Soundstreams is a pioneering arts organization committed to showcasing Canada’s most innovative composers and sharing their work with audiences worldwide. The organization commissions and premieres new works that explore contemporary themes and spark cultural conversations through the power of music. Through concerts, operas, and cultural collaborations, the organization continues to redefine what contemporary Canadian music can be.
We spoke with Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director of Soundstreams, to discuss how the organization is using music to tell Canadian stories and spark conversations that resonate far beyond the stage.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Soundstreams was founded as a charitable organization with the goal of giving greater voice to a plethora of gifted Canadian composers, many of whom have fundamentally transformed the ways in which we hear our world. Soundstreams commissions and premieres new works from this incredible pool of talent, interpreted by some of the world’s greatest Canadian and international performers. Their works for the concert hall and the music theatre/opera stage explore themes and stories that resonate deeply with our time and place. It is our hope that these themes and stories will stimulate and provoke cultural conversations that can inspire new perspectives and approaches to the world in which we live.
What problem does it aim to solve?
We live in an increasingly unstable world, one in which the line between fact and fiction is often deliberately obscured. The arts, and music in particular, offer us a different kind of truth, one that can speak to the innermost needs of our emotional life. Music can bring us solace and comfort; it can also give voice to our greatest fears and apprehensions. While great music cannot by itself save the world, it can cause us to reflect in a very different way upon the events and issues that are shaping our world, and that, in turn, opens the door to change.
When did you start?
I founded Soundstreams in 1982.
What made you want to get involved?
I’ve had the good fortune to have enjoyed a dual career as oboist and as artistic director. My first professional job as an oboist was as an extra in the CBC Symphony at the age of 19 years under the baton of Igor Stravinsky, a giant who changed the very direction of music. Fast forward to 1982, and there was no festival in Canada marking Stravinsky’s Centenary, a serious oversight given his close connection to Toronto and the CBC Symphony. A few friends and I passed the hat – somehow we found what was then an enormous amount of money – $50,000, with which we staged a three-concert festival of the music of Stravinsky. At the same time, it occurred to us that if a figure like Stravinsky wasn’t getting his due, what about other incredibly talented composers in this country and elsewhere that deserved a platform? Soundstreams was born as the answer to that call.
What was the situation like when you started?
In more recent years, Canadian creators in disciplines like literature and film have achieved a deservedly high profile in this country and internationally. Canadian composers of concert music and music theatre/opera, while equally deserving of the same recognition, have not fared as well. Soundstreams has spent 43 seasons raising the profile of Canadian composers both at home and abroad through a number of strategies that include touring and recording.
How has it changed since?
While the trade war initiated by the current U.S. administration has had and will continue to have adverse effects on the Canadian economy in the short-medium term, it has forced us to ponder the meaning and importance of Canadian identity. Soundstreams is committed to telling Canadian stories through music and stimulating cultural conversations that resonate with the diverse communities that make up this great country. In this moment, there is an unprecedented interest in telling and hearing Canadian stories – it’s a huge potential upside for the arts.
What more needs to be done?
We continue to live in challenging times. The trade war has negatively affected our economy, and at the same time, we have decided we must have a much stronger military to protect our sovereignty. In the face of these initiatives, it will be important for the arts and those who value the arts to continue to make the argument that sovereignty has as much to do with culture as it has to do with tanks. We will need both.
How can our readers help?
Readers need have only a healthy sense of adventure to explore Canadian music, which comes in so many shapes, sizes and colours. Discovering new sounds can be such a rewarding voyage of discovery, giving us amazing opportunities to hear the world anew. And it doesn’t have to cost anything: our free TD Encounters concert series is a great place to start. In fact, going to live performance of any kind is the most important thing readers can do. Since the pandemic, “working from home” has meant that “staying home” has become our default position. There is no substitute for the collective experience in a theatre of an audience sharing joy and sadness, and everything in between. Come to the theatre, and you’ll have the experience of a lifetime, we promise!
Do you have any events coming up?
Frees Soundstreams TD Encounters concerts run at Hugh’s Room on November 12, January 19 and February 9.
The season’s first main stage concert, Mass for the Endangered, took place on November 22 at Trinity St. Paul’s. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir presents a tribute to Arvo Pärt on February 14 at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Visit Soundstreams.ca to see the full season.
Where can we follow you?
Instagram | Facebook | Website
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
We’ve partnered with FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada for two concerts in the 25/26 season. FLAP is a leading Canadian charity and recognized authority on bird-building collisions. Their work is dedicated to preserving bird ecosystems and protecting birdsong by keeping birds safe from deadly collisions in our built environment.
