ISABEL BELINA
Isabel was born in England, daughter of Polish parents who immigrated to Canada in 1949, land of hope and opportunity for WW2 survivors. Isabel’s music life began when her mother sang and taught her songs from her native country. Her father played piano by ear; Harmonies came naturally to the family. Her multi-talented mother taught her children about self-entertainment via words, drawings, melodies. Isabel’s first public singing appearances happened on stage at Saturday Polish school. Regular school was in English with French a necessity growing up in Montreal Quebec.
1981-1985
Completing degrees in Political Science and Art History, Isabel married and worked until her children were born. Divorce and single-motherhood became the new normal in her early 30’s. One day, Isabel pulled out her old guitar and to her surprise wrote “Single Mother Blues”. Then the floodgates opened up to a whole new world of song-writing. Eventually Isabel decided to try singing in public thanks to coffee houses and house concerts. But bringing up 2 small children was Isabel’s priority so studying to teach English as a Second Language became her lifelong profession and passion.
Isabel wrote 14 songs – one for each Canadian Province, plus the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Six notable composers are in the process of writing choral arrangements – to be released in July 2025. This collection would make a fantastic concert for singers and listeners who are grateful to live in the Great White North.
Alberta Sky
by Isabel Belina
arr. Erica Phare-Bergh
SATB with piano – duration 3:40
Morning comes, the light of day, birds their wings unfold
Bones of weary pioneers lie buried in the ground
Air still fills with warrior calls as ghostly bison pound
I Dreamed of Yukon
by Isabel Belina
arr. Trent Worthington
SATB with piano – duration 4:15
I dreamed I was a mountain, – a mountain in the Yukon
And I was tall as I could ever be
Standing with the others
My sisters and my brothers
Bound by our collective memory
Our ancient craggy features
Beneath eternal snow
Absorbed into the ever-changing light
The yellow of the early morn
The sunset’s deepest rose
The ghostly aura of a moonlit night
I dreamed I was a mountain – a mountain in the Yukon
And I was tall as I could ever be
Lake Wa-Wash-Kesh
by Isabel Belina
arr. Mark Sirett
SATB with piano – duration 3:25
It is so divine underneath the pines
On the shores of Lake Wawashkesh
Far as I can see, water, sky and trees
This land, my paradise.
Newfoundland My Home
by Isabel Belina
arr. Chris Fortin
SATB with piano – duration 2:25
When God created land
and sea and carved an island out for me
So I would have a place to be,
my Newfoundland, my home
The seasons come, the seasons go,
and winds they never cease to blow
And all I really need to know’s that
Newfoundland’s my home
Oh My, P.E.I.
by Isabel Belina
arr. Larry Nickel
SATB with piano – duration 2:55
When 1867 came – this country got it’s name
When John A. gathered delegates in Charlottetown
They talked ‘til they agreed
Confederation’s what we need
And John A. dreamed that we’d be coast to coast one day.
On the Roads of Manitoba
by Isabel Belina
arr. Larry Nickel
SATB with piano – duration 3:45
He often took me with him from the time when I was three
He taught me how to read from signs – it was our little game
And every place we stopped to eat – they all knew his name
All those roads of Manitoba get me home by and by
Saskatchewan Waltz
by Isabel Belina
arr. Trent Worthington
SATB with piano – duration 4:30
Summer in Rosetown a farmer was he
And in Curling he gained reputation and fame
In every village and town,
While she and her family were from the Old Country
With a bakery in Saskatoon
And the short winter days meant for long winter nights
To dream under the old prairie moon.
Sedna and Aurora - (Nunavut)
by Isabel Belina
arr. Larry Nickel
SATB with piano – duration 3:30
Oh Sedna and Aurora,
In your loving arms enfolded
Our Nunavut lies.
Performs her dance of coloured veils
Beneath the stars of the celestial palace
To music sung by Sedna’s whales.
Spirit of My Land
by Isabel Belina
arr. Larry Nickel
SATB with piano – 2:45
Under the midnight sun
Where my life was begun
I feel the power of the spirit of my land
In dreams that I recall
Of snow in endless fall
I feel the power of the spirit of the land
Sweet Home Canada
by Isabel Belina
arr. Mark Sirett
SATB with piano – 3:20
We all came from somewhere else – by land or sea or air,
and every journey is a story
Of why and when and where
And for each beats a heart
That in a language all its own
Says this beloved country is home.
Quick Links
Contact
General Inquiries:
jason@cypresschoral.com
Composers
Catalogue
Special Collections
Gordon Lightfoot
Songs for the Sanctuary
Vancouver Youth Choir Series
Canadian Chamber Choir Series
Elektra Women"s Choir Series
La Série Enchantée (French))
The Zimfira Collection (Children)
Profondo - (Lower Voices)
Universal Gospel Choir
Jean-Sébastien Vallée Series
Diane Loomer Choral Series (Folk Song)