with you and without you at Jane Mallett Theatre St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

All songs are inherently derived from the love song. This is the foundation of a thrilling one-night-only program from Soundstreams, featuring a virtuoso ensemble of musicians, with soprano Danika Lorèn taking the stage as featured performer, and one of the evening’s composers. The concert journeys through powerful juxtapositions: purely instrumental pieces by Oliver Knussen and Matthew Ricketts; works for voice and ensemble by Tansy Davies and Shawn Jaeger; selections from “Tell Everyone” for piano and soprano by Lorèn; and the intimacy of the love song in a captivating work by Ana Sokolovi. These seemingly opposing concepts are the musical personification of two lovers, challenging audience perceptions of contemporary repertoire by featuring works that are deeply romantic and powerfully expressive. The show is curated by Brad Cherwin, winner of the 2024/25 Soundstreams New Voices Curator Mentorship Program.

The show was designed as a study of rich Romantic-era consonance combined with striking contemporary dissonance. It will feature new or rarely performed pieces, including a world premiere for solo piano from Ricketts, inspired by Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Song Without Words”. “The rule is love” by Davies is a North American premiere, and “Letters Made with Gold” by Jaeger is a Canadian premiere.