Maritime Artists Join Forces to Bring “Tell Me the Truth About Love” to Nova Scotian Audiences!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2023
Maritime Artists Join Forces to Bring “Tell Me the Truth About Love” to Nova Scotian Audiences!
K’JIUPUKTUK/HALIFAX, NS – What is love? From February 11th-21st, East Coast artists Tracy. Marcel. Dakota will explore the answer to this question on a 10-day concert tour of Nova Scotia with Debut Atlantic. Their concert program journeys through the five love languages: Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, and Words of Affirmation. Hailing from rural Nova Scotia, tenor Marcel d’Entremont and pianist Dakota Scott-Digout together recently won the Wirth Vocal Competition, considered the top music prize of academic institutions across Canada (2018), and are described as having “virtuoso technique and requisite poise” (Joseph So, Ludwig van Toronto). They are joined by in-demand PEI soprano Tracy Cantin, praised for her “agility, power and dazzling coloratura” Chicago Sun-Times), not to mention her ”interpretive intelligence and stage presence to boot” (Chicago Tribune).
Debut Atlantic is thrilled to present high-calibre artists to audiences across Nova Scotia. Tracy. Marcel. Dakota will begin their tour in Dartmouth, NS on Saturday, February 11th performing with the Dartmouth Community Concert Association at 7:00pm. They then travel to Annapolis Royal, NS on February 12th, where they will appear at King’s Theatre for a 3:00 pm performance. On Valentine’s Day, February 14th, Tracy. Marcel. Dakota will perform at Paul’s Hall in Glen Haven, NS at 7:30pm. Afterwards, they are travelling to Pictou, NS, where they will appear at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, February 15th at 7:30 pm as part of the deCoste Centre for Arts & Creativity on the Road Tour. Tracy. Marcel. Dakota will then appear at St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg, NS on February 17th, where they will perform with Musique Royale at 7:00 pm. On Saturday, February 18th, they will appear in Antigonish, NS, where they will perform with the Antigonish Performing Arts Series at 7:30 pm. They will finish their Debut Atlantic tour at Sunday Music in the Garden Room in Wolfville, NS on February 19th at 2:00 pm.
In addition to concert engagements, Tracy. Marcel. Dakota will be working with young students through the Debut Goes to School! program. This season, Debut Goes to School offers students throughout Atlantic Canada virtual and in-person access to outstanding classical and global music artists. Through this program, students are provided with the opportunity to participate in live, interactive learning sessions and other events for various age groups and levels of ability.
Debut Atlantic wants to recognize the partners and sponsors that come together to bring these incredible artists to communities and venues of all sizes across our region. It would not be possible without the generous support of sustaining partners, including the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Nova Scotia, and the Province of New Brunswick. Debut would also like to thank its educational partner, the Nova Scotia Department of Education; and its season partners, including the Halifax Regional Municipality, The Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, Support4Culture, the Craig Foundation, Pink Larkin, Halcraft Printers, Strategic Arts Management, and InnVest Hotels (Comfort Inn).
Please see the enclosed list of concert dates and artist biography, and come share in a unique performance, rich with passion and exploration.
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As one of Canada’s most prestigious classical music organizations, Debut Atlantic is committed to developing young artists and establishing new initiatives that enhance the cultural life of Atlantic Canada. Since 1979 it has treated Atlantic audiences to Canada’s most promising young musicians. Celebrating 42 years, Debut Atlantic has featured over 400 artists, gracing the stages of venues from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Full details on Debut Atlantic’s concert seasons and educational programs can be found at www.debutatlantic.ca.
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For further information, please contact:
Erin Sparks – Executive Director
Debut Atlantic
902-429-6812
erin@debutatlantic.ca
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Elizabeth Upson Perez – Program Officer
Debut Atlantic
902-429-6812
elizabeth@debutatlantic.ca
TOUR SCHEDULE—Tracy. Marcel. Dakota
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
7:00 pm, February 11, 2023
Dartmouth Community Concert Association
Woodlawn United Church
54 Woodlawn Rd.
dartmouthcommunityconcert.ca
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
3:00 pm, February 12, 2023
King’s Theatre
209 George St.
902-532-7704
Glen Haven, Nova Scotia
7:30pm, February 14, 2023
Paul’s Hall
12286 Peggys Cove Rd.
paulshallmusic@gmail.com
Pictou, Nova Scotia
7:30 pm, February 15, 2023
deCoste Centre for Arts & Creativity
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
105 Coleraine St.
(902) 485-8848
decostecentre.ca
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
7:00pm, February 17, 2023
Musique Royale
St. John’s Anglican Church
64 Townsend St.
musiqueroyale.com
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
7:30pm, February 18, 2023
Antigonish Performing Arts Series
Immaculata Hall, St. F.X. University
2360 Notre Dame Ave.
902-867-3909
people.stfx.ca/msteinit/schedule.htm
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
2:00pm, February 19, 2023
Sunday Music in the Garden Room
KC Irving Environmental Science Centre
Acadia University
artsacadia.acadiau.ca/Sunday_Music_in_the_Garden_Room.html
BIOGRAPHY—Tracy . Marcel . Dakota
Tracy Cantin
Praised for her “full, gleaming sound” (Chicago Tribune), Canadian soprano Tracy Cantin “has it all – agility, power and dazzling coloratura” (Chicago Sun-Times), not to mention “vocal and physical allure, with interpretive intelligence and stage presence to boot” (Chicago Tribune).
