At 72 years old, beloved Canadian children’s performer Fred Penner has been delighting multiple generations of fans for over 40 years. It’s a feat that Penner himself admits he has no idea how he’s managed to pull off.
“All I can relate that to is my commitment to what I’ve been doing,” says Penner. “I began performing and trying to build a career in the early ’70s, when I was playing the folk scene and connecting with other friends and musicians and playing the bars and university circuit, and gaining the skills of being a musician and a performer, and a songwriter.”
This hard work ultimately led to Penner working with families and children in the early ’80s, allowing him to bring his passion for music to the masses.
“I’ve always felt, from a very young age, how valuable music is in life,” says Penner. “For me as a young man listening to the songs that my parents were engaged with… They would have parties and I would hear music and piano and singing and poetry recitations, so I was surrounded by a lot of wonderful, wonderful music when I was growing up with my older brother and sister as well, and it made me understand how valuable music is for the human spirit.”
This was especially true for his younger sister, Susie. Susie was born with Down syndrome; Penner says he connected with her magnificently through music. He credits his relationship with his sister as the foundation for his career’s trajectory of singing and writing for children.
“When I was in high school and university, I volunteered with a number of children’s organizations, and music was just a logical part of my connection with them,” says Penner.
In the ’70s Penner cofounded a children’s dance theatre company, which led to the creation of his first record, The Cat Came Back.
“That was kind of the refocusing of working with families and with children in theatres in Winnipeg, at that point,” says Penner. “Then the generation was open at that point to myself, and to Raffi, and Sharon, Lois, and Bram.”
Penner toured extensively in the ’80s, a time he says was massive for anyone involved with working with children.
“It was clear the demand was there,” says Penner. “It was clear I had the ability to bring that positive, uplifting style to the children and the parents—and the grandparents, for that matter—so that’s what sort of set the foundation for me.”
The ability to perform for children is all-encompassing for Penner, who says he looks at his work as being for the spectrum of humanity.
“What I get from a child is this delight and excitement in hearing music,” he says. “I think what a child appreciates, or what I hope they appreciate, is that I do not condescend—that when I talk to a child, I’m really interested in what they have to say and what they are experiencing.”
This level of engagement has led to an undeniably successful career. Still, Penner says he often goes back to that early stage in his career to remind himself of the value of what he does and to keep that clear to himself.
“I hope that I bring a sense of integrity for what I am presenting to the audience, often a very vulnerable part of society—the children,” says Penner. “So, understanding that has set a foundation for me to be creative from, and that has allowed me to be consistent over and over for four decades with just about everything I’ve done. You’re only as good as your last gig.”
Fred Penner
2:30 pm Sunday, February 10
$15 to $25, student discounts available
Farquhar Theatre, UVic
uvic.ca/farquhar/events