We can think of no better way to welcome the holidays than with the age-old tradition of voices lifted in song. What a treat awaits us, as the Blue Dawn Quartet fills the darkness of December with a radiant program of carols and Christmas classics celebrating the spirit of the season.
Montreal-based artists Kimberley Lynch, Meagan Zantingh, Alexandra Asher and Rona Nadler are known for emotionally stirring a cappella performances that transcend time and genre. This program promises to fill your heart with the awe and joy that this season inspires. Please join us for an afternoon with these exceptional vocalists.
“Captivating concert, very thoughtful choice of repertoire, vocal perfection”
– audience feedback
Blue Dawn Quartet
a cappella vocal ensemble
Founded in 2020, Blue Dawn Quartet brings together the warm, luminous voices of Kimberley Lynch, Meagan Zantingh, Alexandra Asher and Rona Nadler in performances that are both light-hearted and heart-felt.
The group’s first major project was recording a set of original songs by quartet member and director Rona Nadler on texts by Yiddish poet Kadya Molodowsky. Since then, Blue Dawn Quartet has performed these songs in concert many times in the Montreal area, while the song “In Bloyen Baginen IX,” placed third in the “Best Partially Original Yiddish Song” category at the 2021 Bubbe Awards at the Kleztival International Jewish Music Festival. The group has performed across the Montreal region with CAM en tournée (Montreal Arts Council on Tour) and has been featured at both the KlezKanada Summer Retreat and Festival de la Voix.
In addition to performing original compositions, Blue Dawn seeks out other repertoire that is strong in emotional resonance and storytelling, ranging in style from pop, jazz and folk arrangements to more abstract contemporary works, with an emphasis on female composers and poets.
photos | dbobyk
Meagan Zantingh, (mezzo-soprano) is equally at ease on stage as a recitalist, an early music performer, an opera singer, and a choral singer. She has sung the roles of Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, and the title role in Handel’s Serse with Opera da Camera in Montreal.
Meagan has also performed in Venice, Italy with the Venice Music Project; as a soloist Handel’s Messiah in Gloucester, U.K.; and in recital with organist Luciano Zecca in Italy and Germany. She sings regularly with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra choir, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, with whom she recently performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Rona Nadler (mezzo-soprano) enjoys a multi-faceted career in the Montreal music scene as a harpsichordist, vocalist, and music director.
She has performed across North America as a member of the quartet Infusion Baroque, while also serving as Artistic Director of the vocal ensemble One Equall Musick and composing original music for the Blue Dawn Quartet. Her compositions for vocal ensemble have been recorded on the ATMA label by Ensemble ArtChoral. In addition to her work in the field of early music, Rona serves as Music Director and Cantorial Soloist at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Westmount, Quebec.
Kimberley Lynch (soprano) is active as both a soloist and an ensemble singer, with a repertoire spanning the Baroque era to the 21st century. An avid interpreter of contemporary music, Kimberley has premiered works by numerous Canadian composers in collaboration with organist Adrian Foster.
Recent concerts include “Murmurations” with Concerts Lachine featuring a world premier of a commissioned work by Michael Bonaventure for voice and organ, as well as a Canadian premier of a piece by Pam Hulme. She was featured as a soloist on the church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul’s most recent album Distance (ATMA classique, 2021).
Alexandra Asher (mezzo-soprano) performs regularly in Montreal as part of the choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Ensemble Noir and Les Rugissants. Originally from Toronto, Alexandra began singing professionally as a chorister and soloist with The Nathaniel Dett Chorale in 2008 and has sung with several ensembles in Toronto and Montreal since, including Ensemble vocal Arts-Quebec, Ensemble Caprice, Voces Boreales and the Toronto Festival Singers at the Song Shul.
