Brad Cherwin on The Happenstancers’ upcoming “portrait concert,” Being Pascal Dusapin

On a crisp, sunny March morning, I had the opportunity to sit down with clarinetist and visual artist Brad Cherwin to discuss his chamber ensemble The Happenstancers, who first came together in 2017.

This trailblazing group describe themselves as “a shared vision for the future of chamber music and the form of the concert”. Based in Toronto, they have made a name for themselves with their bent for the avant-garde and their eclectic approach to music, which blends the new with the old, and explores innovative forms of expression within the classical music genre. The Happenstancers were recipients of the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance of an Ensemble in an Opera, and are more broadly recognized for chamber music innovation, which manifests in concerts with a creative and eccentric edge. These performances not only showcase classical music but also incorporate elements of staging, lighting — and even electronic music — making the concerts a multi-sensory experience for all ages.

Since it was pure happenstance that brought Cherwin and me together (and given my fascination with names), the first question I felt compelled to ask concerned the ensemble’s catchy name. In his recollection, the name was coined by pianist Nahre Sol, one of the first members of The Happenstancers. Sol’s rationale was simple: because the group’s concert pieces are often connected “as if by happenstance”. “I think that was her thinking”, he elaborates. “Then some people in the audience just started referring to the group as the Happenstancers. And that just stuck. We considered having different names at different points in time, but the name kind of stuck.” And it serves the group well: “It doesn’t sound super formal, and it gives the idea of things being a little bit unexpected or atypical. It’s good to have a little bit of a differentiator if it happens naturally!”

The evocative name is a salute to the serendipitous and the spontaneous, which underpin the group’s innovative and experimental approach to music. Their projects blend the traditional, the contemporary and the theatrical – and no two concerts are ever the same. On April 6, the Happenstancers will host Being Pascal Dusapin, performed by Danika Lorén, soprano; Hillary Jean Young, soprano; Peter Eom, cello; Cherwin himself on clarinet; and Louis Pino, percussion. Cherwin describes it as a “portrait concert” of a selection of solos, duos and trios for sopranos, cello, and clarinet, offering a unique exploration of the French composer’s chamber pieces. 

Despite Dusapin’s global acclaim, his compositions are rarely performed in North America, making this event a Canadian debut for many of his pieces. Born in Nancy, France, Dusapin transitioned from the University of Paris to studying music under Iannis Xenakis and later, Franco Donatoni. Dusapin’s music is marked by its unique microtonality and occasional jazz influences, though he distances his compositions from keyboards and electronic music, focusing instead on a distinctive musical voice.

With Being Pascal Dusapin, Cherwin “wanted to take the idea of a portrait concert and see if we can make it something a little bit more conceptual, which is generally how I approach things. So I thought, How can we make this almost literal?” He decided that the concert should be in the form of a palindrome – a word that reads the same backwards and forwards. Being Pascal Dusapin is a palindromic portrait of Dusapin that provides attendees a forward and backward journey through his creative mind, in the form of his most intimate and powerful musical expressions: “It’s a series of pieces, and the instrumentation and form of each piece progresses in one direction. Then at intermission, it reverses. We have those same types of ensembles in reverse. The idea is that it evokes entry, and then exit out of, the composer’s psyche.” 

The program will showcase Dusapin’s compositions from his 35-year career, highlighting both his best-known works and previously unreleased works for solo cello. And the concert begins and ends with short homages written in dedication to him by Samy Moussa, a promising Canadian composer, and Kaija Saariaho, the renowned Finnish composer who died last year. Cherwin describes this as “starting and ending the concert with external perspectives on this composer, and moving from the external to the internal, and then back to the external — kind of a literal ‘in one ear and out the other’ idea”. 

Because there is more set material in Being Pascal Dusapin, it is tied to specific music more than other Happenstancers concerts. But every performer in Being Pascal Dusapin will integrate staging components into their presentation – highlighted by expressive lighting designed by Billy Wong to enhance the musical experience. And Cherwin is excited at this opportunity  to show people that the chamber music idiom can include theatrical thinking and ideas about installation art: “So often in classical music, I think people really feel limited by the genre. I like to throw that out the window. There’s not really any limit to what we can or should want to do . . .. Every concert is kind of an experiment. And with experiments, the result is almost de-emphasized a little bit, because it’s about exploring ideas and seeing what is expressed.” 

All too soon, our conversation nears its end. When I ask Cherwin for final thoughts he might like to share with our readers, he stresses that every Happenstancers concert is free of charge to students — regardless of their age — and that student status need not be validated with identification. Increasing access is a paramount concern of the group  for two reasons. First, affordability is a major challenge for young audience members wanting to attend live concerts. Second, more people means a fuller performance space, and “if we can get a full house, that gives the performer so much energy. And it makes them feel valued. That’s a really important thing for The Happenstancers as an organization to give to these artists.”

Whether you’re new to the Happenstancers or already familiar with their special brand of eclectic innovation, Being Pascal Dusapin is your opportunity to listen, learn and live a little. And Cherwin hopes you’ll take the leap – for if you do, you will land somewhere unexpected and interesting: “There’s such a built-in understanding of what classical music is in our culture. I think it’s important and fun to show people that some of those things are not real, or don’t have to be. Like wearing a costume, it can be weird, or it can be very current. It can be different every single time, and play with people’s expectations. … It says a lot if you can show people that things can really be different, and people can be comfortable expressing themselves in new and unusual ways.”

Being Pascal Dusapin will be presented on Saturday, April 6, 2024, 7:30 PM – 9:30 ET at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1691 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON. Reserve tickets here. 

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2024