Roots & Branches

Sunday, January 14, 2024

2:30 PM

St. Andrew’s River Heights United Church

Roots & Branches Mentorship Concert Project

PATRICIA VANUCI, cello; CAMRYN DEWAR, soprano; & MENTORS

The Mentorship Concert is back! Now in its second year, this concert is an opportunity for emerging classical musicians on the brink of their careers to work side-by-side with professional mentors in a chamber music ensemble. This year’s brilliant emerging artists, cellist Patricia Vanuci and soprano Camryn Dewar, have been chosen through our Young Artist Program application process and will be joined by professional chamber musicians to perform a riveting program of classical and contemporary works. 

This years mentors are Everett Hopfner, piano and Kerry DuWors, violin.  This program is made possible with the support of the Manitoba Arts Council.

The Mentorship Concert Project is an extension of Virtuosi’s longstanding Young Artist Program and was created to help nurture young chamber musicians from the final phases of their studies into the first steps of their professional careers. To have the opportunity to work with more seasoned professionals in a small group is an important steppingstone to improving at all aspects of a professional performing experience, from curation and communication to rehearsal and performance. 

Sunday afternoon’s program takes our Roots & Branches theme to heart not only through the mentorship of emerging musicians, but also by including music written by composers who are connected to the cultural communities of this years’ young musicians: Patricia has contributed pieces by Heitor Villa Lobos and Marlos Nobre in representation of her home country of Brazil, and Camryn has brought Métis voices to the program in the music of Ian Cusson and Steele, Kusturok and Weisensel’s newly premiered opera, Li Keur!