You say opera
I say jazz
June 17, 2023
3890 Bayridge Ave
West Vancouver
Join mezzo-soprano Taryn Plater, soprano Catherine Thornsley, and jazz pianist Derek Stoll for an inventive program marrying the jazz and classical worlds. Nestled beside the forests of West Vancouver, enjoy this special concert while supporting an up and coming Vancouver opera company. All proceeds will go towards Opera Unbound's 2023–2024 programming.
Taryn Plater
Mezzo-soprano
Taryn Plater is a versatile performer of opera and jazz. Recognized for her “dramatic and vocal thrust” (Opera Canada), the Vancouver-based mezzo-soprano was a 2021–2022 RBC Artist Fellow with the Association for Opera in Canada and a 2021 Vancouver Opera Foundation bursary recipient. An advocate for Ukrainian classical music, Taryn created the digital artist statement First Steps with Against the Grain's 2021 National Opera Intensive, exploring her cultural heritage through Ukrainian art song, and continues to seek out opportunities to share this repertoire. In addition to her performance endeavours, Taryn is a mentor with Opera InReach and founding Artistic Director of Opera Unbound.
Catherine Thornsley
Soprano
Catherine Thornsley was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona and received her Master of Music in opera performance from UBC. She has sung internationally in concerts in the Czech Republic and Germany and was named a 2022 semi-finalist in both the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the Belvedere International Singing competition. In Vancouver, she regularly performs with local independent opera companies and finds joy in leading singing and music appreciation classes for seniors.
Derek Stoll
Piano
Derek Stoll obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Calgary. He has composed works for concert band, jazz band, small ensembles and solo instruments. He studied jazz and brass performance at the Banff Centre. He was commissioned to compose and arrange for the Canadian Brass, trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann, and the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show. He has been teaching jazz piano at Mount Royal University in Calgary since 2001, and has taught jazz theory at the University of Calgary. He has performed solo and with numerous ensembles backing up world-class singers and instrumentalists.