The Lake – Pentland & Copland

Presented by the Turning Point Ensemble

The Turning Point Ensemble celebrates the centenary of Barbara Pentland with a remarkable professional public premiere (60 years after it’s composition!) of her 1952 one-act opera, The Lake. With a libretto by the trailblazing Canadian poet Dorothy Livesay, the opera is based on the life of Susan Allison, the first white female settler in the Okanagan, and her experiences with the indigenous peoples, the land, and the sea monster. The Lake will be performed in a semi-staged performance with the assistance of Astrolabe Musik Theatre soprano Heather Pawsey taking the role of Susan Allison.

Paired with Pentland will be the music of Aaron Copland, her teacher from 1941/42. Copland is represented by two of his early chamber masterworks, the vibrantly rhythmic Sextet for clarinet, piano and string quartet from 1937 and Vitebsk (Study on a Jewish theme) from 1929. The program is completed with the return from New York of the Grammy-nominated jazz musician Dave Douglas and a premiere of his new sextet Ascendant, a work dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland.

An additional performance of The Lake will take place on Wednesday, November 14th.

For more information: http://turningpointensemble.ca/the-lake/