Music at Noon tickles the ivory

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on October 12, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The University of Lethbridge Music at Noon program hosted soprano Laura Hynes and pianist Susanne Ruberg-Gordon Tuesday at the University Recital Hall.

Before the start of their performance, Hynes spoke to the audience about how excited she was to perform before a live audience again after two years.

Hynes and Ruberg-Gordon performed a recital featuring Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan by Grammy Award-winning composer John Corigliano.

Prior to performing Hynes told the audience the piece was written for soprano Sylvia McNair in 2000, and according to Corigliano, it was composed without prior knowledge of, or reference to, Bob Dylan’s songs.

Hynes told the audience she had the privilege to listen to the piece for the first time in 2001 and purchased it shortly after, which ended up sitting on her piano for the following 18 years until she got together with Juno-nominated Land’s End Ensemble in Calgary, to work on it.

She also shared with the audience that Corigliano had granted her and the Land’s End Ensemble exclusive rights in North America to record this piece, and recording will begin later this month.

Hynes is a Fulbright scholar in Paris, who has performed repertoire ranging from baroque opera with Les Arts Florissants to “classical cabaret” on French television and radio.

She has sung throughout Europe and North America, in venues including New York’s Alice Tully Hall, the Barbican in London, and the Châtelet in Paris, among others. Hynes is currently an Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Calgary, pursuing research at the intersection of music, social justice, and theatre.

Ruberg-Gordon is a Swedish-born and highly regarded chamber-musician and collaborative pianist. She is recognized for her artistry, nuance, interpretation and curiosity and has performed in Canada, the U.S., China and UAE with artists such as Dame Evelyn Glennie, Andras Diaz, Ron Leonard, James Campbell, Desmond Hoebig, John Kimora Parker, Josh Jones, Ian Swensen, Arnold Choi, Nikki Chooi and Sydney Lee.

Ruberg-Gordon is the pianist and core member of the Juno-nominated Land’s End Ensemble in Calgary, a passionate educator on faculty at the Mount Royal University Conservatory Academy and APP Programs, and since 2001 she has been a Collaborative Artist for the prestigious and acclaimed Morningside Music Bridge program in Canada, China, Poland and the U.S.

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