Soundstreams Opens 2025/26 Season With MASS FOR THE ENDANGERED
This one-night-only experience takes place on November 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre.
A powerful exploration of the natural world through music, featuring work by Sarah Kirkland Snider, R. Murray Schafer, Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Pärt, Andrew Balfour, and Chris Hutchings.
Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director of Soundstreams, has announced the program for its season opener, Mass for the Endangered, featuring choral, instrumental, and orchestral works, performed by celebrated musicians Louise Bessette (piano), Judy Loman (harp), and Erika Raum (violin), with Soundstreams Choir 21 and Ensemble Soundstreams conducted by David Fallis. This one-night-only experience takes place on November 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre (427 Bloor St W, Toronto).
"Human activity has severely impacted our natural environment, and despair at what we have done is inevitable" says Cherney. "However, it is uniquely music that can remind us not only of what we have lost in the sounds of the natural world, but it can inspire us to still do all that we can to save that world. We hope this program will stimulate us to take action."
The first half of the concert features highly evocative works inspired by bird song from Olivier Messiaen's legendary Catalogue d'oiseaux: L'alouette calandrelle, Le traquet rieur, Le courlis cendré); R. Murray Schafer's Wild Bird (originally premiered by this night's performing harpist, Judy Loman); Andrew Balfour's Gaze Upon the Trees; the Canadian premiere of Let them not say by Chris Hutchings; and Veni Creator Spiritus by Arvo Pärt.
The concert concludes with Mass for the Endangered by Sarah Kirkland Snider. Hailed by National Public Radio as "one of today's most compelling composers for the human voice," her piece is a poignant choral meditation on the fragility of our natural world. It blends Nathaniel Bellows' evocative poetry with the traditional Latin Mass, a plea for compassion and stewardship in the face of environmental crisis.
"I'm honoured and thrilled that Soundstreams will present Mass for the Endangered at the opening of their 43rd season," shares composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. "In addition to being one of the world's finest presenters of new music, I feel a strong personal connection with Soundstreams' socially conscientious mandate and vision. Their organization has held a special place in my heart since I served as Composer-in-Residence for their Bridges program a few years ago. It means a great deal to me to have them bring one of my most personal and significant works to life with this performance."
Mass for the Endangered, along with its companion Encounters event For the Birds on November 12, is presented in association with FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada, a leading Canadian charity and recognized authority on bird-building collisions. Their work is dedicated to preserving bird ecosystems and protecting birdsong by keeping birds safe from deadly collisions in our built environment.
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