Spirit Dreaming
Wednesday, November 12, 2003, at 8PM
Trinity St. Paul's Centre
For Immediate Release - Toronto, May 8, 2006: The intrepid Talisker Players return to Trinity St. Paul's Centre on Wednesday, November 12 (8PM) to open their fourth season with Spirit Dreaming, a programme inspired by the stories of indigenous peoples from around the world. The instrumentalists of Talisker Players are joined by soprano Teri Dunn and mezzo-soprano Marion Newman (herself of aboriginal heritage), two rising stars on Canada's vocal scene.
The programme centres on two Canadian pieces from mid-20th century, both considered small masterpieces of the vocal repertoire. Harry Somers' Kuyas for soprano, flute and percussion (written as the required piece for the Montreal International Voice Competition in 1967) uses texts of the prairie Cree; the musical motives derive from the Nass River people of what is now British Columbia. Anerca, by Harry Freedman, for mezzo-soprano, harp, vibraphone and piano, is based on Inuktitut texts. Also central to the programme are pieces by two important composers from "down under": Island Dreaming, by the Australian Peter Sculthorpe, for mezzo-soprano and string quartet, uses poetry – both old and modern – from the Torres Strait, where the cultures of the Aboriginal, Papua New Guinea and Indonesian people come together. Pao, by Gillian Whitehead of New Zealand (whose Maori heritage has been an important source in her music) is a setting of Maori texts for soprano, clarinet and piano.
The evening also features Maurice Ravel’s famous, but rarely performed Chansons madécasses, a setting for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and piano of poetry by the 18th-century Madagascar Creole poet Evariste-Désiré de Parny. And Teri Dunn performs the North American premiere of Five Saami Songs by the Finnish composer Jouko Linjama, for soprano, alto flute and piano. Short pieces by Heitor Villa Lobos (Suite for Voice and Violin, which uses texts of the Afro-Indian-Hispanic tribes of the interior of Brazil), and the award-winning young American composer Donna Kelly Eastman (Old Cherokee Woman’s Song, for mezzo, flute, cello and piano) round out the programme.
The Talisker Players are renowned for their creative programming, which uses the spoken word to weave the music together in a dramatic whole. For Spirit Dreaming, readings will be creation myths and other stories central to the various cultures represented on the programme.
The Ottawa-born soprano Teri Dunn is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she completed her Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance as a student of Mary Morrison. In 1997, she made her Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut as part of the Made in Canada Festival of Canadian Music. Recent engagements include a guest appearance with New Music Concerts at Massey Hall, Elijah with Pax Christi Chorale, and the role of Pace in Caldara’s Vaticini di Pace with the Aradia Ensemble. She has also appeared with Bob Becker on the Classical Cabaret series, and in a special concert tour of French baroque music, directed by Hervé Niquet.
Marion Newman, an accomplished musician, made her orchestral debut at the age of sixteen with the Victoria Symphony performing Mozart's Piano Concerto K.488 in A major. As a singer, she has performed frequently with the Victoria Symphony, the Vancouver and Kingston Symphonies as well as the Portland Baroque Orchestra. She appeared as Margret in Wozzeck with Pacific Opera Victoria last season, and has also been a member of the Canadian Opera Company Chorus for the last two seasons. The public knows her for her appearances on CBC television, as she has performed several times as a soloist for the Aboriginal Achievement Awards.
###
Media Contact: Francine Labelle/flINK
416-654-4406
labellefrancine@rogers.com
- 30 -