Drake Underground

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Soundstreams is one of the world’s leading contemporary music companies, and the largest global presenter of new Canadian music. Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney and Executive Director Menon Dwarka are committed to showcasing the work of living Canadian and international composers with a focus on innovative thematic and experiential programming. Soundstreams also serves a broad community of music lovers through free outreach and education programs including Encounters, the Emerging Composer Workshop, SoundWave, and SoundMakers. Encounters is a free monthly discovery series featuring performances, discussions, and audience participation; the Emerging Composer Workshop helps talented contemporary composers from around the world launch their careers; SoundWave provides accessible tickets to young adults; and SoundMakers provides interactive learning experiences online and in the classroom. Founded in 1982 by oboist Lawrence Cherney as Chamber Concerts Canada, Soundstreams has presented a variety of series over its 36-year history, including Musical Mondays at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, and Encounters at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio. Soundstreams commissions have added more than 150 works to the musical repertoire worldwide, reflecting a diverse variety of genres and cultural traditions. World premieres have included works by composers R. Murray Schafer, John Tavener, Steve Reich, Christos Hatzis, Harry Somers, Nicole Lizée, James MacMillan, James Rolfe, Melissa Hui, and Andrew Staniland, to name a few. Projects have included festivals and conferences such as the Northern Encounters festival, University Voices, and Cool Drummings percussion festival and conference, as well as new productions such as Thomson Highway and Melissa Hui’s Cree opera Pimooteewin: The Journey (which toured Northern Ontario in 2009 and 2010), R. Murray Schafer’s Dora Award-winning site-specific opera The Children’s Crusade (produced in association with the Luminato Festival), and Brian Current’s Dora-nominated opera Airline Icarus. Soundstreams is a three-time JUNO nominee and recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts.