Ever wonder if you might be interested in opera? Well, this is just the kind of relaxed concert to go to in order to get acquainted.

I'll be singing some beautiful and fun music with my friends Jen Cyr (soprano), Jade Vaughan (mezzo-soprano), Colin Bell (tenor), and Parker Clements (baritone) in a concert of operatic favourites. We'll all sing an aria or two that we really like, of course, but we're also going to highlight Mozart's Don Giovanni and Gounod's Faust.

Thanks to the London Opera Guild for providing the opportunity to perform. Tickets will be available at the door.

Please come and enjoy!

Journeys
This second recital is about the journey of our lives. And, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation, it piggybacks this metaphorical journey on that of explorers and settlers coming to North America from England and France for the first time.

I explore questions like these in this recital: What made them leave their homes for the unknown and for adventure? What challenges did they face? What did they see when they reached their destination and what happened at the end of their travels? Was a new journey awaiting them at the end of the first? And, in the same way, I ask these same questions about our lives and our time.

Also worth mentioning is that most of the music for this concert was written by Canadian composers, something I thought appropriate given the occasion.

Here's the program:

Sea Fever                                                               
Hidden Treasure                                 
Sea Fever                                                           
Toll the Bell                            
Sea Dirge                                        

Three Salt Water Ballads                
Port of Many Ships                                                                                       
Trade Winds
Mother Carey

🍁Three Traditional French-Canadian Songs
La plainte des coureurs-des-bois
Rossignol du vert bocage                                                                                    
Le navire de Bayonne

🍁Selections from South of North              
Wilderness on Centre Island                                                                          
Grace
Northern River Falls
Congregation at the Shoreline

🍁Two French Songs For Baritone
Violon de villanelle                                                                                         
Soir d’hiver

🍁A Clear Midnight                                                           
🍁Saturday and Sunday                                               
Sure on this Shining Night       

Admission is free.  I hope you can come!                               

Bach Ich habe genug  - I Have Enough BVW 82
Violin I - Anita Louwerse
Violin II - Nick Carlucci
Viola - Jeff Komar
Cello - Patrick Theriault
Oboe - Joel Heinbuch
Harpsichord - Melanie Cancade

Brahms Vier ernste Gesänge - Four Serious Songs Op. 121
Piano - Melanie Cancade

P.D.Q. Bach Four Next-To-Last Songs S. Ω-1
Piano - Melanie Cancade

The repertoire of this recital is music that I've always wanted to sing. I've never had the opportunity to sing them and, admittedly, didn't really feel ready to do so until now. They are each challenging in their own way and I'm delighted to present them to you. 

The Bach is one of two cantatas Bach wrote for the bass voice. It illustrates Simeon's reaction to seeing the baby Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. It's full of hope, longing, and joy. I'm delighted to present this cantata to you with the help of a small string ensemble and harpsichord. Hearing Bach with a small chamber "orchestra" like this is a real pleasure and amplifies the impact of Bach's beautiful writing.

The Brahms cycle of four songs is based on the books of Ecclesiastes, Second Corinthians, and the extra-biblical book of Ecclesiasticus. The first two songs consider the state of humankind and reflect on the injustice we inflict on one another. The third compares the bitterness and boon of death. The last song changes tone as though Brahms were providing his own answer to these three problems: if we don't have love, we're nothing and have nothing.

The PDQ Bach songs are just plain funny and are a loving, though hilarious, parody of the German art music genre. I heard these on a recording some time ago and wrote to the composer asking to purchase the music, which wasn't available at the time. I'm so happy he agreed and am really excited to share them with you.

This is a free concert and I hope many of you can come!

I'm performing a saucy song with the fabulous Mark Payne at the J.R.L.M.A. Classical and Jazz Music Awards on April 2 (click the link to check it out)! It's going to be a great evening of music that will also feature Sonja Gustavson, the London Jazz Orchestra, Kings College Chamber Choir, the Rebelheart Collective, and others.

I'm also honoured to announce that I've been nominated for one of the awards along with my friends Ted Baerg, Marjorie Maltais, and Margie Bernal. I'm in great company! I'd encourage you to come and enjoy a great night of music and a celebration of London's classical and jazz music culture.

Tickets are FREE but must be reserved on Eventbrite here. Hope to see you there!

I have the pleasure of playing Sir John himself in UWOpera's production of Verdi's hilarious comedy Falstaff. This opera, sometimes called the most successful adaptation of a Shakespeare play to opera, premiered on February 9, 1893 and is based on the bard's Merry Wives of Windsor, and scenes from Henry IV parts one and two. It is the last opera Verdi wrote and has elements of all his other operatic works rolled into one.  You'll hear musical references to Otello, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, and others - all with Verdi's tongue placed firmly in his cheek.

There will be six performances:
January 29, 30 at 8pm and 31 at 2pm.
February 5, 6 at 8pm and 7 at 2pm.

Tickets are available through the Grand Theatre website.

This is it!

The last recital of my Master's degree! I promise it will be a lot of fun. 

This is a night with a big Spanish influence with music by Ibert, Ravel, Buchardo, Ginastera, and a tango as part of a cycle by Canadian Composer Jeff Smallman.  There's other music as well, of course, including some setting of Heine's famous poem Du bist wie eine Blume, or You're Lovely Like A Flower, which may not actually be about a flower at all. You'll have to come hear it to find out.

Please be my guest and join me!  

Admission is free.  

This tragic love story is one of the most performed operas in the repertoire and is filled with powerful, beautiful music and real, down-to-earth characters. People say that one should be able to follow what's happening in an opera by what's happening in the music and how it makes you feel. Well, this is one opera where that's really true.  On top of that, UWOpera will have surtitles in English as usual. Chad will sing the role of the fiery painter Marcello.  Find out more about La Bohème here.

The performances will be at the Paul Davenport Theatre at Western University.  Chad's performance dates are Saturday, January 31, and Friday, February 6 at 8pm as well as Sunday, February 8 at 2pm.  

As our show is double-cast, you can see another fine cast perform on January 30 and February 7 at 8pm as well as a matinee on February 1 at 2pm.

Tickets available online through the Grand Theatre Website.

Sung in Italian with English Surtitles

Chad sings the role of Don Magnifico in this hilarious version of the Cinderella story by Gioachino Rossini. While this is similar to the Disney version in many ways, one large difference is that Don Magnifico is the male equivalent to Disney's cranky, ugly step-mother.  Wonder what the wig will be like...

Paul Davenport Theatre at Western University
Tickets available online through the Grand Theatre Website
Italian with English Supertitles