Concert series taking place on Prince Edward Island
Community Spotlight Series: John
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 favourite 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 John Drinkwater
Before his experience with Under the Spire, John had never attended a concert by himself. He recalled his first experience attending a concert at Under the Spire, when he was intrigued to see a specific concert but was hesitant to attend on his own. He called a friend to talk about it, and they said, ‘John, just buy the ticket.’ His decision to go to this concert began a long and deep involvement with the concert series. This led to John joining the Board of Directors and helping with many aspects of the concert series. He hosted musicians in his home as part of a billeting program, and was heavily involved with the community relations aspect of the organization. Recalling his history with the organization, John identified some pivotal moments that helped to shape the organization immeasurably. The first pivotal moment being the incorporation of the organization in 1996, the second being Under the Spire’s purchase of the decommissioned church in 2009, and the third being the construction of the pavilion space in 2017. In 2020, John stepped down from the Board of Directors but still enjoys attending concerts at the venue. John regards his time involved with Under the Spire as some of his most fond memories.
1. Can you speak to the impact that this concert series has had on the community in your time there?
Oh, I couldn’t wait for the season to begin. The excitement of lining up when the doors opened in the spring when you were going to that first concert – just to look at the people that were there, the excitement on people’s faces to go to the first concert meant that summer on PEI had begun. It also meant you were going to experience another great summer of friendship, music, laughter, and just to be part of the excitement of that building. When it ended in September, it was the saddest night of the year. People were leaving to go back to wherever they were visiting from – in the older days, we had a huge American presence with the concert series. Those people would stay until the end of the season and go home after the concert season finished. So, it was those friendships that you made that was such an impact. And the performers, when they came back to perform at St. Mary’s again, were so grateful for what they had experienced. It was always so nice.
2. Before your involvement with UTS, did you have any previous experience in the arts community?
I had been involved in the airline business for 31 years before I moved to the island. I had been in the art world, but not in the music world – though I had been exposed to music for most of my life. The experiences at the Under the Spire concert series back in the day was my ‘University Degree 101’ in music. I went to many concerts – some of them I didn’t like, some of them I didn’t understand at first, some of them were too heavy. The music was just mind boggling for me because I had never been exposed to that type of music. But I consider it the university degree in music that I didn’t get a chance to take. Every concert was important for me to go to, because whether you like it or not, you were gaining something in your experience.
3. How has your time at UTS influenced your views on the importance of arts and culture? Has it perhaps changed the level of importance that you regard it with, or the benefits that it has to the community?
Well, absolutely. I think it also narrowed down certain parts of my musical experience of education. Identifying what I want to spend more time with, that I like this type of music more than I like that, or that I want to learn more about this because I don’t know enough about it. I have certainly experienced more music in other city centers in the last 10 years than I would have before, because of my exposure at Under the Spire. I think music on the island is very important for most islanders because they have music in their soul. I think they just don’t realize that Under the Spire is the place to listen to it. That’s something that still needs to be taught to them, because it’s such an overwhelmingly magnificent experience.
It’s worth the drive to Kensington. It’s worth the experience. Making an effort in the summer to come to Under this Spire gets you something you will never forget. UTS is offering a unique experience for people that are visiting to hear music in this acoustically magnificent building. If you’re there for one of those nights where it’s electrified and you can feel the buzz of the people, or you can feel the performer’s excitement that they’re playing in that building – it’s a remarkable journey for the ticket holder to be sitting in that seat, feeling the excitement. That feeling is something you walk away with. It’s part of your summertime experience that you’ll remember forever.
It’s a very peaceful environment. To experience yourself in the middle of the fields, with this music that comes out of the building – you can hear it through the windows outside and you can hear it when they’re practicing. One time, I just layed down on a bench when I was invited to a rehearsal in the afternoon. I layed down on the bench and closed my eyes or just looked up at the ceiling and thought that I was just being taken away by the music – it was a very magical moment. I don’t recommend that we all lie down in the pews, but maybe if you get that opportunity, you can. It was a wonderful experience to just lie there and close your eyes and just let everything that was troubling in life be taken away from you and just be at peace with the music and the moment.
4. Can you share some special memories that you have from your time at UTS?
Being one of the people that hosted performers as part of our billeting program is a very fond memory for me. I looked out my upstairs window one time and there was a player practicing a saxophone in the garden. Then I left my bedroom and walked downstairs and put on the coffee on or whatever, and another performer was doing his morning voice training in the upstairs bedroom. My house was alive with these musicians! Then, after the concert that night, they were getting organized and I was invited over for cards in the little guest house – and we played at 2 o’clock in the morning after their performance! It was just because they were unwinding, and they were having that moment. That was one of the highlights of my time with the concert series – where these performers included me in their own private world, and it was pretty amazing.
Another time, I had Chris Norman, who has performed at St. Mary’s many times, and his gang staying over at my house. At the time, I was having trouble with my tractor, trying to get it going. One of them was quite mechanically gifted and he got underneath the tractor and fixed it – and I looked across and here are all these guys working on my lawn mower and they had a concert to do that afternoon! And their hands – I mean, they’re playing their flutes or whatever else later that day. I told them, ‘You shouldn’t be doing this!’ The guy said, ‘Oh, no, I know how to do this.’ And he fixed it and away it went, and I hopped on my tractor and spent four hours cutting grass. It was unbelievable. Experiences like that were remarkable.
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 that we involve our communities in the survival of various institutions that support them in the long term. Everybody that comes to a concert at Under the Spire drives through the town of Kensington. They get their gas at one of the gas stations there, they might stop at a café, they might go into a restaurant and have dinner prior to the concert, or they might just grab a quick snack at the corner store. They’re supporting the community as they drive through. But it’s not just a drive through – they’re coming to the concert on Friday and they’re coming back for the next one on Sunday – and they’re coming next week and they’re coming the week after. And they’re also recommending these places to their friends and family. I think sometimes we don’t look at the reversal. It’s not so much how the communities support us, but how these institutions are hoping to support the communities with what they do. You think of 300 or 400 people when Under the Spire has a really big night. Where are those people dining? Where are they getting their gas to go home at night? Where are they stopping at the little market to get a snack or bag of potato chips or something before they go? I think it’s a two way street. These institutions support each other.
6. What would you say to someone who has never been to a concert at UTS before, or who may feel nervous about exploring a new genre of music?
I think the most important thing that we can do is experience something new on PEI every summer. Maybe it’s driving down a country road that we have never been on and finding where it’s going to take us. I was told when I first moved down to the island that you could drive down any road, it will take you to water eventually. If not, turn around and go on the side road. I think that’s the same for going to a concert, or going to an art gallery. We have incredible art on this island, so take time to experience something new. Take time to go to a concert that you might not be sure of, but you’re going to come away with something when you leave. You’re going to say, ‘I want more of that.’ or ‘That wasn’t for me, but the rest of the crowd seemed to love it.’ We’ve all been to those concerts – we’ve all sat in the concert hall and said, ‘I didn’t like that last piece, but the two before it were fantastic.’ So my biggest thing is, go out and experience it and just take that opportunity. And you’ll never know who you’ll be sitting next to! The friendships that were made at that concert series are beyond belief. They’re some of the closest friends I’ve made in 20 years, because it was people coming from around the world that were coming there for their own individual musical experience. They never came there with the intention to make friends – they never came there to do anything other than listen and walk out. But the most incredible friendships were made in that church. I can tell you, I’m very privileged to have met the people that I have over the years and to have them part of my life.
We hope you enjoyed reading John’s interview! Be sure to read the rest of the interviews from this series
