Works of arts

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This article was published 22/12/2015 (3901 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s closely knit arts community has had its own guardian angel watching over it for nearly half a century.

Winnipeg entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Loewen — with Shirley, his wife of 57 years — has consistently supported local music and arts.

“Bill is a businessman and inventor whose brilliance concocts ideas almost constantly,” says WSO executive director Trudy Schroeder. “His connection with the orchestra has been simply not a generosity of dollars, but also of loyalty and creativity. He’s always been concerned with our community’s traditions and passing that to future generations, and helps us become a better organization.”

Born into a family of nine in the small farming village of Elkhorn (population 561), the soft-spoken octogenarian founded computerized payroll company Comcheq (and later TelPay) in 1968. He credits Friday afternoon school music-appreciation classes from teacher Bonner Williams, as well as late-night CBC arts-oriented radio broadcasts he heard growing up in the 1940s and ’50s, for sowing the seeds of his love of classical music.

“That can happen in a small town. Even in Elkhorn, you could hear the New York Philharmonic on the radio,” Loewen says over the phone from his office in a downtown heritage building. “I had many years of listening to symphonic music before coming to Winnipeg, and fell in love with it early.”

At age 21, Loewen set out for the bright lights of the big city, dreaming of a career in either science or business. Unable to afford university tuition, he began articling as an accounting student with a local auditing firm (“that effectively became my university degree,” he says) where he earned a princely $40 each month.

He eventually met his future wife, Shirley, a nursing student in Saskatchewan, after being transferred to Regina as a young chartered accountant.

At his side ever since, Shirley shares her husband’s love for the arts. She serves on the WSO Women’s Committee, acting as its president for the past eight years.

“Yes, we’re sort of a team,” says Shirley, who used to manage all of Comcheq’s early years arts sponsorships from home while raising their five children. “A lot of people in Winnipeg do a lot of good things in support of the arts. We’re just one more couple.”

Loewen has given more than a million dollars to the WSO. He’s established its Legacy Circle, provided ongoing donations to the orchestra’s endowment fund, initiated the WSO’s Summer Series and sponsored the annual Music at the Millennium series, a showcase for local musicians at the marbled Millennium Centre, which he also restored in 2000.

What makes Loewen’s relationship with the orchestra unique is his personal investment in the musicians’ well-being. The musicians unanimously voted to make Loewen an honorary member of the orchestra several years ago — the only person ever awarded that recognition.

“The decision was made as a reflection of the special partnership, respect and affinity that the musicians have for Bill,” says principal harpist Richard Turner, chairman of the WSO Members Association, adding Loewen is on a first-name basis with most of the WSO’s 67 players.

“His generosity is without parallel, and offers a completely different model that says music is a universal gift.”

With his ever-growing list of accolades — he was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999, inducted into the Citizens’ Hall of Fame in 2008 and named Manitoba’s Executive of the Year in 1990 — Loewen also received the WSO’s 1998 Golden Baton award for his distinguished service, including acting as its president and chairman during the late 1990s.

“Bill has been like a fairy godfather to the WSO,” concertmaster Gwen Hoebig, now in her 29th season, says of Loewen’s close bond with the orchestra. “We know whenever there’s some sort of crucial problem, both he and Shirley are always there for us.”

The Lowens regularly attend WSO concerts, as well as virtually all the Winnipeg Chamber Music Society programs, which Hoebig performs with her pianist husband David Moroz and principal players of the WSO.

In fact, Loewen underwrote the first three seasons of the now 29-year-old chamber series, playing an pivotal role in helping the fledgling organization get off the ground.

“Bill was the catalyst,” says Moroz, the society’s founding artistic director. “I’m sure we wouldn’t have survived our first few years without his help, and here we are celebrating our 30th year next season. We owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Loewen’s Midas touch seems to be everywhere. In addition to his unwavering support of the WSO, he’s also given generously to the St. Norbert Arts Centre, the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, as well as Pantages Playhouse Theatre and the Manitoba Choral Association, to which he donated $1 million in 1998.

Manitoba Opera has been a recipient over the years, and general director and CEO Larry Desrochers sings the praises of the beloved benefactor.

“Bill and Shirley have been longtime subscribers and major supporters of Manitoba Opera for many years,” he says via email. “Their love of music is equally matched by their generosity.

“They give because they believe in the profound difference that the arts make in our community. They are warm-hearted people who’ve helped bring opera to thousands of Manitobans each year.”

The snow-white haired couple is famously humble and down to earth. They recently moved from the St. Norbert home they lived in for 47 years to a downtown condominium closer to the city’s arts epicentre.

They eschew publicity, preferring to support worthy causes through their W.H. & S.E. Loewen Foundation, which they founded in 1989 and now managed by their daughter, Louise May.

Loewen, who is in his mid-80s, heads to his office each day, nurtures his passion for symphonic music — including favourite composers Beethoven, Mahler and “a little Shostakovich” — enjoys reading and politics and spending quality time with his seven grandchildren.

“I’m afraid that there aren’t too many Bonner Williamses (his teacher) around anymore,” Loewen says of today’s changing times.

“I don’t think people are getting as much exposure to real art, or it’s so much more limited now, with a few exceptions such as the WSO’s El Sistema (inner-city youth educational) program,” he adds.

“Winnipeg has a very vibrant arts community. It has to be kept alive. We can’t take (money) with us so if you have a little extra, what better place to invest it than in the life of your community? And that’s what we do.”

holly.harris@shaw.ca