UPDATE from Micah Schroeder (via Facebook) 

“It is with a heavy heart that due to unforeseen personal circumstances of one of our performers, we are no longer able to present our recital Everlastingness on Tuesday October 22. I was so looking forward to singing with these wonderful artists and we hope to be able to present this concert to an audience at a later date.”

MICAH SCHROEDER & STÉPHANE MAYER PRESENT AN EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY, MEMORY, AND DISPLACEMENT IN RECITAL

On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Toronto will witness an evening of music that delves deep into themes of identity, memory, and displacement. Baritone Micah Schroeder and pianist Stéphane Mayer will be joined by violist Brenna Hardy-Kavanagh at the Tranzac Club for a thoughtfully curated recital, featuring a blend of classical and contemporary works by composers from Canada, Armenia, and beyond. The concert is anchored by Everlastingness—a poignant piece by Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian, based on the text by Royce Vavrek, exploring the traumatic history of an Armenian painter, Arshile Gorky, living, living in America after the Armenian genocide who takes his own life.

The recital, which begins at 7:30 pm (doors at 7:00 pm), will offer audiences a journey through cultural and historical reflections, particularly focused on themes of personal and collective memory. The program includes works by Danika Loren, Jocelyn Morlock, Stéphane Mayer, Komitas Vardapet, Francis Poulenc, and Robert Schumann, blending tradition and modernity to tell stories of loss, remembrance, and reconnection.

Tickets are available at everlastingness.eventbrite.com.

Micah Schroeder, Berlin-based Canadian baritone, shares a personal connection to the recital’s theme:
“My Armenian grandmother fled the horrors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as a young girl and sought refuge in the United States. In the turbulent cultural landscape of the early 20th century, many traditions and languages were lost in the push for assimilation. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away before I was born, and my mother never learned the language, leaving our connection to our Armenian heritage fragile. Through my music, I hope to rekindle that bond—using it as a means to reconnect with the language, history, and culture of my ancestors.”

Mary Kouyoumdjian and Royce Vavrek note in the music that:
“Using specific lyrical images and extrapolating form quotations attributed to the artist, this piece functions like a fever dream as Gorky’s memories consume him. Gorky witnessed the Armenian Genocide as a teenager and lost his mother to starvation during one of its severe winters. Migrating to the United States with his sister, he began a new life for himself as a painter, and then suffered a series of tragic events from a studio fire, a debilitating car accident, marital troubles, and ultimately a suicide.“

Concert Details
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Doors Open: 7:00 PM
Recital Starts: 7:30 PM
Location: Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7

Program Highlights

• Recuerdo – Danika Loren
• Lieder und Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister – Robert Schumann
• Involuntary Love Songs – Jocelyn Morlock
• Everlastingness – Mary Kouyoumdjian
• Krounk – Komitas Vardapet
• Banalités – Francis Poulenc
• Annabel Lee – Stéphane Mayer
  
  The evening will offer approximately one hour of music as well as a 20-minute intermission.
  
  Tickets:
  Available at everlastingness.eventbrite.com.

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