Join us for our season-closing concert, featuring the evocative and powerful compositions of our 2023/24 Composer-In-Residence, Ian Cusson. Of Métis and French-Canadian heritage, Cusson is known for his diverse range of works spanning art song, opera, chamber music, and orchestral pieces. His music boldly navigates the richness of Canadian Indigenous experience, the nuanced complexities of mixed-racial identity, and the confluence of Western and Indigenous cultures. This recital brings together the warm and lyrical voice of 2023/24 ICI-Radio-Canada Classical Music Révélation Artist and 2023 Prix d'Europe winner, Innu soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais, and the emotive Sri Lankan tenor Asitha Tennekoon, praised by The Globe and Mail for "his silky, emotional presence on stage – both vocally and dramatically." They perform several works from the Cusson canon, including “J’adore les orages” (a concert aria with text by Québécois playwright Michel Marc Bouchard), “Le Récital des Anges” (a cycle based on six poems by Québécois poet Emile Nelligan), and “Joan’s Aria” (from the upcoming Canadian Opera Company production of “Empire of Wild”.) Also featured is an excerpt from “Where There’s A Wall” (a song cycle with texts by Japanese-Canadian poet Joy Kogawa), “Love Songs on Poems of Michael Ondaatje” (a new cycle based on poems by the Sri Lankan-Canadian poet), “Fire” (with a text by Muscogee First Nation writer Joy Harjo), and “Dodo, mon tout petit” (an aria from the opera “Louis Riel.”) This extraordinary season finale also introduces a brand-new Cusson work commissioned during his residency with Cecilia Concerts. Main Stage Concert Series Major Sponsor: Scotiabank. Season Sponsor: Jules Chamberlain / Red Door Realty. Presented in partnership with Dalhousie University's Fountain School of Performing Arts. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Arts Nova Scotia.