Editor’s Note: The Canadian Day in Rome concert has been postponed until Dec. 3.
TORONTO—On August 1, Toronto audiences will get a chance to experience the same taste of Canadian cultural excellence that Rome audiences experienced on July 5 as part of Le Nazioni, The Festival of Nations.
Every summer, a group of nations is invited by the Accademia Filarmonica Romana (AFR) to showcase their culture at the week-long summer festival in Italy’s capital.
This year, Canada was one of the five countries, alongside Norway, Morocco, Brazil, and Iran, presenting a varied program of music, film, and visual art. The concert was organized by the Toronto-based International Resource Centre for Performing Artists (IRCPA) and produced by its director Ann Summers Dossena.
As an established presenter, producer, and manager who produced the first series of concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Summers Dossena was invited by AFR to promote Canadian culture in Rome.
This is a task the understaffed and underfunded Canadian embassy in Italy would not have been able take on, she said.
She prepared for the concert over the past year, inviting talented Canadian musicians to represent their country through a classical, jazz, and world music program, which included premieres by Canadian composers.
The event also showcased the 1975 Glenn Gould film “The Flight from Order: 1910-1920,“ which included an introduction by Canadian journalist and critic William Littler. Also on display was a photography exhibit by photographer James MacMullin, featuring scenes from his travels around Canada.
“Our Canadian artists did us proud in Rome,” said Summers Dossena in a press release.
“The excellence of the performances and variety of the program kept the intensity throughout the concert. Toronto audiences will enjoy a similar experience August 1 at Lula Lounge.”
She also shared the congratulatory words of the AFR’s artistic director Sandro Cappelletto, who wrote to her as follows, “My deepest admiration for your job, and for the quality of the artists you invited. Canada, a great nation.”
The artists who took part in the Rome concert are soprano Montreal-based Jana Miller and conductor/pianist Jordan de Souza, Edmonton-based violinist Guillaume Tardif, Polish-Canadian clarinetist Kornel Wolak, Vancouver’s Borealis String Quartet, as well as the Vaughan-based JUNO Award-winning Dominic Mancuso Group.
These artists will perform onstage at the Toronto concert, with the exception of the Borealis String Quartet and de Souza, who had prior engagements. Pianist Younggun Kim will be substituting for de Souza.
For many of the artists, this was their Rome debut.
The Toronto concert will take place at the Lula Lounge, and proceeds will be used to cover the travel/accommodation expenses for the artists. For more information, visit http://ircpa.net
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