Arcady will be performing a Bridging the Eras concert at Central Presbyterian Church in Brantford on June 1, 2024.
This concert will be a unique celebration of music by Ontario’s legacy and new generation composers. Arcady seeks to honour composers such as Walter MacNutt, Godfrey Ridout, and Healey Willan who have left rich musical legacies for the following generation of Canadian musicians. Alongside these gems of Canadian artistry, Arcady will premiere brand new works by current active and emerging composers. These new pieces include O Lights of the Sky by Aislinn Nowelle, Twilight Serenade by Benjamin Gabbay, and Awakenings by Emma Theresa Verdonk.
Arcady is especially honoured to premiere a new composition by the inaugural winner of the Walter MacNutt Prize, Arcady Artistic Director Ronald Beckett. This prize by the Canadian Music Centre is awarded biennially and recognizes a composer who is actively working with the genres of choral music, art song, and/or keyboard improvisation. “This prize honours Walter’s warm, open, and generous spirit and his high regard for beauty, precision, and his audience, all of which radiated from his person and his music” (on.cmccanada.org).
All of these spectacular works will be presented to you by Arcady’s professional chorus, youth chorus, and strings. The roster of professional musicians includes rising soprano and former Arcady Emerging Artist Sophia Korz, highly sought-after tenor Marcel Van Helden, and well-known violinist David Rehner who is the concertmaster with The Rose Orchestra Brampton and the Etobicoke Philharmonic.
Over the years, Arcady has performed many sold-out performances at Central Presbyterian Church, a well-known landmark and community in downtown Brantford. However, with heavy hearts, Arcady will bid farewell to its home after this event since the congregation reluctantly decided to sell the building. This centre has been devoted to community service for nearly a century through weekly services, building relationships, musical events, and so much more.
