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Published May 08, 2026 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
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The Crescendo fundraising event at the Winspear Centre, Friday, May 4, 2018. Photo by Suuplied /ROB HISLOP PHOTOGRAPHYArticle content
A song’s power often lies in its deceptive simplicity.
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We find ourselves lured in by the lyrics, those rhythmic architects of the human experience, only to be levelled by the emotional resonance of a single, soaring note. It is a profound alchemy that stirs the intellect and strikes the heart, demanding a response from the listener
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At Crescendo, this isn’t merely entertainment — it is a grand, symphonic call to action that echoes through the very rafters of our community. When the music swells, it carries the weight of our shared stories — the resilience, the struggle, and the unwavering hope that defines the Edmonton spirit.
We don’t just hear the melody, we witness a city rising in harmony for mental health.
Emanuel Fonte knows it well.
Emmanuel Fonte is the musical director of Crescendo. Supplied
Sitting on a couch, just minutes before heading to the Winspear Centre Thursday afternoon for rehearsal, the musical director reflects — two days before showtime — on the vision John Cameron breathed into life back in 2017.
Since its inception, Crescendo has evolved from a local dream into an Edmonton powerhouse, raising millions of dollars for The Mental Foundation. But as the lights dim this week, the mission remains strikingly personal.
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It was never meant to be a mere hodgepodge of melodies — Cameron’s blueprint was far more intentional.
“He wanted the music to have something to say,” Fonte said.
“And I think that is really focused on when we’re choosing repertoire. How do we communicate what Crescendo is by group having people by their throat emotionally, so that they can listen to what the stories are that would challenge them to show up differently with their friends, family, and themselves.”
It’s a journey that includes things that we’re familiar with and that have moved us.”
Fonte leans in, the weight of the music clearly on his mind. He points to a specific moment in this year’s production that serves as the perfect litmus test for the Crescendo philosophy: a Beach Boys classic.
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Michelle Rushfeldt performs with John Cameron, left, during the Crescendo concert at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton, AB, on Friday, June 9, 2017. Rob Hislop Photography
Cameron will take to the stage to perform “God Only Knows,” though the familiar pop polish of the radio version is nowhere to be found. Instead, the arrangement is stripped down to its bare, skeletal essentials — strings, a lone woodwind, a piano, and a voice.
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Fonte thinks when you peel back the layers and leave only the core, the audience is forced into a direct, unavoidable confrontation with the lyrics. There is no place to hide behind a catchy beat. It’s a raw, musical soul-searching that lands right in your face, demanding you hear the story behind the song and feel the gravity of the message being delivered.
A driven performer, the Montreal native wants his audience to be entertained. But he is also charged by bringing people together to understand all nuances of mental health.
“I think the resounding theme is that we’re not alone,” he said. “And, thank you. Thank you for seeing us.
“Thank you for making a place that’s safe for us. The reality, I think you probably would resonate with who is not touched mental health. I don’t know who wouldn’t be impacted to some degree by either personal or familial or friendship. So I think often it’s thank you for making a place a safe place. I think that’s been one of the fundamentals of the mission.
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Close to 20 tunes will be performed, including a surprise — a song which could be making its Winspear Centre debut.
Another? Jim Croce’s iconic Time In a Bottle. The song has so many meanings, and through a mental-health lens, has a deeper meaning.
“That song that is quintessential about life takes on a different delicacy, and just patience to to really lean into these songs that are very familiar with a little bit of a twist.”
Then Fonte’s familiar wink, smile, zinger.
“I’ll leave that with you.”
Crescendo goes Saturday at 7 p.m. Winspear Centre. There are tickets available. john.cameron.com
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