Emma Verdonk is excited to have one of her musical compositions performed by the Arcady Ensemble next month.
The 23-year-old Brant County resident graduated last April from the composition master’s program at the University of Western Ontario.
“I saw a poster for Arcady in 2021,” she recalled. “I hadn’t been to any concerts in a long time because of COVID and said, ‘We have to go see this live music.’”
She met Arcady’s artistic director Ron Beckett who encouraged her to apply for the RBC Emerging Artist program.
“I guess he thought I’d be a good fit for it. I was working on my master’s then, so it was a perfect opportunity for me.”
With funding from RBC, Arcady takes on a handful of emerging artists – young musicians in university or who have just graduated but have yet to become professional musicians – for a year-long program that helps young artists who want to build a career in music.
“Arcady helps you to make the connections and to get experience so if you apply for something big like the Canadian Opera Company, you have the experience, repertoire and recordings,” Verdonk explained.
“It’s such a blessing to be part of a music ensemble in my hometown. I get to see how (they) work behind the scenes, and how you survive in the real world as a musician.”
Verdonk began taking piano lessons at the age of five, as her mother is a piano teacher. Voice lessons came next around the age of seven, with her older brother, and at ten years of age she started learning violin.
She was a regular competitor in the annual Brant Music Festival.
“Before I could even write music, I would just sing to myself, sing in the shower, making up my own words,” she shared. “Once I learned to notate music that was very exciting. I made up my own melodies and put them with my own lyrics.”
When thinking about university and going through the different music options, she discovered composition was an option.
“It’s almost hard for me to imagine not wanting to create and write music.”
Verdonk said composers often have to have their fingers in multiple pots because it’s difficult to do just one thing and support yourself.
“You can get commissioned by orchestras, get into commercial advertising, or the film industry,” she noted. “A lot of people are putting their music on Spotify because digital listening is such a big thing now. It’s hard to support yourself through that, and you have to dedicate a lot of time to social media.”
Verdonk has released an album called Reflections on Spotify, under the performing name Emma Theresa.
“At this point in my career, I want those performances because it’s more valuable to get out there and have your voice heard.”
Her composition I Wander, I Wonder will be performed by the Arcady ensemble at Voices of Summer. The piece is written for soprano, mezzo-soprano and a string quartet and was inspired by a story she heard three years ago about repressed memories of childhood trauma.
The concert will also feature three winning pieces from the 2021 RBC Emerging Artist Composer Competition, Ron Beckett’s The Creature’s Call and excerpts from his opera John, performed by the ensemble’s musicians and vocal soloists.
Tickets – which include a same-day pass to the botanical gardens and fountain shows at Whistling Gardens – can be purchased online at arcady.ca/buy-tickets/voices-of-summer or by calling 519-428-3185.