Laurier partners with Kitchener Public Library to offer a series of virtual concerts

Nov. 4, 2020
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – In partnership with Kitchener Public Library, Wilfrid Laurier University will be offering a series of virtual concerts featuring talented students from the Faculty of Music. The Music in the Lounge series will be held in the library’s Reading Lounge and broadcast through Facebook Live.

In the first concert of the series, students from the Bachelor of Music and Chamber Music Diploma programs will perform on violin, cello and harp. Their program includes pieces by Domenico Scarlatti, Jan Ladislav Dussek, Claude Debussy, Maximilian Stadler, Maurice Ravel and Eugène Ysaÿe. The concert will be held Nov. 9 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Anyone may watch online for free. No registration is necessary.

The second concert in the series will be held on Dec. 7 and will feature the Con Moto Quartet, comprised of students Emma Dunbar (violin), Sierra Olsthoorn (violin), Logan Imans (viola) and Shannon Lai (cello).

“We are delighted to be able to offer these first two virtual concerts in November and December, with more to follow in the winter months,” said Kimberly Barber, associate dean external and professor in the Faculty of Music. “This gives our Laurier music students a much-needed opportunity to share their music with a wider public — one of the things artists all over the world have been missing so acutely in the past seven to eight months.”

The Music in the Lounge concert series was launched last year with in-person concerts. This year, the partnership with Kitchener Public Library has provided the faculty with a new way to share students’ talents with the community, while respecting physical-distancing requirements.

“I play music to share experiences with others,” said Veda Hingert-McDonald, a fourth-year music student who will be playing the violin in the November concert. “Even though we aren't in person, I know I'll feel that connection, knowing that people are watching from home. Both pieces we’re playing are pieces I love, and I can't wait to share them and hopefully introduce them to someone who might not have heard them before.”