On Thursday, December 5th, 2024, Cori Brewster joined Chic Scott for a Fireside Chat.
Cori Brewster was born and raised in Banff, where her family has resided for over 136 years. She began singing with her mom and sisters on Rocky Mountain trail rides. When she left home to experience life outside this small town, she carried with her a profound ‘sense of place' wherever she went. Brewster graduated from the University of Alberta, with a Bachelor of Physical Education in 1985, but the pull of music tugged at her soul.
Cori’s music career now spans over thirty years. She has released five CDs, performed across Canada, Germany, and New Zealand, taught songwriting workshops, and co-written songs with some masterful songwriters. Her lyrics appear in a poetry anthology and several books.
In 2009, the Canada Council awarded Cori a grant to produce Buffalo Street: Historic Characters of the Canadian Rockies. This superb collection of songs, written and performed by Brewster, tells many of the stories we know so well — of Pearl Brewster, Bill Peyto and Emily, Peter and Catharine and of William Twin. Perhaps Cori will sing a song or two for us.
Since the release of her fifth CD, Four Horses, in 2016, Cori has been writing creative nonfiction and is putting the finishing touches on a project called 55 ~ 5 Songs 5 Stories. In 2024, Cori was awarded a month-long writer-in-residency at the Wallace Stegner House in Eastend, Saskatchewan.
Bob Sandford said of Cori that she is “a woman of extraordinary and diverse talent and boundless energy. In the tradition of all true artists, she is also very brave and willing to pursue her authenticity at whatever cost on her terms.”
Cori is a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and Buddhist practitioner and loves to travel and experience other cultures. After many years away, she moved back to the Bow Valley in 2000 to raise her son, River, and still lives happily in Canmore with her wife, Lori.