Multi-talented Pianist and Spoken-Word Artist
Breathe Life into Rachmaninoff and his Compositions at Horizon Stage on January 28
An intoxicating music and storytelling
collaboration, Exultation is a stirring and unique exploration of the music of
Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Award-winning classical pianist Sarah Hagen
performs all 13 preludes of Rachmaninoff’s Opus 32 while spoken-word artist and
former Canadian SLAM champion, Brendan
McLeod, intersperses stories and poems. The result is a narrative journey
that focuses on Rachmaninoff’s life -
from his exile from Russia to his battle with depression, tireless work
ethic, and dedication to beauty - in order to examine the estrangements, losses,
and redemptions at the heart of contemporary political and social life.
Centered by Hagen’s intricate and passionate performance and McLeod’s intense
torrent of words, Exultation will build into a powerful crescendo at Horizon
Stage on Tuesday, January 28.
Horizon Stage audiences will remember
Sarah Hagen from her previous performances featuring the works of Robert and
Clara Schumann, and Brahms. She has performed across Canada and in Europe and been heard on radio
broadcasts throughout North America. Her interpretations have been described as “outstandingly inventive", ”played flawlessly”, and “with great sensitivity and heart.”. An avid
collaborator, Sarah has performed with many other musicians and appeared as a
soloist with the Victoria Symphony, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the West
Coast Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Pacific, and the
Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra. As a First Prize Winner in the 2013 Bradshaw &
Buono International Piano Competition, she was awarded the opportunity to
perform solo at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in May 2013. Her debut solo
album, Glass House Dancing, was nominated for Classical Recording of the Year
at the 2009 Western Canadian Music Awards and she released her second album,
Devoted: Music of Robert & Clara Schumann, in 2013.
Brendan McLeod is a Toronto-based writer,
spoken word artist, and singer. He’s the author of
one novel, The Convictions of Leonard McKinley, a one woman play, The Big Oops,
and three monologues — including his award-winning piece on consciousness,
Brain, and Exultation. Brendan is the founder of The Fugitives, a folk group
that tours internationally who have been nominated for multiple Canadian Folk
Music and Western Canadian Music Awards. Brendan was the 2012 Poet of Honour at
the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and the 2015 Poet of Honour at the
Victoria Spoken Word Festival. He is an
active youth arts educator who has served as a writer in residence at dozens of
secondary schools across Canada, the US, and Europe, and taught a spoken word
class at Langara College for two years. Brendan has an MA in Philosophy from
the University of Waterloo.
Allow yourself to be swept away by Sarah
Hagen and Brendan McLeod’s intensity and dramatic flair. Enjoy Exaltation, a
classical music and poetry pairing like you have never experienced before, at
Horizon Stage on Tuesday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are just $35 for
adults and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the City
Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995 or
1-888-655-9090, and online through Ticketpro.ca.
“Hagen is one of the most expressive piano players that I have ever
seen perform…”
- The Guardian (Charlottetown)
“McLeod is a smart, his rapid fire delivery so clean and confident,
his wit so casual, copious, and reassuring.”
- The Georgia Straight
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