Stories and Song with Denise Pelley #6
Join musical artist Denise Pelley and accompanist Stephen Holowitz in a lecture and listen series about Famous Black Canadians inside the AME Church.
September 27, 2026, the sixth edition focuses on Rose Fortune, Loyalist and Canada’s first female police officer, and hockey player, Herb Carnegie.
Go here for updates and tickets.
Tickets to this performance include admission to the Heritage Village, which is open from 10:00am – 4:00pm. at the Fanshawe Pioneer Village located within Fanshawe Conservation Area. Check website for time of performance and aim to arrive 30 minutes early – it takes that long to enter the park, get parked, and walk to the church.
From Denise Pelley:
The idea for the series Stories and Song came about in 2023 after me and Steve Holowitz (pianist) performed at the opening of the AME. We discussed ways to use the chapel and bring people into this historical building. I presented to the Village coordinator and her team the idea of me creating presentations mixed with music to tell the stories of famous Black Canadians.
They loved the idea and the series began the following year. We do two presentations per year with each presentation highlighting two famous Black Canadians. In 2024 and 2025, we shared Stories and Song about:
2024 Viola Davis and George Elliott Clarke
Portia White and Fergie Jenkins, with mention of Stan Anderson (my uncle)
2025 Eleanor Collins and Lincoln Alexander
Carrie Best and Oscar Peterson
This year’s final presentation, taking place on September 27, will highlight the lives of Rose Fortune and Herb Carnegie. In June, we shared the life stories of Salome Bey and Lawrence Hill.