(Newswire.net — January 15, 2016) — The Hellenic community of Montreal is one of the largest Greek diasporas outside of Greece. United by our faith and heritage, we often come together for activities that not only benefit the Hellenic community, but the larger community as a whole.
I have been able to take part in a number of projects within the Hellenic community of Montreal. However, when I am asked, “Nick Papapanos, what project are you most proud of?”, I quickly tell them about the book series that my daughter was a part of.
In an effort to pass on the Greek language and the vivid tales from Greek mythology, Dimitris Ilias and Maria Diamantis, owners of the Chroma Musika label, created a series of books that celebrate Greek culture, language and music.
Chroma has produced five books in their series. The first book I was a sponsor of was third in their series,The Magic Recorder, a classic re-telling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin story. The story was a perfect fit for the musically inclined duo, who also created an accompanying CD. The CD featured a dramatic telling of the story, as well as music performed by a full symphony orchestra and Hellenic students in and around Montreal, plus children in Greece.
I was thrilled to sponsor a project that meant so much to the Greek community in Canada and abroad. When I heard that Ilias and Diamantis were planning on launching a second book, Time for Flowers, Time for Snow in 2013, and that they were enlisting Canadian fiction writer and writer of children’s books, Glen Huser, I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some way.
Time for Flowers, Time for Snow is a condensed and child friendly version of the famous Greek tale of Persephone and Demeter. I was also able to get my oldest daughter involved in this project. In fact, her voice is the first voice you hear on the CD. Due to the popularity of The Magic Recorder, we were able to get world-famous comedian Terry Jones, a veteran of the Monty Python comedy troupe, to record the narration for the CD that accompanies the second story, Time for Flowers, Time for Snow.
Time for Flowers, Time for Snow features the voices of more than 100 school children from all over Montreal, as well as the 55-piece Orchestre Symphonique Pop de Montréal. Mixing and recording was done by Dr. Mark Corwin of Concordia University,
Online book review site, Quill and Quire, hailed the Canadian children’s book as a classic worth sharing, saying: “Time for Flowers, Time for Snow is an ambitious project that brings together a group of talented collaborators with splendid results. This is not just a book, it’s a whole arts experience with many facets – literary, artistic, musical – to explore.”
The project became very personal and emotional for myself and my daughter. I’ll never forget the excitement that she felt the first time she saw the book and heard the CD. I imagine that all the other children felt the same way. I cannot wait to see the wonder in her own children’s eyes when they are listening to the CD and my daughter tells her children that she is the first voice on the CD.