Hearing Her Voice

Amanda Forsythe

Soprano

American soprano Amanda Forsythe, warmly praised for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Les Talens Lyriques, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, Boston Early Music Festival, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Opera Prima, Pacific Musicworks, Early Music Vancouver, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.  

 The 2024/25 season finds her performing with Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Victoria Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Boston Baroque, and appearances at the Tucson Baroque Festival and Boston Early Music Festival. Recent engagements have included performances with the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. Opera engagements have included major roles in the houses of Geneva, Munich, Philadelphia, Rome, Seattle, Berlin, and Pesaro.

Her extensive discography includes the role of Eurydice on the GRAMMY-winning recording of Charpentier La descente d’Orphée aus enfers, a solo album of Handel arias The Power of Love (Apollo’s Fire), and as featured soloist in Tafelmusik’s upcoming release of arias from Handel oratorios.

Karen Sunabacka

Composer

Karen Sunabacka is a composer with deep roots in the Red River Settlement and is strongly connected to Métis culture through her mother, Joyce Clouston, and late Grandmother Lenore Clouston (née Birston). She exists within the intersection of her Métis, Cree, Scottish, Swedish, and Finnish heritage, which encompasses conflicts and new perspectives that she finds both interesting and challenging. Her music often explores puzzles, her mixed heritage, and the sights and sounds of the prairies and the rugged Canadian Shield. In demand as a composer, Karen enjoys the challenge of finding a balance between teaching, composing, performing, and keeping up with her favourite science fiction and fantasy series. Karen is an Associate Professor of Music at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo.

Joyce Clouston

Librettist

Joyce Clouston is a writer, an Indigenous Cultural Carrier, and social worker based in Winnipeg. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Manitoba, and a PhD from Wilfrid Laurier University. Joyce has transcribed, edited, and co-edited five books based on Indigenous spiritual/cultural stories, and has authored a sixth. Numerous articles and resources focus on supporting the self-esteem of children and strengthening families. Academic research affirms Indigenous worldviews where all children are gifts of the Creator offering spiritual insights to loved ones. Images in her writing are guided by the sights and sounds of her childhood in the Métis Homeland near Selkirk, Manitoba, an area rich in stories, music, and play.