Soundstreams

Soundstreams is a leader in the presentation of ground breaking musical experiences. Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney aims to showcase the work of Canadian and international composers and performers, often focusing on significant themes like social justice that resonate across a spectrum of diverse communities in Canada and elsewhere.

Founded in 1982, Soundstreams’ curatorial platform has introduced over 170 new works in the concert music and music theatre/opera genres. Our commitment to Canadian music and themes extends well beyond our Main Stage Toronto series. Three productions first premiered in that series are destined for major touring initiatives that bringing much-deserved recognition to under-represented voices:

• Hell’s Fury, The Hollywood Songbook with music by Hanns Eisler, explores the plight of refugees, one of the great humanitarian crises of our time. Devised by Canadian director Tim Albery and starring famed baritone Russell Braun, it's a story about Eisler who fled fascism, communism and capitalism, all in one lifetime. This production has already toured to California.

• Musik für das Ende by Claude Vivier brings recognition to a legendary composer from the LGBTQ2 community whose significance as a gay composer has not been fully explored. This production tours Germany, UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria in May 2022 and again in May 2024.

• Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin / Gállábártnit is two one-act operas co-produced with Signal Theatre and the Sámi National Theatre (Kautokeino, Norway). Two Odysseys presents the first operas setting the Indigenous languages of Cree and Sámi, and is based on storytelling from those cultures. It has been invited to be a resident company in Bödo, Norway, as part of celebrations for the European Capital of Culture 2024, followed by a tour of the Nordic region.

These productions have received critical acclaim from the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, and a recent Soundstreams co-production Book of Mountains and Seas received a rave review from The Wall Street Journal following its US premiere.

More information: soundstreams.ca/touring