Concert of I Medici di McGill Orchestra

NEXT I MEDICI CONCERT: An evening of French music

Montreal, February 05, 2010... I Medici di McGill Orchestra continues its 21th season with a concert featuring Charlotte Corwin and Concerto Della Donna on Monday March 15, to be held at 8 pm at the Notre Dame de Grâce Church, 5333 Avenue Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montréal QC H4A 1L2 (Metro Villa Maria) under their conductor Iwan Edwards.

The concert opens with Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphonie, Emmanuel Chabrier’s Ode à la musique, and César Franck’s Réedemption, followed by La Nuit by Camille Saint Saëns and Scènes alsaciennes by Jules Massenet.
 
Lyric soprano Charlotte Corwin is among Canada’s leading young singers and is quickly becoming known as a versatile performer of both opera and concert repertoire. In 2009 Charlotte was the winner of the Joseph Rouleau Award for the Best Artist from Quebec at the 2009 edition of the Montreal International Music Competition. She has sung alongside many of Quebec's leading orchestras and choral groups including Les Violons du Roi, the Cantabile Chorus and Orchestra, the St. Lawrence Choir and I Medici di McGill. As a member of the elite Atelier Lyrique de L'Opéra de Montréal from 2005 to 2008, Charlotte performed the roles of Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Asphodèle (Chabrier's L' Étoile), The Governess (Britten's Turn of the Screw), and Flaminia in Haydn's Il mondo della luna.
 
Charlotte received her Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance and Opera from McGill University, where her operatic roles included Madame Lidoine in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmélites, Minerva in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulysse, and Iris in Handel's Semele.
 
Concerto Della Donna is a dynamic group of young singers based in Montreal under the direction of Maestro Iwan Edwards. Known for their emotionally-driven and highly communicative performances, for the past nine years Concerto Della Donna has been successful both throughout Canada and abroad. Among numerous concerts in Canada, they have performed at the Église Saints-Anges in Lachine which was later broadcast on Espace Musique, as well as having toured abroad last year in Serbia and Croatia. In addition to their regular concert series, they play alongside many organizations and performers for numerous fundraising events. Over the years Concerto Della Donna has collaborated with the Vanier College Choir, CEM, the McGill Conservatory Youth Choir, the St. Lawrence Choir, and le Choeur des Enfants de Montréal.

Maestro Iwan Edwards has conducted I Medici di McGill since its 12th season in 2000.  He also directs Concerto Della Donna and the Montreal Children’s Choir. Formerly a professor at McGill University, he recently retired from being music director (and founder) of the St. Lawrence Choir, the MSO Choir, the Ottawa Choral Society and the Canadian Chamber Choir.

I Medici di McGill was founded in 1989 by Dr. A. L. Padjen of McGill’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.  The mission of I Medici is to provide musical content for various events in the life of the Faculty of Medicine, the University and the community and thus add a unique social dimension to medical education and to the profession.  The orchestra also plays during an annual lecture series on “Biology of Music’’.  I Medici is available for fundraising events.  The players come from the staff and students of McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and the ensemble is completed by players from the community, upon invitation and audition.

The musicians of I Medici are all volunteers. Admission to all I Medici public concerts is free but as there are costs associated with putting on each concert, a voluntary contribution of $15 at the door is strongly encouraged.  More information on the orchestra may be found on its website: http://www.imedici.mcgill.ca.