Andrew Balfour performs Notinikew with The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

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Photo: Aaron Vincent Elkaim, The Globe and Mail

Composer Andrew Balfour, is the founder and artistic director of Camerata Nova.
AARON VINCENT ELKAIM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

On Wednesday, November 11, Camerata Nova’s Artistic Director, Andrew Balfour, is lending his talents to an inspiring Remembrance Day performance with The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The program offers a Choral Perspective of Canada’s Indigenous Veterans and welcomes Andrew as the guest curator, as well as longtime Camerata Nova collaborator, cellist, and composer Cris Derkson.

The program will reflect on the Indigenous experience through music, dance and poetry, and is centred around Andrew’s choral drama, Notinikew (Going to War). Movements of the work will be sung by Andrew’s Winnipeg-based Camerata Nova and by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Andrew says of this choral drama:

Notinikew is an anti-war piece, an indigenous identity piece – a tragedy that speaks not just about World War I, but all wars and all indigenous soldiers. Why did these Indigenous warriors leave our forests and plains to enter a totally foreign military world and end up fighting in the midst of a true hell on earth?

The concert is a FREE event and will be featured via Livestream at 8:00 p.m. EST. Find out more about the program and performers on the event poster or concert webpage.

Learn the story behind Andrew’s Notinikew here.

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Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
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Camerata Nova finds new inspiration during pandemic

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Choristers Mike Thompson and Scott Reimer at a recent recording session at the St. Norbert Arts Centre (SNAC)

The popular Winnipeg choral ensemble, separated from each other and their audiences by COVID-19, is using new methods to connect and share music

There’s never been a year quite like 2020. For musicians around the world, the arrival of COVID-19 met that their performance schedules suddenly emptied. However, in the wake of shutdowns, quarantines, and social distancing, musicians have taken their shows to social media, providing much-needed levity during an otherwise serious time. Winnipeg’s Camerata Nova, especially, proves that the show must go on.

The popular choral ensemble is a musical institution in Winnipeg is known as much for its gorgeous arrangements of classical works as it is for its concerts featuring new Indigenous and contemporary music. The group, founded in 1996, features a number of Desautels Faculty of Music graduates and employees, and performs in venues across the city, ranging from churches to concert halls to bars, and has produced four albums. With their anticipated spring and fall 2020 seasons suddenly canceled, Camerata Nova sought to find new ways to collaborate during the pandemic, and bring music to their dedicated audiences. Fortunately, their members have a talent for more than just music, and made the transition with ease – turning to videos to bring music into our homes.

Read the rest of the story at UM Today News

View our current recording projects below!

 

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.