Join us for an evening with local pianist and composer Keenan Reimer-Watts, as he explores Rivers. The evening will start with selections from Ann Southam's Rivers (2005) and then Keenan's own set of Rivers, after Southam (2024), followed by a Q&A session with the composer where he will share his artistic approach to sheet music.
The event is pay-what-you-can. Increments from $2 to $30 are available online- please book to reserve a seat- and remaining seats will be available at the door. All are welcome! Keenan is donating his talent as we fundraise for theatre and lighting equipment on the second floor. Additional donations are welcome.
A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, KEENAN REIMER-WATTS has experience playing from the concert halls on the East Coast, to the Cafes in Guelph, Ontario, and has collaborated and performed with musicians from a variety of genres. He has premiered more new music than he can remember, and is happy to give any genre of music a go. Active as a composer, he has created pieces for solo piano, other solo instruments, chamber music, along with piano concertos for orchestra. As sample of one of his arrangements is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os4NHtMlyf4
ANN SOUTHAM was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937 but lived most of her life in Toronto. After completing musical studies at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music in the early 1960's, Ann Southam began a teaching and composing career which included a long and productive association with modern dance. As well as creating music for some of Canada's major modern dance companies and choreographers including The Toronto Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman, Dancemakers, Patricia Beatty, Christopher House and Rachel Browne, she was an instructor in electronic music at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and has also participated in many "composer-in-the-classroom" programs in elementary and high schools. While a great deal of her work was electroacoustic music on tape, in her later years she became increasingly interested in music for acoustic instruments. She composed concert music for a variety of acoustic instruments and instrumental ensembles, working with such artists and ensembles as Eve Egoyan, Christina Petrowska Quilico and Arraymusic. Ann Southam's work was commissioned through the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the CBC, and has been performed in Canada, Europe and the U.S. She is a member of the Canadian Music Centre, the Canadian League of Composers and a founding member of the Association of Canadian Women Composers.
