Freddy the runaway bison inspires composer to create musical piece in his wake

A Manitobamusician has penned a new musical piece about a wily bison who refusedto stay penned up.

Locals inLorette, Man. 25 kilometres southeast of Winnipegknow all about Freddy the Bison, whose near-daily escapes from his pen on Provincial Road 405 earlier this year became asource of considerable amusementon social media, and even spawned shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Run Freddy Run."

Now, Run, Freddy, Run! is a musical piece which will have its world premiere this weekend at a concert by the Winnipeg vocal groupCamerata Nova.

"I'm from Winnipeg, and you really only realize how special the heirloom bison culture and the bison branding here is when you leave," said composerEliot Britton, originally from Manitoba and now an assistant professor of composition at the University of Toronto.

When he came back to his home province, he would pepper his Instagram and Facebook pages with pictures of bison, his favourite animal. And when CBCdid thestory in January about Freddy the "brazen bison," he said his attention was hooked.

'Run Freddy run': Bison who keeps escaping its pen creating buzz in rural Manitoba town

7 years ago

Duration 2:15

A bison who keeps escaping its pen is creating a buzz in the community of Lorette. The CBC's Austin Grabish travelled to Lorette in search of Freddy the bison.

In Freddy's honour, he put together a choral piece that features flowing harmony "of Renaissance polyphony. But there's also some bison sounds that are in there woven in," he said.

The song is also peppered with spoken parts that quote some things locals have said about Freddy, including "He looks like a bison. I don't want to be insensitive but they all look the sameyou know?"

The goal of the piece was to interweave older forms of Mtisculture with new, said Britton, who is himself Mtis.

His piece is being presented this weekend as part of the lineup forCamerata Nova's latest concert, titledRed River Song.

"Music is meant to grow and evolve," said Andrew Balfour, artistic director of Camerata Nova, which commissioned the new work.

"There's nothing more Canadian than what I think we're doing, [which] is adding different elements to what is very Canadian in Mtis culture.It's a thrill and fun to do."

BecauseCamerataNova is a chamber classical ensemble, they're able to work on innovative collaborations, said Balfour, adding Britton's piece is a "perfect example" of that innovation.

Britton said he's not sure why the bison is such a compelling figure for Manitobans.

"Abison can somehow be tragic but somehow heroic, but also kind of funny like Morty in the MTS bison period," he said, referring to the former MTSadvertising mascot.

"It can also be kind of sentimental and it can be terrifying, so it can be a lot of things to a lot of different people."

CamerataNova's Red River Song concert, including the world premiere of Run, Freddy, Run!, will be presented Saturday, April 28at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m. atglisedu Prcieux-Sang (200 Kenny St.).