Deantha Edmunds discusses making Connections and launching the 2023 Summer Music in the Garden concert series

Soprano Deantha Edmunds, Canada’s first Inuk professional classical singer, is set to captivate audiences at the highly anticipated launch of Toronto’s Summer Music in the Garden (SMIG) concert series on June 21 at 7:00 pm ET at Harbourfront Centre. Her concert will feature selections from her most recent album, Connections with lyrics and songs written by Edmunds and then arranged for string quartet accompaniment. Songs are in English with some Inuktitut and some spoken word.

In addition to being an award-winning performer who has given solo and internationally broadcast performances, she regularly mentors young singers in one-on-one music lessons and has starred in one-woman shows about the lives and legacy of the Beothuk in Newfoundland, and has contributed to large choral gatherings. As both an artist and a teacher, she is committed to bringing her music and skill to developing deeper understandings and inviting reciprocal collaboration amongst Indigenous peoples and settlers.

From an early age, a love for music was nurtured in Edmunds: “My childhood was filled with music. My father played guitar and had a beautiful voice; my maternal grandmother sang all day long; and my mother sang me and my siblings to sleep at night. We listened to records of all kinds, from ABBA to opera!” It was natural that, as they grew, Edmunds and her siblings embarked on musical journeys by taking piano lessons, participating in choirs and school productions, and playing various instruments in the school concert bands.

Edmunds attributes her specific passion for classical music to the supportive music teachers she experienced in her formative years and adolescence. They interested her not just in classical composers and their music, but also in singing and performing in different languages. Singing became a means for Edmunds to express her truest self, and she knew very early that her path would include classical singing, teaching music, storytelling, writing, and motherhood. And she is quick to offer, “I am grateful every day to be all of those things and to do the work that I do!”

Her contemporary Indigenous classical concert on June 21 will mark both Indigenous Peoples Day and her SMIG debut. The SMIG concert series showcases both emerging and established artists in the scenic setting of the Toronto Music Garden, and has become known for its celebration of diverse musical styles. Now in its 22nd year, this year’s season presents an array of musical disciplines in 18 free concerts taking place on most Thursdays and Sundays from June 21 to August 27, 2023. The series is curated by acclaimed Toronto-based pianist, conductor and teacher Gregory Oh and Associate Curator and Canadian/Indigenous (Métis) Mezzo-Soprano Rebecca Cuddy. This season, audiences will enjoy a mix ranging from high-energy dance to contemplative classical – all set in this idyllic, lakeside venue. And as part of SMIG, audiences can also experience free guided tours of the Toronto Music Garden, hosted by Toronto Botanical Garden volunteers on most Wednesdays at 11:00 am and Thursdays at 5:30 pm until September 27, 2023.

Ahead of her June 21 concert, the warm and multi-skilled Edmunds chatted with SesayArts Magazine about what audiences will hear at her upcoming concert, the personal nature of the songs on her album Connections, and the roots of her work as an artist.

Sesayarts: What will be on the program on June 21, and what are you most excited for the audience to experience, especially since you will be performing on Indigenous Peoples Day?

DE: I look forward to singing some original selections from my award-winning album Connections, some of my favourite sacred music in Inuktitut from Nunatsiavut, the ancestral homeland of Labrador Inuit, and a classical arrangement of Nunatsiavut’s anthem Sons of Labrador/Labradorimiut. These songs reflect my love for my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the two worlds I reconcile through my artistry. They marry my identity as an Inuk with my training and passion for classical music. I can’t wait to share with the audience about my inspirations, as well as my hopes.

Sesayarts: Tell us a little about your new album Connections. What was the developmental journey like, and which tracks are especially meaningful to you? 

DE: I’m very proud of Connections because it is a deeply personal collection of songs. I hope it gives listeners a glimpse into who I am and how I move through life, and who and what I carry with me. In creating these pieces, I drew inspiration from my own life experiences, Inuit song and storytelling practices, and classical music traditions. 

My goal was to produce an album of classically-oriented, Indigenously-grounded, original music. I feel that Legacy, Avani, and Life’s Song are the most meaningful tracks, because they have to do with causes and issues that are of great importance to me: spreading awareness about MMIWG2S+ and uplifting the voices of our lost and stolen sisters, celebrating Indigenous joy, and braiding together the gifts our ancestors gave us with what makes us who we are today, and what we will leave behind when we move on to the next world.

Sesayarts: What question didn’t I ask you that you wish I had (and what is the answer)?

DE: What is at the root of all your work as an artist?

I believe that this world needs a lot more love, and it is up to each one of us to give more of it, to ourselves, to one another, and to the planet. We need an outpouring of love in order to heal, to move forward together in Truth and Reconciliation, in order to create a more peaceful and sustainable world in which we connect with the light that we all shine on each other.

The Summer Music in the Garden concert series runs from June 21 to August 27, 2023. To view the full program line-up and Toronto Music Garden tour schedule, visit HarbourfrontCentre.com.

© Arpita Ghosal, Sesayarts Magazine, 2023