Travel the road of a young, impetuous genius alongside CBC broadcaster and master storyteller Tom Allen, as he recounts the story of Bach’s long walk in the snow.
Johann Sebastian Bach first adventured to Lüneburg at age 15 in search of the musicians who could inspire him. A handful of years later, while employed as a church organist in Arnstadt, he set off on yet another trip. Echoes of his journey would resonate in his music and down through history.
CBC Radio host Tom Allen has a knack for creating chamber musicals, weaving storytelling, history and music together in live performance. He tells this breathtaking and dramatic coming-of-age journey alongside master harpist Lori Gemmell and other talented musicians. Join us to experience a fascinating early chapter in the life of Bach.
“We accompany Bach on his 400-kilometre odyssey to a glittering northern port city with street fights, big business, insight, fulfillment, the father figure he didn’t know he needed and, quite possibly, love.”
Tom Allen
Please join us!
Dawn Bailey, soprano
Dawn Bailey is a Canadian soprano known for her expressive performances across opera, oratorio, art song, and chamber music, especially in early Baroque and 17th and 18th-century repertoire. She earned her Bachelor of Music (Voice Performance) from the University of Toronto, an M.Mus in Early Music from McGill University, and a second Master’s from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Dawn has performed with many of Canada’s leading ensembles including Tafelmusik, Ensemble Caprice, Theatre of Early Music, Les Violons du Roy, Aradia Ensemble, and the Toronto Consort, among others. She is in demand both as a soloist and ensemble singer in Canada and Europe.
Maria Fuller, piano
Maria Fuller is a versatile Canadian musician whose artistry spans piano, conducting, composition, trumpet, vocal coaching, and arranging. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano from McGill University and a Master’s and Artist Diploma in Piano and Operatic Coaching from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. As a pianist and collaborator, Maria has performed widely, recorded with noted artists, and won national awards. As a conductor, she holds residencies and guest engagements in Europe and Canada, and has been recognized in international competitions. Her musical voice is praised for its combination of “subtle control, careful focus and thorough professionalism” and “fiery and dynamic” energy.
Lori Gemmell, harp
Lori Gemmell started as a street-corner busker in Montreal and wound up playing regularly with the Toronto Symphony, The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra and until there wasn’t one anymore, she was Principal Harpist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Lori teaches at Wilfred Laurier University and has a passion for new music. Together with violinist Sheila Jaffé, Lori recently premiered the Partita for Violin and Harp by Caroline Lizotte. The late composer R. Murray Schafer honoured her with the gift of his Four Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Harp, which she also premiered. Lori has made four solo recordings as well as recording with songwriters Kevin Fox and Feist.
Laura Veeze, violin
Laura Veeze is a Dutch violinist and violist whose artistry spans solo, chamber, and orchestral performance across three continents. She has held principal second violin posts with the Netherlands’ Radio Chamber Philharmonic and Symphony Nova Scotia in Canada. In Edmonton she serves in the First Violin section of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, is Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, and holds the role of Principal Second Violin in the Alberta Baroque Ensemble. A dedicated chamber musician, she has collaborated with ensembles such as Ensemble Pavone and the Blue Engine String Quartet, and appears frequently at festivals including Music by the Sea, Musique Royale, New Music Edmonton, and the Acadia Summer Strings Festival. Veeze is also committed to historically-informed performance on baroque violin and viola, and teaches at the Alberta Conservatory, drawing on her studies in Amsterdam and New York under Alexander Kerr and Sylvia Rosenberg.
Tom Allen, storytelling & trombone
Tom Allen was born in Montreal. He worked as a bass trombonist in New York City when there were still places you just didn’t go, toured with the Great Lakes Brass and began working for the CBC on his 30th birthday, a very long time ago. He has written three books, created and hosted countless shows for theatre companies and orchestras, as well as touring a series of chamber musicals that includes The Missing Pages, Being Lost and this one, JS Bach’s Long Walk in the Snow. He can’t imagine there’s anything else you’d like to know, but if there is you could visit his website.
Tom Allen on the collaboration with Lori Gemmell of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra
“…. [Lori] and I have put together an ever-growing number of shows that combine chamber music and storytelling. It is, apparently, just what we do.”
Tom Allan
