CARROT RIVER, BRUNO, STAR CITY, WYNYARD — A literal band of brothers, a singer, a musical theatre performance and a ukulele player will performed at in this year’s Telemiracle.
The Derksen Brothers are from Carrot River, Makayla Glessman is from Bruno, Madison McAvoy is from Star City and Raea Lamont is from Wynyard.
They’ll work together with other Saskatchewan-based talents to help raise money to help those in need acquire special equipment and access to medical treatment.
Derksen Brothers
The Derksen Brothers of Carrot River are made up of three brothers: Bobby, Henry and Andrew Derksen.
This isn’t Bobby or Andrew Derksen’s first time playing there, as both have been to Telemiracle two years ago with their band “Shockwave”.
“We are brothers and we’ve always been in a musical family, so we’ve always grown up listening to our parents’ music,” said Bobby Derksen. “We always been around it.”
The reason they perform in Telemiracle is their sister, Loretta Derksen.
“Our sister has cerebral palsy, so Telemiracle has always been something we did as a family, watched as a family,” Bobby said. “Just to be able to be a part of it is a very neat thing because organizations like Telemiracle have helped our family with our sister, and it is just a way we can give back. It’s such an honour.”
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects motor skills, movements and muscle tone.
“We’re just doing an acoustic version of the song ‘Plant Your Roots Out here’ by Devin Hale,” Bobby said. “You just think, when you listen to this song, it’s about rural Saskatchewan, living in a small town. It’s just an amazing thing, you know? We’re so lucky where we are and where we live and that song just reflects it a bit.”
He said their sister is excited for the performance and supports their music.
“She’s going to be there with us so it’s going to be pretty neat to see her reaction.”
“Our parents are bringing her, we bought them a hotel room so they can come and enjoy the day and enjoy the night.”
They perform mid-afternoon on March 3.
Makayla Glessman
For Makayla Glessman, a 15 year old from Bruno, it is her first time performing in Telemiracle. She said it felt “really good” to get in.
“I’ve watched it for awhile now and I always thought about auditioning for the show, so this year I decided to audition. It was my first time ever to audition and I got in.”
While this is her first time performing in Telemiracle this is far from her first time singing.
“It’s something I’ve done ever since I could talk and I always loved doing it, and I love singing for people.”
Glessman will be singing The Climb
“It’s a song I sang for a couple years and it’s kind of about overcoming obstacles – getting over them and overcoming.”
Glessman performs in the morning on March 3.
Madison McAvoy
From Star City, 13 year old Madison McAvoy is performing two musical theatre songs which are “Joey is a Punk Rocker” and “Blue Hair”.
“These are very fun songs and I really enjoy doing the more fun things, it makes me feel like I can show my personality,” McAvoy said.
She got into musical theatre through voice lessons, which she started when she was nine because she was looking for another activity to do.
“I really like doing my musical theatres and when I perform people come up to me and tell me I’m quite good at it and I feel like doing that for Telemiracle would be fun and I feel like other people would enjoy it.”
She said she would like to see more people doing what they enjoy.
“I see people that won’t do something they enjoy because they think other people will judge them for that, for doing what they enjoy,” McAvoy said. “And I would like to see other people doing what they enjoy and not caring what other people think, like I did.”
She performs in the evening on March 2.
Raea Lamont
Raea Lamont, a 14 year old from Wynyard, will perform a song she wrote called “Strong” on the ukulele during Telemiracle.
“It’s just about staying strong when things are getting tough and just believing in yourself,” Lamont said.
She tried out for Telemiracle on her mother’s advice.
“I thought it would be a really good experience and opportunity to share my song and I love performing so it’s a good opportunity for me to put myself out there.”
Lamont got into music growing up through her father and grandfather.
“Ever since I could talk I could sing, it has just been a part of my life forever.”
While she sang all her life, she only got into ukulele two years ago, teaching herself.
“My brother got one for Christmas and I decided it would be fun to learn,” Lamont said. “So I picked it up and gave it a shot.”
She performs in the morning on March 3.
