June 28

Composer Spotlight: Ian Cusson audiences will remember the name Ian Cusson, having recently composed a brand new work for the2020 broadcast of Electric Messiah, O Death, O Grave.

Posted by on June 28, 2021 in Arts, Music, Showcase | Leave a comment

 

Composer Spotlight: Ian Cusson audiences will remember the nameIan Cusson, having recently composed a brand new work for our 2020 broadcast of Electric Messiah, O Death, O Grave.

 

Composer Ian Cusson. Photo by John Arano.Composer Spotlight: Ian CussonSoundstreams audiences will remember the nameIan Cusson, having recently composed a brand new work for our 2020 broadcast of Electric Messiah, O Death, O Grave. Ian is a Canadian composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian descent, his work explores the Canadian Indigenous experience, including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.

He studied composition with Jake Heggie and Samuel Dolin and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School, and is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award, and several grants through the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.  He was an inaugural Carrefour Composer in Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 2017-2019, and is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. 

He lives in Toronto with his wife and four children.
LISTENA Cry From An Indian Wife featuring Jennifer Griffith, soprano, and text by E. Pauline Johnson. Click here.WATCHCusson’s new aria for Louis Riel, Dodo, mon tout petit. Performed by Simone Osborne, from the Canadian Opera Company. Click here.WATCHCusson in conversation with Lawrence Cherney for his new work for Soundstreams’ Electric Messiah(2020). Click here.
Coming soon from Soundstreams – Encounters: Indigenous VoicesSongs by contemporary Indigenous composers, performed by mezzo-soprano Rebecca Cuddy (Métis) and curated by composer Ian Cusson (Métis). Piano accompaniment by Gregory Oh.

Part of Soundstreams’ free digital offerings, Encounters is an accessible music and discussion experience. 

Stay tuned for the release this July!