A spectacular night of new Canadian works! Three pieces by Métis composer Ian Cusson based on paintings of Hieronymus Bosch played by Trio Arkel, Duo Concertante, and Charles Hamann, alongside the world premiere of an RCM commission by Stewart Goodyear for piano and jazz musicians Michael Occhipinti (guitar), Joy Lapps-Lewis (steel pan), Roberto Occhipinti (bass), and Larnell Lewis (drums). 

Ian Cusson is a composer of art song, opera, and orchestral works. 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. 

Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser, and composer, whose recent commissions include a piano quintet for the Penderecki String Quartet and a piano work for the Honens Piano Competition.   His suite for piano and orchestra, Callaloo, and his Piano Sonata, were released by Orchid Classics. In 2021, The Royal Conservatory of Music appointed the RCM alumnus to a three-year term as its inaugural Artist-in-Residence. 

Stewart Goodyear, piano Michael Occhipinti, guitar Joy Lapps-Lewis, steel pan Roberto Occhipinti, bass Larnell Lewis, drums   Duo Concertante Nancy Dahn, violin Timothy Steeves, piano   Charles Hamann, oboe  Frédéric Lacroix, piano    Trio Arkel   Marie Bérard, violin Rémi Pelletier, viola Winona Zelenka, cello

Program: Ian Cusson: The Garden of Earthly Delights Ian Cusson: Sonata for Oboe and Piano – The Haywain Ian Cusson: The Cure of Madness (world premiere) Stewart Goodyear: Specially Mixed (world premiere)*      1. Introduction (solo piano) -      2. Dee Baba (solo electric) -      3. Dogged by Hell Hounds (ensemble) -      4. Cadenza (solo piano) -      5. Oizys (ensemble) -      6. Cadenza -      7. Finale (ensemble)  Specially Mixed is commissioned by The Royal Conservatory’s 21C Music Festival from Stewart Goodyear with the generous support of the Esther Gelber Fund administered by the Canadian Music Centre.

Estimated Concert Length: 1st half: 50 minutes - 20 minutes intermission - 2nd half: 50 minutes