The new Hansel and Gretel has wisdom and themes that transcend the world created by the Brothers Grimm
“Emily Fons (Hansel) and Simone Osborne (Gretel) master the double-duty of embodying children, while singing like grown-ups; they’re funny and curious and unafraid to throw their bodies around.”
UP College of Music, University of British Columbia collaborate for laptop orchestra music concert
“The UBC Laptop Orchestra was pioneered by Dr. Keith Hamel and Dr. Bob Pritchard and a group of music and engineering students who use technologies that capture physical movement to transform the human body into a musical instrument.”
SCRUTINY: NACO And Joshua Bell Offer Luscious Interpretations Of Morlock, Mendelssohn And Boulanger
“It is a compositionally deft handling of a difficult topic that immerses complexity into eloquent poignancy. I would have found such a project difficult to compose. I admire Jocelyn Morlock for her fine accomplishment.”
Sharing music from generation to generation
“It was [at UBC] that he met and was inspired by Jim Fankauser, a legendary professor and choral conductor. ‘He was a passionate teacher and conductor,’”
Calgary Philharmonic Commissions Five New Works For Year Of Beethoven
“We wanted to select composers from across the nation, of differing background, and at different stages of their careers, to ensure we had a mosaic of voices. They each have their own history with Beethoven and association with his music”
Photo Flash: Canadian Opera Company’s New Production of HANSEL & GRETEL
“In this Hansel & Gretel, relatable fears, such as income inequality and environmental sustainability, weigh heavy on the children’s minds, along with the fantastical threat of witches in wait.”
Review: ‘Kiinalik’ an unsettling yet profound new perspective on the North
“The swells and swings of tone throughout the play could have easily been washed out with the fact that only two people were on a minimally designed stage, but Derksen’s ethereal, swelling cello filled the room with a haunting tune.”
UBC Opera to premiere The Passenger at symposium Auschwitz 75
“The Passenger hopes to reignite and continue fuelling conversations around human rights and social justice, especially because of the unjust conditions multitudes of people face all over the globe today.”
A Pathbreaking and Splendid ‘The Passenger’ from UBC Opera
“In virtually all respects – singing, acting, stage direction and set design – the present production of Weinberg’s The Passenger compares favorably with what we are used to seeing in professional productions. The performance will linger long in the minds of those of us fortunate to have experienced it.”
Hansel and Gretel: COC’s new Toronto-based staging
“It is a balancing act to find the seven-year-old Toronto kid and then put her on stage,” says Osborne. “Making a couple thousand people in the audience feel that in your physicality and voice is tough.”