Hi. I am Malcolm Wade, a trombonist living in Ottawa, Canada, and I Hate Cancer. I have produced two videos (see above) in the hope of raising $5,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society by May 14th 2023.

Here is why …

in 2022 Cancer took the lives of three wonderful people that I knew well, each of whom had much more to offer the world.

First Greg Furlong, an environmental advocate and an exceedingly kind and gentle man. As healthy and full of life as anyone I’ve known. How the hell did he get Cancer?

Then Cheryl Terrance, my sister-in-law-law and professor of psychology at the University of North Dakota. Cheryl was a fierce advocate for all marginalized people and never failed to speak up for those who’s voices had been lost. Her over two year battle against a mysterious and rare stomach cancer illustrated just how insidious Cancer can be.

Finally Don Renshaw, a mentor and friend whose positive energy and humble nature were equally as impressive as his musical talents. Don spent 36 years as Principal trombone for the NAC orchestra, along with so many hours in outreach programs to inspire future musicians. From diagnosis to death, Don had not enough time. No fairy tale ending.

To honour the memory of these three wonderful people and to raise funds for ongoing Cancer Research I decided to create a video (2 it turns out). I chose two pieces that Don had helped me with in preparation for orchestral auditions: Vier Ernste Gesänge #’s 1 and 3 by Johannes Brahms. They are taken from Brahms’ 1896 suite of four serious songs (Vier Ernste Gesänge) in anticipation of the death of his good friend Clara Schumann. It would be Brahms’ final composition.

The gifted Ottawa pianist Fred Lacroix readily agreed to collaborate on the audio recordings. Fred was a frequent collaborator with Don and the generous donation of his time underlines both Fred and Don’s intrinsically good nature. I selected myself as trombonist (for purely selfish reasons). Recording took place in Feb. 2023 in an Ottawa U. rehearsal space.

Completing the visual part of the videos was perhaps most challenging as I wanted to highlight the beauty and wonder of life rather than the grim reality of a horrible disease.

For V.E.G. #1 the idea of celestial images came from my Mother’s mentioning of the Evening Star (Venus) which has been prominent of late. It has always fascinated me that we exist at all (or are aware that change takes place).

For V.E.G. #3 I chose earthly images of natural, close to home places. Partly because I had lots in my photos, but also to reflect the love and respect Greg, Cheryl and Don had for the wonderful world around them.

I hope that viewing the videos leaves you feeling as though your valuable time was well spent. I have set a goal of $5,000 by May 14th. If you are able to, please donate generously.