Commentaries
Lara Secord-Haid, soprano, Nolan Kehler, tenor and Jennifer Thiessen, viola
April 1st, 8 p.m., VENUE TBA
Two of Winnipeg’s most in-demand classical vocalists along with one of the city’s most respected balancers of Baroque and the beyond present 20th and 21st century music that responds to the works of two of the English Baroque’s most celebrated composers.
About Lara Secord-Haid
Lara Secord-Haid is a versatile singing artist with a rich artistic practice. Her work as an opera and classical singing artist has been praised for its “impassioned strength” (Classical Scene) and for being “capable of the highest flights of coloratura and possessing a rich and expressive overall quality” (Attencion San Miguel). Lara explores a wide range of classically informed music, from the antique to contemporary. Beyond the traditional and avant-garde, she has immersed herself in the captivating world of Sephardic music. This love resonates through her commission and performance of new works within this genre. Winnipeg audiences recently saw Lara as Addie Mills in The House without a Christmas Tree by Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek with The Little Opera Company in Winnipeg. She will be producing and performing digital media projects with composers Alf Bishai and Daniel Janke.
About Nolan Kehler
Treaty One-based tenor Nolan Kehler is a performer dedicated to collaboration and reconciliation. Recent operatic highlights have included performances with the Banff Centre (The Handmaid’s Tale), the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Handel’s Messiah), Manitoba Opera (Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North), and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (Alcina). A noted Baroque specialist, Nolan has made appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah and with the Canadian Mennonite University Festival Chorus as Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium and St. John Passion. Nolan has also had the pleasure of working with Juno-nominated Cree composer Andrew Balfour on his compositions Captive and Nôtinikêw in performances with Winnipeg’s Dead of Winter at the Montreal New Music Festival, the Brandon University Chorale, and with Edmonton’s Chronos Vocal Ensemble. When not performing, Nolan is a radio host with Winnipeg’s Classic 107, where he covers Manitoba’s fine arts community and curates listener experiences in a wide range of repertoire. Nolan’s bylines as an arts writer and broadcaster have appeared with CBC, Opera Canada, CANNOPY, and IDAGIO.
About Jennifer Thiessen
Jennifer Thiessen is known for creating new music for the viola and viola d’amore through improvisation and collaboration with composers, as well as interpreting historical repertoire for her instruments. She performs, records, and curates extensively in Canadian classical and creative music communities.
Jennifer writes music for viola, voice, and electronics for her solo project Daily Alice, with her JUNO-nominated duo Toninato & Thiessen with Ida Toninato (The Space Between Us, Dream of Heat), and for her duo Park Sounds with percussionist Ben Reimer. Her solo and collaborative work has been presented by send+receive, Prairie Wires, GroundSwell, No Hay Banda, Innovations en Concert, Ottawa New Music Creators, suddenlyLISTEN, FIMAV, Le Vivier, Cluster Festival, Festival Montréal Baroque, Festival international de musique baroque de Lamèque and Rosamunde Festival. Jennifer has performed and recorded with such groups as the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble SuperMusique, Ensemble Caprice, collectif9, Quatuor Bozzini, and La La La Human Steps.