Jumping to the forefront of the Canadian music scene, in the Spring of 2018 Ms Cantin made a surprise debut at the Canadian Opera Company as the title character in Donizetti’s demanding Anna Bolena, replacing super-star soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, which garnered her rave reviews. She has also recently appeared with Edmonton Opera as Chrysothemis in Elektra. A former member of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ms. Cantin was featured in mainstage productions of Il barbière di Siviglia, Elektra, Rigoletto, Parsifal, and Anna Bolena. Her operatic repertoire also includes Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Governess and Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Desdemona in Otello, Eva in Die Meistersinger, the title roles in Rusalka and Alcina, and Alice Ford in Falstaff. Cantin looks forward to returning to the stage as the title character in both Fidelio and Anna Bolena, with Calgary Opera and Edmonton Opera, respectively.
An avid concert performer, 2018/19 marked her BBC Symphony debut as the soprano soloist in Bernstein’s Songfest, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard, a program she was scheduled to repeat with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra earlier this year. Additionally, she sang Verdi’s Requiem with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, followed by a concert performance of Brünnhilde’s famous Immolation Scene with both the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony of Costa Rica. Cantin has also been heard in Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in A flat, Mahler’s Symphony no.2, and Mozart’s Requiem. Engagements extend to Australia where she performed as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Melbourne Symphony alongside Bryn Terfel, under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis. Rescheduled appearances will include performances with the Victoria Symphony, the National Arts Center of Canada, and the Denver Philharmonic.
Recent triumphs include debuts with the Ravinia Festival, Grant Park Festival, Oregon Symphony, Kingston Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic, Thunder Bay Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Additionally, Ms. Cantin has had the privilege of working with several of today’s most respected conductors and directors, including Sir Andrew Davis (Beethoven 9, la Bohème, Le Nozze di Figaro), Riccardo Muti (la Traviata), Michele Mariotti (Il Barbière di Siviglia), Carlos Kalmar (Beethoven 9), Bertrand de Billy (Otello), Sir David McVicar (Elektra, Rusalka), John Caird (Parsifal), Alexander Prior (Elektra), David Alden (Alcina), Stephen Lawless (Anna Bolena), Johannes Debus (Elektra), Otto Tausk (Götterdämmerung), and Michael Cavanaugh (Elektra).
The recipient of many honours, Ms. Cantin has received top awards from the Licia-Albanese Puccini Voice Competition (2016), the Bel Canto Foundation (2015), and was a 2016 National Semi-Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City. Ms. Cantin was an apprentice artist at Lyric Opera of Chicago (2012-2015), and Santa Fe Opera (2016-2017), was a Voice Fellow of the Steans Music Institute at Ravinia (2018), and holds degrees from McGill University (2012), Western University (2011), and the University of Alberta (2008).
Marcel d’Entremont
Tenor Marcel d’Entremont is becoming recognized across Canada for both his powerful voice and sincere stage presence. A former first prize winner of the Atlantic Young Artist Competition, Marcel also placed first in the vocal division of the National Music Festival of Canada and claimed the Grand Award for overall best performer. In November of 2018, he was named the winner of the Wirth Vocal Prize at McGill University, which resulted in solo recitals at La Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montreal and the Richard Bradshaw Theatre of the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto.
Marcel has a keen interest in many styles of singing and was a featured soloist for six years with the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, performing alongside musicians from around the world for audiences in the tens of thousands. He was also invited to perform at the inauguration ceremony of The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Marcel has been a resident artist at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, the National Arts Center’s Young Artist Program, the Art of Song Institute with the Toronto Summer Music, and was a Yulanda M. Farris Young Artist with the Vancouver Opera.
Marcel’s role performances include Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Opera McGill, Il Podesta in La Finta Giardiniera and Luiz in The Gondoliers with Opera Nova Scotia, Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Saskatoon, and two tours with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada as the title role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette as well as Alfredo in La Traviata. In concert, he has performed Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with the PEI Symphony Orchestra, and appeared as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestre classique de Montréal. In 2016 Marcel made his international opera debut as Don Ottavio with Opéra de Rouen in Rouen, France and at the Château de Versailles, as a laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques. Most recently, Marcel performed the role of Rodolfo over 20 times in a cross-Canada tour of La bohème with Against the Grain Theatre. This production was the first live broadcast of a professional opera in Canada and has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in the category of Best Performing Arts Program. In 2020, Marcel was named one of the Top 30 Under 30 classical musicians in Canada by CBC Music.
Dakota Scott-Digout
Nova Scotian pianist Dakota Scott-Digout is quickly establishing himself as one of the brightest upcoming collaborators in the country. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, Dakota was recently named the winner of the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying, awarded to the top collaborative pianist at the university. Additionally, he is in constant demand in Toronto as a vocal coach, soloist, and teacher. He also serves as the accompanist for undergraduate voice classes at the University of Toronto.
Equally comfortable as a soloist, Dakota has performed in masterclasses for some of the world’s most renowned pianists, including Angela Hewitt, David Jalbert, and André Laplante. He has further refined his skills at the Orford Music Academy, Barachois Summer Music Festival, and will be an Art of Song Fellow as part of the Toronto Summer Music Festival in the summer of 2021. Dakota has had success in various competitions, including the Atlantic Young Artist Competition, the NBMRTA Music Competition, and the National Music Festival of Canada.
As a collaborator, Dakota has performed in many recital tours of the Atlantic provinces and as part of the Musique Royale performance series. He has also performed at La Chapelle historique du Bon Pasteur in Montreal and the Richard Bradshaw Theatre of the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. Upcoming engagements include a live-broadcast recital at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto as part of the Music Mondays performance series, and a CBC broadcast with fellow Nova Scotian, tenor Marcel d’Entremont.