What's On Past Events: 2020 / 2021

A full-length music video that reimagines Handel’s classic for today’s world.

The music escapes the confines of in-person venues and transforms into a full-length music video, complete with a mix of on-location outdoor filming in the public spaces of Toronto, studio recordings, and a unique cinematic approach. Featuring a theatrically exciting cast, and a feast of musical styles ranging from jazz to soul/hip-hop, Electric Messiah brings the past to life in a fresh way that reflects the city we live in.

Among other reimaginings of Handel’s classic music from the performers themselves, Electric Messiah includes a new work by Ian Cusson, O Death, O Grave.

Rob Kempson, stage director
Adam Scime, music director/electronics
Lindsay McIntyre, soprano
Teiya Kasahara, treble
Jonathan MacArthur, tenor
Andrew Adridge, bass
SlowPitchSound, turntables
Joel Schwartz, guitar
Wesley Shen, harpsichord
Joel Visentin, electric organ/keyboard
Lybido, dancer
And a new work by Ian Cusson, O Death, O Grave

Blake Hannahson, cinematographer
Pouya Hamidi, audio engineer 

Ian Cusson‘s new work is commissioned with the generous support of:

The work is called ‘O Death, O Grave’ and I set two lines of text: ‘Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?’ The music is wholly new and I approached the writing as I do pretty much everything, thinking of this as a mini-drama. Both singers alternate these phrases through varying emotional lenses (rage, fear, etc.) – composer Ian Cusson