The premiere performance of Another Day, a new song cycle by Abigail Richardson-Schulte, was released on video at 10:00 am Tuesday, February 22, 2022 through Picanto.ca. Produced by CASP in collaboration with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, the video features soprano Anna-Sophie Neher and pianist Carl Matthieu Neher performing. Read more about the performers >
About the Commission:
The Another Day cycle was commissioned in 2019 by Canadian Art Song Project and Jeunesses Musicales Canada for the Jeunesses Musicales Canada 2019-2020 Maureen Forrester recital tour. Due to the pandemic, the planned tour had to be cancelled, so CASP and JMC have collaborated to premiere the new work on video.
This third and final commission for the Maureen Forrester Prize is inspired by the poetry of children reflecting on the experiences of refugees. In 2009 the UNHCR Toronto office (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and COSTI Immigrant Services organized the first Refugees and Human Rights Child and Youth Poetry Contest in commemoration of World Refugee Day. Several years of winning poems were published in a collection entitled “A Book of Poems: Expressions from our Youth”. Composer Abigail Richardson-Schulte sets six of these poems in this powerful work.
abigailrichardson.com
The songs and poets:
- Someone Else’s Work: Niveedhika Kethees
Roberta Bondar Public School, Grade 6, Age 12 - Home: Milly Wang
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Grade 11, Age 17 - The Comparison: Michael Ciraco
Pope John Paul II, Grade 6, Age 11 - Just One Word: Caelan Beard
Homelands Senior Public School, Grade 8, Age 13 - Losing Identity: Anna Xu
Marc Garneau Colleagiate Institute, Grade 10, Age 15 - Silent Cries: Alice Jeon
Havergal College, Grade 10, Age 16
Donations to COSTI Immigrant Services
As part of this exciting release, CASP is encouraging donations to COSTI Immigrant Services. Please visit this donation link to contribute anytime, and revisit this post to watch the premiere video on or after February 22, 2022.
About the Performers:
Anna-Sophie Neher, a German-Canadian soprano and recent winner of the OSM Manulife Competition, received her BA from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. After a year in New York under the supervision of Sanford Sylvan and Dawn Upshaw, she graduated from McGill University, where she worked with Dominique Labelle. She has performed such opera roles as Adèle (Die Fledermaus), Pamina (The Magic Flute), and Belinda (Dido and Æneas). In concert, she has performed as a soloist with numerous professional orchestras and choirs, including the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau and the Festival international de Lanaudière orchestra. In August 2018, Anna-Sophie joined the Canadian Opera Company’s studio ensemble.
Born in Gatineau, Carl Matthieu Neher graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, where he studied with renowned pianist André Laplante. He twice won the first prize in the Canadian Music Competition and has been a soloist with the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil and the Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville. He is a recipient of the first scholarship from Productions musicales Kaléidoscope, an organization that promotes the democratization of classical music, and has performed many recitals as well as educational workshops.
