A guitar made from pieces of Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick, Pierre Trudeau’s canoe paddle, and one of Maurice Richard’s Stanley Cup rings is on Vancouver Island this week for a series of performances at middle schools.
Voyageur is the name of the “national guitar” at the centre of the Six String Nation project, a 70-minute multi-media presentation going to schools across the country.
The guitar is the property of Jowi Taylor, a former CBC host from Toronto who has been travelling with the instrument to events across Canada since 2006.
The guitar is constructed from 63 elements representing various provinces and territories in Canada — including a stone from Gimli, Man., and pieces of a tree from B.C.’s Yakoun River.
Wood from Fan Tan Alley in Victoria is also included.
The guitar is housed in a case that includes parts of ballerina Karen Kain’s costume, Don Cherry’s pants and Commander Chris Hadfield’s spacesuit patch, and comes with a guitar strap with material from a badge worn in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and cloth from a Japanese-Canadian baseball team circa 1914.
The point is to get audiences thinking about the diverse nature of Canada, and how intermingling parts of various backgrounds can produce a harmonious sound.
Taylor’s tour of Vancouver Island got underway Monday with stops at North Saanich Middle School and Bayside Middle School, followed by a performance Tuesday before 250 guests at Government House.
His itinerary continues through the week, with stops today (Colquitz Middle School, Glanford Middle School, Berwick Retirement Community), Thursday (Shoreline Community Middle School, Rockheights Middle School), and Friday (Spencer Middle School, Journey Middle School) around Greater Victoria.
His presentation is always a big hit with audiences, as he gives school staff and students the opportunity to play the guitar.
Taylor doesn’t play Voyageur during his presentation, but he encourages others to do so. “This allows me to put the ownership in their hands.”
Over the years, the guitar has been played by everyone from Stompin’ Tom Connors to Gordon Lightfoot.
And while the roots of the project are in Canada — Voyageur was built by Nova Scotia luthier George Rizsany, who has made guitars for Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones — Taylor isn’t a stickler for Can-Con when it comes to music.
“It’s important they play something that resonates with them,” he says.
“If that happens to be a current pop hit, they should try it.”
Taylor has created an in-class component teachers can later apply, if they choose.
What he accomplishes during his hour with students is enough of a reward for Taylor.
“People come up and say the most wonderful and profound things afterwards. They are so heartfelt, you realize that you’ve made an important connection.”