was there with me.  Art gallery “vernissages”, concerts at the Edward Johnson Building, and of course the Toronto Dance Theatre.

Electronic Music Explorations

Early on, Ann was already experimenting with sound.  She told me she had a recording by Yannis Xanakis, the pioneer of electronic music from Greece, and together we listened to it. It may have been called “White Noise”.

Sam Dolin

She joined Sam Dolin’s Electronic Music course and managed to include me of all people.  Imagine me, doing electronic music? (Sam Dolin later acquired a painting from my exhibition in 1965.)  

I’m the one who ‘pulled the plug’ on the kinetic art show in Paris in May 1966 to demonstrate how such displays depend completely on electricity.See my blog post about this adventure, click here.

Also I have two left hands when it comes to anything mechanical or electric. Even today I do not know how to open a computer. I’m 90 and have never even driven a car.
So this enthusiasm by Ann to get me involved in the Electronic Music classes made me surrender. 

3-minute video on YouTube, an interview

 with Tamara Bernstein 

about Ann Southam

She showed me how to slice tape and put the sounds together that I had “collected”. Without further ado, the end result after several classes and hours of work was my composition; I called it “Echoes of Chartres”. All thanks to Ann again.

Composer and friend Steven Gellman

(Portrait by Cheryl Gellman)

Later another composer and a long-time friend, Steven Gellman, said "Echoes of Chartres" was the best of all the compositions from the course with Sam Dolin.  Steven and wife Cheryl have an extensive collection of my work, some of which can be viewed on the (work-in-progress) vB Archive site. 

This again is just another memory re-surfacing from my days with Ann.


Next: Part Three
(click on "Older Posts", below right)