Do you remember that heartbreaking scene in Toy Story 2, where it reveals Jessie’s backstory with her owner, Emily? That might be one of the saddest songs ever in Disney Films. All this time, I never realized the singer for “When She Loved Me” was actually Sarah Mclachlan, and I should have known since I have a few of her songs in my library.
Right now, she’s on her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary world tour, playing on October 15 in Victoria. It’s good to know she’s performing again because she had to cancel her 2024 Canadian tour when she was diagnosed with acute laryngitis. Usually, acute laryngitis lasts about three weeks, and it’s often caused by the flu or vocal strain, but aside from her cancellation of last year’s tours, she said in an interview that she tried to avoid speaking for three to four months. That’s terrifying for both her and her fans.
That experience made her realize how fragile the vocalis muscle can be and the value it had for her self-worth and sense of purpose. Luckily, she took the right steps in letting her voice recover, and now she’s back to performing. For her concert tickets, $1 in each ticket actually goes to the Sarah Mclachlan School of Music.
I remember coming across an unrelated event that was located at the Sarah Mclachlan School of Music near Main Street Science World. I remember being puzzled when I saw that, but I haven’t looked any deeper into it. Is it the artist, or someone else with the same name? Yes, it’s actually her, and there’s a few more campuses in New Westminster, Surrey, and Edmonton.
Sarah School of Music
It was actually a charity that began in 2002 to give children access to music education because she saw music programs in public schools being cut over the years. My elementary and high school were both private schools, and music was one of the two pillars of their identity, with the second being sports.
At the Sarah Mclachlan School of Music, the point is to be free and accessible to students lacking opportunities for music education. They’re heavily focused on helping children find their voice. They also give students the freedom to select instruments to learn like piano, guitar, percussion, and songwriting.
It’s been over a decade since her last studio album, and her 10th album, “Better Broken”, was just released in September. She’s performing again, has a growing charity school, and she’s coming back strong with new music.