Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Tapestry Opera has named Canadian musician Jordan de Souza as Conductor-in-Residence for its ambitious 2015-2016 season. De Souza joins Canada’s foremost contemporary opera company in the same season that he accepts roles as Guest Conductor, Assistant Conductor, and Cover Conductor with the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada.
At the age of 27, de Souza is one of the youngest and fastest-rising musical talents in Canada. He began conducting professionally at 12 years old, and by 25 had conducted several Bach oratorios for Montreal’s Musée des Beaux Arts and Theatre of Early Music and made appearances with Trinity Wall Street (New York). Recent highlights in the conductor’s busy schedule have included engagements with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association and Saskatoon Opera.
“I’m very excited to join Tapestry Opera this year,” says de Souza. “It presents a wonderful opportunity to cultivate our impassioned, living art form alongside composers, librettists and singers. I find the creative process in contemporary theatre electrifying, and am deeply grateful that I was invited to share my musical vision with a truly original and inspired Canadian institution.”
De Souza made his Tapestry Opera debut as Music Director of M’dea Undone, which received its world premiere in May, 2015, after Tapestry Artistic Director Michael Mori invited de Souza to participate in a 2014 workshop of the piece. “Jordan has one of the most instinctive musical minds that I have come across. After that workshop, I knew that we had found someone special. I look forward to collaborating with him this season as we approach the genre of opera with fresh eyes and an ear to the ground.”
De Souza joins Mori at the artistic helm of the “new” Tapestry Opera. Mori’s bold vision for Canadian opera has earned him a rapidly growing following and several national headlines over the past year, including a “10 to Watch in 2015” profile in the Toronto Star. He was appointed Artistic Director in 2014, succeeding Wayne Strongman, Tapestry’s Founder and Artistic Director of 34 years.
Tapestry Opera’s powerhouse directorial duo will make its mainstage debut this spring with the world premiere of Rocking Horse Winner, by Anna Chatterton and Gareth Williams, at the Berkeley St. Theatre Downstairs from May 26 to June 5, 2016.
About Tapestry Opera
Tapestry Opera (tapestryopera.com) is a Toronto-based company that creates and produces from the heart of here and now. For 35 years, the company has presented award-winning works by preeminent artists, brought to life by some of the most talented and versatile performers of the contemporary stage. As Canada’s leader in opera development, Tapestry Opera is committed to cultivating new creators and performers to serve the evolution of the art form and build a lasting Canadian repertoire. Tapestry Opera alumni include Ann-Marie MacDonald, Atom Egoyan, James Rolfe, Marjorie Chan and Nic Gotham.
About Jordan de Souza
Jordan de Souza, "the fast-rising young Canadian maestro with a busy international career" (Ottawa Citizen), has served formerly as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Ottawa Choral Society (2012-2015), Conductor of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Montreal, 2008-2015), and was on Faculty at McGill University (2011-2015). Upcoming mainstage conducting debuts include productions with the Canadian Opera Company (Le nozze di Figaro, 2016) and l'Opéra de Montréal (2016); recent highlights include Verdi’s Requiem with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Messiah with Symphony Nova Scotia, Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C-Minor, Fauré's Requiem, and Bach's Magnificat with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association, a Verdi-Wagner Gala with the Lachine Philharmonic, Carmen with Saskatoon Opera, Béatrice et Bénédict with the Edmonton Vocal Arts Festival, and the world premiere of M'dea Undone with Tapestry Opera.
As a freelance artist, Mr. de Souza has worked extensively in North America and Europe, including engagements with the Bregenz Festival (Austria), Houston Grand Opera, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Hidden Valley Opera (California), the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Opera McGill, the Janiec Opera Company (North Carolina), and Opera NUOVA. He has been a guest coach with l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, and a resident artist of the Banff Centre. A prize-winning organist, at the age of 19 Mr. de Souza was awarded the Fellowship Degree (FRCCO) from the Royal Canadian College of Organists. Having inaugurated a new chamber organ by Hellmuth Wolff with Handel organ concertos in Montreal’s Redpath Hall in 2007, he continues to perform as a pianist, harpsichordist, and organist. Mr. de Souza has been broadcast regularly on the CBC, BBC, and throughout the European Broadcasting Union since 2008.
TAPESTRY OPERA’S 36TH SEASON
Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased online at
tapestryopera.com or by calling 416.537.6066 X243
For more information:
facebook.com/TapestryOpera • tapestryopera.com
Photo: Jordan de Souza. © 2015.
2015-10-23
Toronto: Tapestry Opera names Jordan de Souza Conductor-in-Residence for 2015/16