The Vimy Flute: Becoming Part of The Story

Welcome to my blog and I hope I can capture your attention as I share the process involved in the creation of a very unique flute.  Yes a flute... in fact it will be something of an artifact as it will be the only ‘Vimy Flute’ designed purposely to honor the actions and sacrifices of our Canadian soldiers in Vimy France almost 100 years ago.  It has been a vision of mine to play the song 'Amazing Grace' on the Vimy memorial.  On April 9th, 2017 at the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge I will be finding my way to the monument and play this song.  What will make this flute so special is it will be made from an incredibly rare wood whose origins come from the acorn of an oak tree which was decimated during the battle of Vimy Ridge almost 100 years ago. 

By following my blog I want to invite you to become part of this great Canadian story, in fact some may call it ‘The Canadian Story’.   Our part in this story is small, however it is a very important.  Our part is to ‘actively remember’.  Active remembrance is not about simply acknowledging the past, rather it is about engaging with the past.  I’m asking you to empathise with those of long ago, to honor them, and most importantly to let the lessons they learned guide your choices here and now.  Active remembrance allows the actions of our ancestors to come full circle and for you to becoming part of the story.

Each week I will post an update about the progress of the flute as it is being constructed by my partner in this project Steven Rensink. In these updates I will also share the stories of how the flute came to be and the history of Vimy Ridge. I will also highlight the efforts of all of the people working to ensure the memory of Vimy is preserved now and for future generations.  Please stay connected and because we are still designing the flute we invite you to add comments or ideas into the design of the flute. 

This Picture is early brain storming sketch  of what the flute could look like.  Please note that we are planning on making it into a drone flute which means it will have a second flute attached that will play one constant note.  Drones are kind of like a bagpipe.