An exquisite evening of art song from soprano Chelsea Van Pelt, baritone Nicholas Higgs and pianist Helen Becqué.
Featuring the music of Ravel, Vaughan Williams, Fauré, C. Schumann, Bridge, Laitman, Tiefenbach and more, our Norquay Scholarship concert, originally scheduled for spring 2020, is finally here.
Tickets are $20 (in person) and $15 (livestream). The livestream will be available on demand until Nov. 16.
Chelsea Van Pelt
Praised as “…appealing and delicate…” (Opera Canada), soprano Chelsea Van Pelt’s 22/23 season included numerous performances of Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem and various recital work featuring Berg’s Sieben Frühe Lieder and Sibelius’ opus 37 songs. Prior to that, Chelsea was delighted to be featured in Windsor Symphony’s recorded seasons, most recently as Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona. Chelsea’s pre-pandemic season included performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse, Bach’s St. John Passion and Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate.
Chelsea Van Pelt is a graduate of the Calgary Opera Emerging Artists program. Throughout her time there, she had the pleasure of performing the role of Juliette for the Canadian premiere of Die tote Stadt, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (*cover), Rose in Lakme and la Princesse in l’enfant et les sortilèges.
When she’s not singing, Chelsea stays creative by designing custom homes and co-managing a construction company in Southwestern Ontario. The 23/24 creative season will have much building, along with performances such as Mozart’s Mass in C minor.
Nicholas Higgs
Nova Scotian baritone, Nicholas Higgs, is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music (MMus 2021, BMus 2019). During his time at the University of Toronto, Nicholas performed the roles of Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Grigory in William Walton’s The Bear. His most recent performance was in Matilda the Musical at the Lindsay Academy Theatre, where he was Music Director and also played the role of the Escapologist.
Upon completing his Master’s of Music, Nicholas began creating content online, and has built a community of over 250 thousand followers across all social media platforms. Because of this, Nicholas has connected with musicians all over the world, and has formed an online vocal studio, with students more than a dozen countries.
Nicholas is passionate about music and digital media and hopes to help musicians adjust to our ever-increasing digital world.
Helen Becqué
Belgian pianist Helen Becqué gave her European début at the age of nine, and has since been noted for her consistently thoughtful and emotionally-committed performances which have made her an increasingly sought-after artist in Europe and North America.
Helen is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory in Brussels Belgium, where she studied with Boyan Vodenitcharov. She also completed post-graduate studies at the München Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Germany under the tutelage of Helmut Deutsch and Fritz Schwinghammer.
Contemporary music has featured frequently in Helen’s collaborations and programming. She has been involved in many world premieres and recordings of new music, including Maarten Van Ingelgem’s Pianoconcerto with the Kortrijks Symfonisch Orkest, Three Songs from the Tang Dynasty by Alice Ping Ye Ho, and Sur Incises by Pierre Boulez with the Royal Conservatory New Music Ensemble.
Helen has been a faculty member at the Hochschule for Music und Theater Nürnberg Augsburg in Germany and currently is a doctoral student studying with Steven Philcox at the University of Toronto, where she also teaches German Lieder and Song Interpretation classes.
-
Location
Office Hours
Contact
