We're proud to honour National Indigenous Peoples Day with an in-depth conversation with Métis composer Ian Cusson and Vancouver Opera's Ashley Daniel Foot.

In a wide ranging conversation, Ian talks about the ways his Metis and French Canadian descent intersect with his music, the meanings of story, and the power of music to bring about societal change.  We also play an excerpt from his opera, Fantasma (more details here) and a selection from his Where there's a Wall song cycle. 

Ian Cusson is a composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian descent, his work explores Canadian Indigenous experience including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.

You can find out more about Ian here.

podcast produced, hosted, and edited by Ashley Daniel Foot 

MUSIC CREDITS 

Music from Fantasma courtesy of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity 

"Where there's a wall"

Song-cycle for voice and piano
Text by Joy Kogawa

Krisztina Szabó, voice
Rachael Kerr, piano

Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre, Toronto on November 14, 2019 by John Gray.