The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra resumes their 2023-24 season by welcoming soprano Lara Secord-Haid for her MCO debut at the Crescent Arts Centre.
Praised by the New York Times and Opera Today, the New England Conservatory and Juilliard grad returns home to Winnipeg to showcase her vocal prowess and talent.
“I’m so grateful,” says Secord-Haid ahead of her performance with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Having previously graced the stage with Manitoba Opera and with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, this MCO debut makes the hometown trifecta for the soprano.
Currently based in Berlin, Secord-Haid performs music of another Winnipegger, Sid Robinovitch, that has been orchestrated for the first time by Tad Biernacki.
“This project is very beloved and personal to me,” says Secord-Haid, who started working with her collaborators during the pandemic days of 2020.
Having really discovered her voice singing at her own bat mizvah and being a graduate of Jewish day school – at what is now the Gray Academy – this concert is very much a significant one for the singer.
“I'd been looking for 10 years for Hebrew art song to perform – not folk song, not pop song... but classical art song” she explains.
After reaching out to Sid Robinovtich, the pair landed on two of his previous song cycles: Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) and the Canciones Sefardies – a setting of Ladino, traditional Judeo-Spanish texts.
The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20 at the Crescent Arts Centre and also features music by Arvo Part and Osvaldo Golijov.
For tickets and more details, visit: www.themco.ca