Myrna Kostash is a Canadian writer and journalist. She has published several non-fiction books and written for many Canadian magazines including Chatelaine. Of Ukrainian descent, she was born in Edmonton, Alberta and educated at the University of Alberta, the University of Washington, and the University of Toronto. She resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
The culture of Alberta refers to the art, customs, and traditions of the people of Alberta. Alberta entered into Confederation in 1905, placing her in a tie with Saskatchewan as the country's second youngest province. Despite her short history, the province possesses a rich culture. The vastness of the land and variation of geography – which includes mountains, foothills, grassland, parkland, forest, and rockland – have served as important sources of creative inspiration across all art forms. Alberta's primary industries of farming, ranching, and petroleum also play a major part in the province's culture and identity.
Alberta has a diverse music scene of pop, rock, country, jazz, folk, caribbean, classical, and blues music. Music festivals in the Summers are representing these genres. Choral music, ethnic music of many nationalities, all are found in Alberta.
Violet Louise Archer was a Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, organist, and percussionist. Born Violet Balestreri in Montreal, Quebec, in 1913, her family changed their name to Archer in 1940. She died in Ottawa on 21 February 2000.
Connie Isabelle Kaldor, is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of three Juno awards.
Axis of Advance was a Canadian death metal band from Edmonton, active from 1998 to 2008. Their music was described as "freaked-out, hyper and evil metal...not for the weak and not really for most rational human beings, but it will sound great to those looking for a slice of evil black metal the way it should be done."
Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician and writer. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk.
Jessica Linnebach is a Canadian classical violinist. She is a founding member of the Zukerman Chamber Players, as well as the Associate Concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Linnebach plays the Taft Stradivarius (1700) on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Ann Vriend is a Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist based in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs) is an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, and The Northwest Territories.
Hot Panda was a Canadian indie rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band was fronted by Chris Connelly.
Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are a Canadian animation duo. On January 24, 2012, they received their second Oscar nomination, for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) animated short film, Wild Life (2011). With their latest film, The Flying Sailor, they received several nominations and awards, including for the Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and on January 24, 2023, they received a nomination for the 95th Academy Awards under the category Best Animated Short Film.
Samantha Savage Smith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. Her voice and music style has been described as "a marriage of jazz, blues and indie rock influences."
Rob Heath is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums since starting his career in the mid 1980s. He is actively performing in North America, and accompanies his singing on acoustic guitar, solo or with supporting instruments. In 2011 Heath won first place in the Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Contest, was the winner in 2003 at the New Folk competition at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival, and won a Canadian Radio Music Award for “Songwriter of the Year”. He was also nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards “English Songwriter of the Year”. Heath has written for Glen Campbell Music, Don Goodman Music and Criterion/Atlantic Music. Every month Heath opens the doors of his Edmonton home to host a songwriter circle for local singer/songwriters.
Margaret Christl is a Scottish-Canadian folksinger. Christl was born in England, grew up in Scotland and West Wales, and emigrated to Canada in 1966. She became active in the folk revival scene, playing many folk festivals, including the Mariposa Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival and the Calgary Folk Music Festival, as well as the club and coffeehouse circuit. She worked with different folk labels over the years to release a number of works, most notably The Barley Grain for Me. This album was recorded with Ian Robb and William Laskin in 1976 via Folk-Legacy Records, and was dedicated to Edith Fowke, an influential scholar, folklorist, and collector of folk music in Canada.
Mariel Buckley is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter based in Calgary, Alberta. She is the younger sister of singer T. Buckley.
Kathleen McGee is a Canadian stand-up comedian from Edmonton, Alberta. Her performance at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival was nominated for a 2019 Canadian Comedy Award. Her debut full-length album, 2019's Deliciously Vulgar, was produced by Grammy winner Dan Schlissel for his label Stand Up! Records.
Angela Cheng is a Hong Kong-born Canadian classical pianist. She has performed internationally as a recitalist and as a guest soloist with orchestras. Cheng is a professor of piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
