A native of Dartmouth, Suzanne returns home to thrill the DCCA audience with her spectacular voice! Rigden is making her mark on North American and international stages with her “remarkable gift for stratospheric coloratura” and comic timing. A 2011 graduate of l'Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, Suzanne has sung in numerous international competitions, including New York`s George London Competition, where she was a finalist in both 2010 and 2012. She has also twice received the Prix Lyrique Hariclea Darclée-Michel Buruiana with Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques. She was a 2012 semi-finalist in Festival Lyrique in Marmande, France. Suzanne also studied at UBC, getting her Masters in Opera, and two summers at the Merola Opera Centre with the San Francisco Opera. Suzanne will be accompanied by Tara Scott, who is originally from Grand Bay - Westfield, NB. Tara holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Mount Allison University and a Master's Degree in collaborative piano from the University of Western Ontario. Tara has performed extensively with singers and instrumentalists in Europe and across Canada and has appeared on national television and radio. She has worked as accompanist and vocal coach at the University of Western Ontario, Dalhousie University, Mount Allison University and Acadia University. Based in Halifax, Tara is a member of the piano faculty (former head of piano) at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts and is sought after as piano adjudicator and examiner. She worked as accompanist for Coro Collegium, as music director and accompanist for the Acadia Singing Theatre and has performed with Opera Nova Scotia and Opera New Brunswick. She is the music director and pianist for the Maritime Concert Opera and Halifax Summer Opera Workshop.
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Suzanne Rigden
Coloratura Soprano
Tara Scott
Piano
2013 - 2014 Season:
Taking their name from St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, the Cecilia String Quartet continues to win praise following their 2010 First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. “With a stunning spirit of creativity that consistently celebrated risk-taking and discovery, the Cecilia Quartet impressed the distinguished jury above all others.” The Cecilia String Quartet was formed while its members were students at the University of Toronto and now performs for leading presenters in Canada, the United States, and in Europe. Their tours have taken the four Toronto-based Canadian musicians to the Concertgebouw Kleine Zaal (Amsterdam), Beethoven-Haus (Bonn), and venues in Italy and Belgium.
Top of Page
Friday, Oct. 25, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Cecilia String Quartet
Caitlin Boyle (viola)
Rachel Desoer (cello)
Min-Jeong Koh (violin)
Sarah Nematallah (violin)
This dynamic and versatile group is composed of four new-generation recorder players. Unique in their category, the ensemble is the only professional recorder quartet in North America. Flûte Alors! has collected prizes and nominations at both the national and international levels. The ensemble has been featured in numerous music festivals including the Montreal Baroque Festival. In 2009, Flûte Alors! received first prize in chamber music at the National Music Festival and in 2011 released their album, Kaléidoscope. Dedicated to pushing the limits of the recorder and expanding its repertoire, their performances encompass music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as contemporary, jazz, and pop works.
Top of Page
Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 7:30 PM
Flûte Alors!
Dan Franklin Smith, a resident of New York City, performs in concert halls, colleges, universities, and museums throughout the USA and Europe. He has been described as “an incredibly sensitive player” and “a master pianist”. He graduated as a piano major from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and made his European recital debut in 1997 near Stockholm, Sweden, where he received a standing ovation and rave reviews. The following year, he made his European orchestral debut in Stockholm at Sofia Kyrkan. A debut recording with the Gävle Symfoniorkester and another with the Stuttgart Philharmonic followed. These recordings received outstanding reviews and are broadcast on dozens of classical stations.
Top of Page
Friday, April 25, 2014 at 7:30 PM
Dan Franklin Smith
Piano
