Still marvellous after all these years, the Grand turns 100

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http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... story.html



By Stephen hunt, Calgary Herald February 1, 2012 6:00 AM

In May 1949, Don Palmer was a talented young cellist who booked a gig at the Grand Theatre, playing with the Mount Royal College Symphony.

“I was a guest soloist,” he says.

Pretty heady stuff for the son of an opera-loving Calgary plumber.

If you were a musician of any stripe in 1949, there was no venue that could match the Grand.

“I was offstage at intermission,” he adds, “and then the orchestra came on the stage, and then the conductor, and then it was my turn to come up and take my seat — but during that wait, I was so nervous. I was sweating, I was nervous like a cat.

“You just think,” he continues, “what am I doing here? Is there a way I can get out of here?”

Talking today to Palmer, 85 and still playing, one can almost sense what it must have been like for literally thousands of performers, both local and international, who have performed onstage at the Grand Theatre since owner James Lougheed first threw open the doors a century ago, on February 5, 1912.



Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... z1l8UjZYve

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Ain't it grand!
Thousands of performers have thrilled audiences for a century
By Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald February 1, 2012

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... z1ldmaGUrN

Forefathers had foresight to see our need for drama
By Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald February 5, 2012

One hundred years ago today, James Lougheed opened the Sherman Grand theatre in downtown Calgary. Connected to the Lougheed Building next door, it made for a nice little multi-use space, combining retail, commercial real estate - and arts and culture.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/For ... z1ldlyERo6


Mike Bell: Calgary’s Grand was a movie mecca too
By Mike Bell, Calgary Herald, February 3, 2012

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Mike+Bell+ ... z1liWk7whP

Blane Hogue of Lougheed House, letter to the editor in response to Stephen Hunt's article ^

Visit Lougheed House
Blane Hogue, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012
http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/ne ... ce3de6c788

This thread now locked. The main Grand-Lougheed thread is here: http://calgaryheritage.org/CHIForum/viewto ... =3113#3113