Friday, March 6, 2009

Artists for 2009

Meet your Director:

Sherri Brass-Haas
holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance and a Bachelor of Education degree. Her professional dance career spans more than 20 years. Included in Sherri’s work as an Artist-Educator is that of founder and Artistic Director of Movement Makers, Creative Movement artist for Arts for Children of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council funded Artist in Education, and Dance Lecturer at the City of Liverpool Community College in England. In addition to her work as an educator Sherri has worked as an independent dance artist, founding and performing with a United Kingdom-based company called The Moving Co. 2008 is Sherri’s first year as an Artist-Educator with the Canadian Opera Company.

Meet your Musical Director:

Dean Burry
was born in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1972, but grew up in the town of Gander. Following high school, Burry began studies as a saxophone major at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. In seeking ways to combine his love of theatre and music, he began composing operas and musicals. In his firsts three years at Mt.A, he wrote, produced and conducted three major dramatic musical works:Dean Burry was born in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1972, but grew up in the town of Gander. Following high school, Burry began studies as a saxophone major at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. In seeking ways to combine his love of theatre and music, he began composing operas and musicals. In his firsts three years at Mt.A, he wrote, produced and conducted three major dramatic musical works: The Resurrection, Joe and Mary Had a Baby and Unto the Earth: Vignettes of a War.
In 1998, while working as an educator with the Canadian Opera Company he was commissioned to write The Brothers Grimm. The opera has been seen by over 100,000 children across Canada since 2001 and has been produced in Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton. The Brothers Grimm is believed to be the most performed Canadian opera ever.
Other major works include Under the Night and Home and Away for Live Bait Theatre, Isis and the Seven Scorpions for the Canadian Opera Company and The Vinland Traveler for Newfoundland’s Opera Road Show. Burry’s operatic adaptation of The Hobbit, commissioned by the Canadian Children’s Opera Company in 2004 recently received its American premiere with a production by Sarasota Opera, and is being translated for an upcoming production in Hamburg, Germany.
Burry is currently working on Children of the Moon, a lost opera libretto written by Robertson Davies in 1983, but never set to music, The Mummers Masque for Toronto Masque Theatre, A Creature of Habit for Rising Tide Theatre in Newfoundland and Baby Kintyre a serial opera for CBC Radio.

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