Wednesday Talk: Oct. 2, 2024, 10am-12pm – hybrid
- This event has passed.
October 2 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Speaker: Ian Cusson, Composer
Title: “Indigeneity in Contemporary Opera: Wolf-men and Vacations to Prague”
Abstract: Ian will explore Indigenous representation in contemporary opera through examples from his body of work, including the forthcoming chamber opera adaptation of Thomas King’s Indians on Vacation, and the grand opera adaptation of Cherie Dimaline’s Empire of Wild. In addition, he will reflect on the communal nature of opera making and how this practice is made richer through Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
Bio: Ian Cusson is a composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French-Canadian descent, his work explores Canadian Indigenous experience including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.
He studied composition with Jake Heggie (San Francisco) and Samuel Dolin, and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School. He is the recipient of the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, and grants through the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Ian was an inaugural Carrefour Composer-in-Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra for 2017-2019 and was Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. He was a Co-artistic Director of Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre and the recipient of the 2021 Jan V. Matejcek Classical Music Award from SOCAN and the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize.
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/ubXLKysAJS
The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
