Complete Lineup Announced for Neil Crory Tribute Concert

The program has been unveiled for the Neil Crory Tribute Concert on Friday, October 11, 7 PM, at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. An unprecedented lineup of stellar Canadian singers whose careers Crory nurtured will take part in this extraordinary celebration of music and the human voice in honour of the legendary CBC Music producer, mentor, impresario, colleague, and friend who died on January 10 at the age of 68. Tickets and information are available attafelmusik.org/crory.

Headlining the evening are renowned singers performing selections from the music most cherished by Crory. They are joined by members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and current and former members of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and theToronto Symphony Orchestra, among others.

All proceeds from the concert will be directed to The Neil F. Crory Endowment Fund,administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation to carry on his legacy by supporting young singers enrolled in the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy.

The concert program reflects Crory's all-encompassing appreciation of many genres of music. Concert repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to R. Murray Schafer and includes lieder and art songs by Chausson, Howells, Schubert, and Strauss; vocal and instrumental excerpts from operatic works by Bizet, Handel, Massenet, Rameau, and Thomas; a traditional Armenian lullaby; and a grand finale by Vaughan Williams. The Neil Crory Tribute Concert will be recorded by CBC Music for future broadcast.

Integral to this celebration is the participation of CBC Music and ICI Musique personalitiesFrançoise Davoine, Eric Friesen, and Ben Heppner, along with spoken tributes, live and recorded, from Crory's friends and colleagues including Russell Braun and Carolyn Maule, Gerald Finley, Judith Forst, Joanne Kolomyjec, Jeanne Lamon, Rosemarie Landry, Marshall Pynkoski, Sondra Radvanovsky, and Edith Wiens.

The concert opens fittingly with Schubert's An die Musik performed by the directors of theStratford Summer Music Vocal Academy - baritone Phillip Addis and Emily Hamper, piano.

Members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra perform the Adagio from Alessandro Marcello's Concerto in D minor for oboe featuring John Abberger, and Les Sauvagesfrom Les Indes galantes by Rameau. They join Ellen McAteer, soprano, and Daniel Taylor, countertenor, for Scherzano sul tuo volto from Handel's Rinaldo. Tenor Isaiah Bellis accompanied by harpsichordist Charlotte Nediger in Nigra Sum from Vespro della Beata Virgine by Monteverdi.

Other duets include Chausson's La Nuit with sopranos Monica Whicher and Nathalie Paulin with pianist Peter Tiefenbach, and Au fond du temple saint from Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de perles performed by tenor Ben Butterfield and baritone Brett Polegato with pianist Stephen Ralls.

Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian sings Gomitas's Oror, an Armenian lullaby arranged by A. Avenosov for soprano and string quartet, while mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell is joined byRobert Kortgaard, piano, Marie Bérard, violin, Joseph Macerollo, accordion, andJames Spragg, trumpet, for Holländer's Falling in Love Again in an arrangement by Peter Tiefenbach.

Baritone Brett Polegato performs Herbert Howells' haunting King David with pianistStephen Ralls, and soprano Erin Wall sings the moving Beim Schlafengehen from Strauss's Four Last Songs in an arrangement for piano and string quartet by John Greer.

Other program highlights include Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano, and Ryan Scott, percussion, in the powerful Amente Nufe from R. Murray Schafer's Ra, and Je suis Titaniafrom Ambroise Thomas's Mignon with soprano Tracy Dahl and pianist Peter Tiefenbach. Violinist Marie Bérard performs Massenet's Méditation from Thaïs with Robert Kortgaard, piano.

The Neil Crory Tribute Concert program culminates with Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music, conducted by Howard Dyck and featuring the Tribute Company, joined by alumni of the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy - Anna Boyes, Hélène Brunet, Kristine Dandavino, Sonya Harper Nyby, Michael Robert-Broder, Melody Thomas - and byAlex Halliday, Daniel Lichti, Julie Nesrallah, and Lawrence Wiliford, with pianist RobertKortgaard, and violinist Marie Bérard.

One hour prior to the concert, writer and broadcaster Robert Harris hosts a panel discussion titled Working with An Original. Four of Crory's CBC colleagues share their workplace memories with a CBC producer who helped define the craft. FeaturingFrançoise Davoine, Howard Dyck, Eric Friesen, and Karin Wells.

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