Prairie Punk: Nicole Lizée’s works set for Homecoming stage

Brandon University will celebrate Homecoming with an electrifying concert that bridges past and present, tradition and experiment, as the Brandon Chamber Players present Prairie Punk: Nicole Lizée in the newly renovated Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

The concert, which takes place on Friday, Sept. 12, is a collaboration between the Brandon Chamber Players, Brandon University Homecoming, and the BU School of Music. It features the innovative works of celebrated Canadian composer Nicole Lizée, performed by a large ensemble of 13 musicians, including current and former Brandon University faculty members Sarah Hall (voice), Eric Platz (percussion), Leanne Zacharias (cello), Ben Reimer (percussion) Crystal White (bass), and Everett Hopfner (piano), as well as Sean Irvine (woodwinds), a BU alumnus and frequent collaborator.

Cellist Leanne Zacharias, Associate Professor of Music at Brandon University, played a key role in shaping the program. Recently invited to join the artistic directorate of Groundswell, Winnipeg’s premier new music organization, Zacharias was part of the team that first developed this program, which will also be performed in Winnipeg on September 14.

A centrepiece of the program is Karappo Okesutura Vol.3, a work commissioned by the Australian Art Orchestra and premiered in Toronto in 2020 with Zacharias as one of the original performers. The title translates from Japanese to “Karaoke Orchestra,” and the piece unfolds like a live band accompanying a karaoke machine that is slowly breaking down. Lizée weaves 1980’s and 90’s Canadian and Australian pop music into the score, but as the “machine” glitches and falters, familiar sounds warp, fragment, and collapse. The result is, as Zacharias describes it, “a wild ride of deteriorating karaoke tracks” both playful and haunting, celebrating nostalgia while dismantling it in real time. Zacharias continued that, “after the premiere in Toronto, I knew this piece needed to be brought to Manitoba audiences. This work highlights both Canadian and Australian pop icons and the tradition of karaoke within in a fiercely demanding, technically complex new music context.”

The program also includes Not Seeing Is a Flower, a work commissioned by Dr. Zacharias for cello and amplified ensemble whose title references a Japanese proverb about the power of imagination over direct experience. Incorporating video and electronics as well, the work blends textures of voice, instruments, and electronics to evoke what cannot be seen but deeply felt. This work was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and by the Brandon University Research Committee (BURC), underscoring the essential role that research and creative funding plays in fostering new music.

“I knew this piece needed to be brought to Manitoba audiences.”

Leanne Zacharias, cellist

Dr. Bernadette Ardelli, Vice-President (Research & Graduate Studies) at Brandon University, stated, “We are proud to see Brandon University research support, through BURC, play a role in bringing this ambitious program to life. This performance highlights the way research and creativity are intertwined, and how our campus supports artistic innovation at the highest level.”

In addition to celebrating BU’s musical community, Prairie Punk marks the first concert in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall since significant technological upgrades and renovations were completed earlier this year. The revitalized venue will enhance the audience experience and provide new opportunities for performers.

Prairie Punk: Nicole Lizée will be a highlight of Brandon University’s 2025 Homecoming weekend, offering a powerful reminder of the role BU’s School of Music plays as both a local and national leader in performance, creativity, and research.

For tickets and more information, visit: Brandon Chamber Players

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