Bring Back the Hymns tour coming to Steinbach

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This article was published 14/09/2023 (653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A three-city Manitoba tour will feature Rosemary Siemens with Sax & Violin as they present, Bring Back the Hymns.

Growing up on a farm near Plum Coulee, Siemens was exposed to hymns from an early age, but has made her mark in other genres as well. She’s played Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, the Colosseum, concert halls around the world and the Grand Ole Opry (with another date at the Grand Ole Opry planned for May 2024).

But being able to hit stages in Steinbach, Winkler and Winnipeg to perform hymns and inspirational classics with her family is an experience she wouldn’t trade for anything.

“It’s really special to sing the hymns with all the generations, with my mom and my son and my husband,” she said. “People like to see that family tie and I think it’s really special.”

Siemens is married to award winning saxophonist Eli Bennett who will share the stage along with her son Theodore, her mother Mary, and possibly her father Jack, as long he’s not busy on the combine.

The shows will take place on Friday, Sept. 15 at the Winkler MB Church, Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Steinbach MB Church and Sunday, Sept. 17 at North Kildonan MB Church in Winnipeg. Start time is 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

All shows are free to attend but a freewill offering will be taken for Generation Rising, formerly known as Global Family Foundation.

They are an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in Latin America through education, offering scholarship programs, family programming, school builds and teacher training in Paraguay, Nicaragua and Honduras.

It’s a worthy cause according to Siemens, and is one her family has embraced.

“We got to sponsor a child named Christian and we get letters from him,” she said. “They really help the life of the child. I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful organization to be involved with.”

This trio of concerts will mark the first time since 2019 that Siemens has played in front of audiences in Steinbach, Winkler or Winnipeg.

Sunday Hymn Serenade on her YouTube channel, launched in September 2019 has seen much of her energy through COVID.

Currently with 375,000 subscribers and over 100 million views, Siemens said it has been a great way to connect.

“A lot of people know me through the YouTube show, so now it’s great to kind of take that YouTube show and bring it live,” she said.

The audience will get a chance to listen and participate in the show which will also include singing from her four-year-old son Theodore and video story telling.

Siemens recalls a time when her parents led hymns at church, of learning hymns in the family car on the way to family visits, of singing in four-part harmony with her cousins at her Grandma’s.

That passion has led to her advocating for churches to bring back the hymns.

“I really think churches are doing a disservice, to not only the older community but to everyone to not teach the younger generation the hymns,” she said.

Too often she said worship teams end up becoming performers instead of truly leading congregational singing.

“Whenever you have a hymn in church, that’s when people start to sing,” she said. “I don’t say all the songs at the worship have to be hymns, but I think (they should) at least have a little bit of time for that for those people that feel left behind.”

And hymns aren’t just for seniors. Siemens said 45 percent of her Sunday Hymn Serenade subscribers are under the age of 45.

Siemens said those hymns make a difference.

She talked of one 14-year-old girl, who’s doctor suggested she find peaceful music for part of her treatment to stop her from cutting.

She found Rosemary’s version of Amazing Grace and reached out to explain just how much peace that was giving her.

“I would love one day to speak in front of thousands of pastors and tell them stories about the importance of how these hymns have touched people,” she said.

The couple has a goal of reaching one million subscribers, a challenge that seems daunting right now. But as Siemens said, when they started, they didn’t expect to reach where they are today.

And while COVID made the YouTube show important, nothing compares to the real thing.

“I love performing in-person,” she said. “There’s nothing like a live audience.”

A free event for all ages, Siemens is hoping other families will find joy in hymns just as hers has.

“I would love people to come with their parents and their grandparents” she said.