UCalgary community to share stories at upcoming suicide awareness concert

“Don’t be afraid to talk about any problems. It’s very easy to say, ‘I don’t want to bother anyone,’ but we’re a community after all. Don’t be afraid to reach out and get that help because you never know. That strong friend might look it on the outside, but you never know what’s going on inside.”

Those are incoming Drama Undergrad Society president Elizabet Rajchel’s words of advice to undergraduate students. At this year’s Mysterious Barricades concert, Rajchel (pictured above) will share how her community was impacted by suicide, and the legacy of friend and fellow drama student, Michael Brendan Fischer-Summers.

Going into its fourth year, Mysterious Barricades is a cross-Canada concert for suicide awareness, prevention and hope, in unison with World Suicide Prevention Day. Fifteen cities are taking part this year between Sept. 5 and 14, culminating in a day-long streamed concert of each performance happening on the 14th, online here.

UCalgary will host Calgary’s Mysterious Barricades concert on World Suicide Prevention Day, Tuesday, Sept. 10. Bookending performances and speeches will be wellness information from the Distress Centre, Student Wellness Services, Woods Homes and the Centre for Suicide Prevention, along with a ‘message of hope’ activity, and to conclude, a post-concert reception.

“We’re excited to build on last year’s healing messages and performances with the addition this year from Elizabet,” says UCalgary’s concert organizer Dr. Laura Hynes, DMA, assistant professor of voice in the School of Creative and Performing Arts. “Music is a powerful way to come together as a community. For us in the SCPA it is also another opportunity to shine the light on Michael’s legacy.” 

Register here for Mysterious Barricades, a free concert on Sept. 10 in the Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre. Wellness resource sharing begins at 6:30 p.m., concert begins at 7 p.m., with a reception to follow.

“Creative expression can be an outlet for many things, including shedding light on a topic that is still taboo in our culture. By partnering with Mysterious Barricades again this year, we hope to continue the campus discourse on suicide, increase awareness and bring a hopeful message to our campus community,” says Dr. Andrew Szeto, PhD, director of the Campus Mental Health Strategy.

Presented by the School of Creative and Performing Arts, Campus Mental Health Strategy and Student Wellness Services in collaboration with Mysterious Barricades.