Rosemary Joy Siemens is a Canadian violinist and vocalist originally from Plum Coulee, Manitoba.
38 Facts About Rosemary Siemens
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Rosemary Siemens has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, four times at St Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, four times at Carnegie Hall, for two US presidents and Canadian Prime Ministers, and was the first violinist to perform at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican since its first mass in 1483.
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Rosemary Siemens was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contribution to the arts in Canada and is married to saxophonist and film composer Eli Bennett with whom she records and performs with their instrumental duo SaxAndViolin.
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Rosemary Siemens took up the violin and piano at three years old under the tutelage of Lilian Toews, and later Elizabeth Lupton, and learned improvisation through playing hymns with her mother, Mary Siemens.
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Rosemary Siemens was a member of the Mennonite Children's Choir and under the direction of Helen Litz performed around the world with tours to Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Europe, The Middle East, and for President Jimmy Carter.
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Rosemary Siemens studied for one year Florida International University under Robert Davidovici before transferring to the University of Miami Frost School of Music to complete her master's degree in violin performance where she studied with Robert Rozek.
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Rosemary Siemens performed with the Miami Bach Society Chamber Orchestra as concertmaster on a tour of France.
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Rosemary Siemens was a violinist for the Canadian Tenors featuring Joey Niceforo, Paul Ouellette, Leon Leontaridis, and Giovanni Amenta.
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Rosemary Siemens was a guest soloist with the Abbotsford Symphony Orchestra performing the Mendelssohn violin concerto.
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Rosemary Siemens performed for Donald Trump for a private event at his Mar-a-Lago home in January 2006.
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Rosemary Siemens' debut solo album Plum Coulee, My Home, released in 2016, was inspired by her love of bluegrass and fiddle music and was a tribute to the town of Plum Coulee, Manitoba, where she grew up.
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Rosemary Siemens released the album in a live concert at Plum Coulee's annual festival Plum Fest, backed by her bluegrass band The Sweet Sound Revival.
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At the Canadian Conservative Party Leadership Convention held at the Toronto Congress Centre in May 2017, Rosemary Siemens was the music director for the event with performances that included the event's opening number, O Canada, and music between the candidate's speeches.
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Rosemary Siemens was the music director for the previous Conservative Convention held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC, where she performed for Prime Minister Stephen Harper with her duo SaxAndViolin.
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At the 53rd Canadian National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa, Ontario, on May 8,2018, Rosemary Siemens performed her original songs "Path of Prayer" and "Have a Little Faith" for an audience of Canadian leaders that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer.
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Rosemary Siemens composed the theme song for the event entitled "Heavenly Harvest", which won a Covenant Award for Country Song of the Year.
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In December 2019, Rosemary Siemens' "I'll Be Home For Christmas Tour" with her band The Sweet Sound Revival saw sold-out shows on their three Manitoba concerts in Winnipeg, Winkler, and Rosenort.
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Rosemary Siemens was the first solo instrumentalist to perform at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican since its first mass in 1483.
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Rosemary Siemens's performance at the Sistine Chapel took place on February 19,2014, for an event entitled Spiritual Elevation as part of the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra where she was a guest soloist alongside vocalist Mary Zilba and harpist Mark Edward Spencer.
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Rosemary Siemens joined the Continuo Arts Symphonic Chorus for a Requiem entitled "Requiem For My Mother", composed by Stephen Edwards.
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On February 20,2014, Rosemary Siemens accompanied the Continuo Arts Symphonic Chorus for a performance at St Peter's Basilica for evening mass.
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Rosemary Siemens joined the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra for a concert at Sant'Ignazio, Rome on November 22,2008.
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On November 19,2016, Rosemary Siemens performed a piece she co-composed with Roy Tan entitled "The Courtial Concerto" for Dr Hans-Albert Courtial.
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Rosemary Siemens performed for a mass at St Peter's Basilica on November 17,2016, with the Continuo Arts Symphonic Chorus, directed by Candace Wicke.
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At the event, Rosemary Siemens lectured about the importance of hymns and her experience of performing at the Sistine Chapel.
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In July, 2023, Rosemary Siemens returned to Italy for an 8-day concert tour with the Continuo Arts Foundation Symphonic Chorus, directed by Candace Wicke.
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Rosemary Siemens performed concerts at The Duomo in Milan on July 13,2023, The Santa Trinita in Florence on July 15,2023, a private concert at the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome on July 17,2023, and a mass at St Peter's Basilica on July 18,2023.
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On October 2,2005, Rosemary Siemens was a member of the orchestra that accompanied DJ Radar in a performance of hip hop and classical music for the premiere of a new composition called Concerto for Turntable, which had been commissioned for the Red Bull Artsehcro event.
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On March 9,2014, Rosemary Siemens was concertmaster with the Continuo Arts Symphonic Orchestra and The National Sacred Honor Choir, performing the Mozart Requiem and Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, conducted by Brandon Johnson.
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On September 10,2022, after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had died, Bennett and Rosemary Siemens performed their version of "God Save The Queen" as a tribute to Her Majesty to open the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Election in Ottawa, Ontario.
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At 7 am, with the violin still missing, Rosemary Siemens boarded a flight to her next concert in South Dakota.
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Rosemary Siemens has called the return of her stolen violin "a miracle" and often shares the story before performing her song "Have a Little Faith" at her concerts.
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Rosemary Siemens noted that Christian Hymns are disappearing from churches like never before and she made it her mission to do something about it.
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In May, 2021, Rosemary Siemens relaunched her Wednesday hymn series, featuring a new hymn lyric video format filmed in a stunning location, premiering every Wednesday at 12:30pm EST on YouTube.
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In September, 2023, Rosemary Siemens launched her own radio show Sunday Hymn Serenade - radio edition on Golden West Broadcasting in Manitoba, featuring hymns from her Sunday Hymn Serenade YouTube show and the stories behind them.
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On March 18,2017, Rosemary Siemens was on her "Have a Little Faith" Canadian tour and was performing at Buhler Hall in Gretna, Manitoba, when her boyfriend, saxophonist Eli Bennett, who was on his own Canadian tour, entered through the back of hall playing Elvis's "Can't Help Falling In Love" on his saxophone.
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Rosemary Siemens said yes, and the couple were wed later that year on August 20,2017, in a public wedding ceremony in Plum Coulee, Manitoba.
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In 2020, Rosemary Siemens won a Covenant Award for Children's Song of the Year for that same song.