If you are a guitar player in Western Canada, then there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard of Central Alberta’s Gilmore Guitars. A relentless promoter of live music and everything guitar, master luthier David Gilmore’s beautiful instruments grace stages and studios with many well-known and many not so well-known musicians.

Gilmore builds beautiful looking, great sounding, and incredibly playable guitars. Pick one up, put your fingers on the fretboard, feel the playability, hit a string, and you instantly know you have a high-quality instrument in your hands.  And Matt Kooman creates beautiful video productions, in this case completely capturing David’s passion for his craft.

So if you love beautiful things, and appreciate the time, energy and passion it takes to create them, then this video will check off a couple of boxes for you.

A couple of notes about this video.

Firstly, the music features Adam Dobres from Salt Spring Islands, and is performed on a Gilmore SJ very similar to the guitar in the video.  Born in Canada and currently living on Pender Island in British Columbia, Adam has toured all over the world with acts ranging from folk ensemble The Ruth Moody Band to pop rock singer Toni Childs. In 2016, he stepped into the spotlight with his self-titled debut album, earning him a nomination for instrumental artist of the year in the West Coast Music Awards.

Recently Adam toured with the Ruth Moody Band opening for renowned former Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, including 8 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Gilmore SJ

Video was shot and produced by Matt Kooman at Makerhouse Studio in Red Deer. Matthew was born and raised in Red Deer, AB. He began his career directing the docudrama _E for Everyone: The Mouse and The Elephant (2007). He set out around the world with 5 film makers to ask a series of nine questions about happiness. The film took them to the US, UK, Kenya, India, Thailand and Malaysia, and was filmed over a 3 month period. Kooman has since worked on short films, music videos, documentaries and features both as an Editor and Director.

David Gilmore is originally from Radville, Saskatchewan, (Canada). After an upbringing that included 18 years on the family farm, David hi-tailed it to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and enrolled at WABC radio school and started working as a radio announcer on January 11, 1981.  During that 30 year radio David spent in radio, he also toured relentlessly across the province, clearly addicted to guitar.

David started building guitars in 1995. Adrienne, his wife, graciously allowed him to attend a 10 week course at Timeless Instruments. There, under the tutelage of David Freeman he received his education and certificate in Lutherie. This course was only the beginning of a journey that is still happening.

“Gilmore Guitars” opened on a full time basis May 1st, 2011.

Here’s a longer (7 minute) version of the above video.

September 9, 2019

2019 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards September 21, Maskwacis, AB

Edmonton… The community of Maskwacis in the Battle River region is host to the 2019 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards, Saturday September 21, 2019. This year’s Awards Gala marks the first time the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards have been regionally co-planned and hosted on a First Nation. Activities throughout September celebrate the deep connections of the land, its people and the arts across the region.

The awards patron, Her Honour, the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, CM, AOE, LLD, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, will present three Distinguished Artist awards at a celebration from 2-4 PM in the Jonas Applegarth Theatre, Nipisihikopahk Secondary School, Maskwacis, AB.

The 2019 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist awardees are:

Marilyn Dumont

Poet and writer Marilyn Dumont (Edmonton) was born in Olds, Alberta of Cree/Métis ancestry and is descended from the family of Gabriel Dumont. Her first collection of poetry, A Really Good Brown Girl (1996), won the 1997 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award from the League of Canadian Poets. Other important publications include: green girl dreams Mountains (2001); that tongued belonging (2007), winner of the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year; and The Pemmican Eaters (2015), which won the 2016 Writers’ Guild of Alberta’s Stephan G. Stephansson Award. Marilyn Dumont’s support for a new generation of writers is leading to profound, progressive changes to the writing landscape in and beyond Alberta.

Walter Jule

Walter Jule (Edmonton) is one of Canada’s most important printmakers and has made outstanding contributions globally through both teaching printmaking and his own creative work. He is recognized for developing and growing Canada’s first printmaking studio master’s program at the University of Alberta and has been described as “the central figure in the Edmonton school of printmaking”. Jule’s work can be found in over 60 major public collections worldwide.

Katie Ohe

Katie Ohe (Calgary) is considered one of Alberta’s pioneers of abstract art. Her six-decade career working in sculpture in a range of materials including steel, concrete, epoxy and chrome has spearheaded the abstract sculpture medium in Alberta.  Ohe has exhibited extensively throughout Canada and internationally, and her sculptures are found in numerous public collections.

The laureates will each receive a handcrafted medal, $30,000 award and two-week residency at the Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Studios; the awards celebration is hosted by the Battle River Group at Maskwacis, Alberta Saturday, September 21, 2019.

Click to purchase event tickets: camroselive.com

Learn more about the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation.  Website: artsawards.ca