Opera Laurier and Laurier Symphony Orchestra

Nov. 19, 2025

Saturday Nov. 29, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Theatre Auditorium

Dr. Leah McGray, conductor
Laurier Symphony Orchestra Roster

Kate Carver, Music Director
Mabel Wonnacott, Stage Director
LJ Sherratt, Technical Director
Nicole Del Cul, Wardrobe Coordinator
Lexy Edwards and Madi Chong, Stage Management
Opera Laurier Roster

Program

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op.21 by Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
I. Maestoso
Kavin Dhanasekaran, piano
Winner of the 2024 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Concertino for Tuba and String Orchestra, Op.77 by Jan Koetsier (1911-2005)
II. Romanza e Scherzino
III. Rondo Bavarese: Allegro molto vivace
Ethan Monterroza, tuba
Winner of the 2025 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Violin Concerto No.2 in D minor, Op.22 by Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)
II. Romance
III. Allegro con fuoco, Allegro moderato a la Zingara
Melanie Au, violin
Winner of the 2025 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Intermission

Prelude from Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Girl: Mackenzie Smith
Boy 1: Tyler Wilkie
Boy 2: Emmanual Dye

Così fan tutte, KV 558; Act 1 Finale, scene 16 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Despina: Naomi Schlegel
Fiordiligi: Nicole Hamilton
Dorabella: Amye Buchan
Fernando: Robert Pereira
Guglielmo: Emmanual Dye
Don Alfonso: Alex Muth

Iolanta, Op. 69; Act 1, scene 1&2 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Iolanta: Meghan Mair
Brigitta and Chorus Sop 1: Susan Taylor
Laura and Chorus Sop 2: Lucy Gill
Marta and Chorus Sop 1: Amanda Jeffreys
Chorus Alto: Olivia Tremblay

Rusalka, Op. 114; Trio Act 3 by Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Rehearsal Accompanist: Natalia Sawyer
1: Naomi Schlegel
2: Amye Buchan
3: Em Shepherd

Street Scene; Ain’t it Awful the Heat? by Kurt Weill (1900-1950) 
Rehearsal Accompanist: Natalia Sawyer
Mrs. Fiorentino: Susan Taylor
Mrs. Jones: Amanda Jeffreys
Mrs. Olsen: Em Shepherd
Salvation Army Girl 1: Mackenzie Smith
Salvation Army Girl 2: Olivia Tremblay
Kaplan: Tyler Wilkie
Mr. Olsen: Alex Muth

Der Rosenkavalier; Act III Trio, by Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Marschallin: Nicole Hamilton
Octavian: Lucy Gill
Sophie: Meghan Mair

Les contes d’Hoffmann; Act 1, Choeur et couplets by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
Rehearsal Accompanist: Natalia Sawyer
Olympia: Naomi Schlegel (Winner of the 2025 Ken Murray Concerto Competition)
Spalanzani: Tyler Wilkie
Cochenille: Mackenzie Smith
Nicklausse: Em Shepherd
Hoffmann: Robert Pereira

Chorus:
Soprano: Nicole Hamilton and Mackenzie Smith
Mezzo: Susan Taylor, Olivia Tremblay
Tenor: Tyler Wilkie
Bass-Alex Muth

A Tale of Two Cities; Until Tomorrow by Jill Santoriello (b. 1965)
Defarge: Emmanual Dye
Mme Defarge: Lucy Gill
Carton: Robert Pereira
Chorus: Full Ensemble

Program Notes

We ask that patrons take photos only during intermission and/or after the show and do not record audio or video unless otherwise announced at the beginning of the show.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that Wilfrid Laurier University and its campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe (Anish-nah-bay) and Haudenosaunee (Hoe-den-no-show-nee) peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources and not to engage in conflict. From the Haldimand Proclamation of Oct. 25, 1784 this territory is described as: “six miles deep from each side of the river (Grand River) beginning at Lake Erie and extending in the proportion to the Head of said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy forever.” The proclamation was signed by the British wit​h their allies, the Six Nations, after the American Revolution. Despite being the largest reserve demographically in Canada, those nations now reside on less than five percent of this original territory.