Concert series taking place on Prince Edward Island
Community Spotlight Series: Suzanne
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2025, we’re excited to reflect on the vibrant stories and community members who have helped shape Under the Spire’s story. Our Community Spotlight Series will feature a diverse group of supporters, sharing their personal connections, experiences, and favorite memories with us across 10 interviews. Through their testimonials, we’ll explore why Under the Spire holds a special place in their lives and in our community. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to this celebration by sharing their reflections with us!
Community Spotlight Series
Interview with Suzanne Allan
1. I would just love to start off with a little bit about how you first came to know about Under the Spire.
It was a combination of a classical music endeavor in a facility like Saint Mary’s. I always admired those lovely churches, the white churches with the red roofs on PEI – that was always a favorite of mine when I first started going to the island. I think that combination of things is what drew me to Under the Spire – and I like classical music, so certainly that drew me to the concert series, absolutely.
Do you remember around what time you first started attending the concert series?
The first concert I can remember was the first time Isabel Bayrakdarian came – which wouldn’t have been after 2002. My husband and I vacationed in PEI almost from the time we were married, really as a result of him working on the island as a summer military student. He was stationed in Summerside for two summers, so he’d fallen in love with the island. That’s how we ended up coming back to PEI.
2. Before volunteering with UTS, did you have any previous experience in the arts community?
Well, mostly I’m just a big fan of classical music. I have no skills or training in classical music, other than it was part of our family that my father played classical music recordings for us as kids. I do try to attend classical concerts regularly.
3. Can you share some special memories that you have from your time at UTS?
Certainly that concert of Isabel Bayrakdarian was incredible. I heard her twice there. I think the first time I heard her, she was perhaps still working as a scientist. Anyway, that first concert, the music was so great. It was wonderful. By the time she came back the second time, she had turned professional as a musician and she was very good, but it just wasn’t quite as magical as the first one.
The second concert that sticks in my mind was The Irish National Choir. They processed into the church singing a reel – so the first group would come in through the side door, start singing and proceed down to the bottom of the church and back up the center aisle. Then the next group came in and started the reel over again. So there were these sounds just all over the church. It was incredible, absolutely incredible. I still have a CD that they did -they stick in my mind as being spectacular.
I always enjoy the Youth Legacy Concert that you do at the beginning of the season. That’s great to see the young people that are coming up as PEI musicians.
4. How has your time at UTS influenced your views on the importance of arts and culture in the community?
The arts and culture in PEI is a breadwinner. It draws summer audiences. I think arts and culture in any community is important – in PEI, it’s even more important. Because you have such a captive audience that brings in a lot of money to the community – to any community. When you have a venue like you have in Saint Mary’s combined with classical music – that adds an additional type of music to the community that wasn’t there before the concert series started up. . . In terms of the present day, I think arts and culture is a huge necessity for any community.
5. Drawing from your own experiences, do you believe that people should take interest in supporting live music and music initiatives within their communities?
I think it’s important. I think that there seems to be a waning interest in the classical concerts that are put on, which is a disappointment, given the venue and the acoustics – it’s a super place. That’s a big challenge for your board and they’re meeting the challenge by having different genres. It’s happening all over the island, not just at Under the Spire.
In my opinion, live musicians now use too much amplification. There’s very few of the less classical artists that appreciate just what that building can do acoustically. I was really pleased last year when Alicia Toner made a point of saying, “I am going to come forward and sing without the benefit of a microphone.” And it was beautiful. You don’t need amplification in that building, but I mean, the concerts are selling out so it works. Lennie Gallant, when he did the concert that introduced his album, Sequoia, that was beautiful. He used every little bit of sound that that building could offer in the signature song of Sequoia, and it was beautiful. I recognize that the festival has to have artists that draw crowds. I mean, that’s the only way they’re going to survive financially – but it’s a shame to not be aware of just how special that venue is, and what it can do for voices, particularly. It’s more apparent with voice, I think, at how fantastic the acoustics are. There was a brother and sister Indigenous duo, Sechile Sedare, this summer that did not over amplify their work and they were great.
6. When you think about Under the Spire, what does it mean to you?
It’s able to offer the ability to see inside that historic building in a way that it was meant to be used. Music was very much a part of any church, and in particular the church buildings that Critchlow-Harris did the ceilings on. The whole concept of a music festival in that building is great.
7. What would you say to someone who has never been to a concert at UTS before, or who may feel a little bit nervous about exploring a new genre of music?
Other than to say it’s a great concept to be able to hear music in a building like that. Anybody who’s been there – they’ll know exactly what you mean by saying that
8. Is there anything else that you wanted to bring up or talk about that we didn’t get a chance to go over today?
Yes – the pavilion. When the idea first came to build the pavilion to replace a tent – I thought it was crazy. The tent was fun. It was part of the festival in my mind, and I thought that the money could be better spent preparing the building – but it’s perfect. I love it. It works really well. It keeps the tent feeling, and it’s a great gathering place. I think it really adds to the uniqueness of that venue for any kind of concert – be it classical or more pop or whatever. I think it’s a great addition to the festival and though it’s a very modern looking building, it doesn’t detract from the historic church at all. The architect did a great job. It’s a great summertime installation to have there – you can catch up with friends easily there, the traffic flow
We hope you enjoyed reading Suzanne’s interview! Be sure to read the rest of the interviews from this series
