An unprecedented lineup of stellar Canadian singers will take part in the Neil Crory Tribute Concert, an extraordinary celebration of music and the human voice in honour of the legendary CBC Music producer, mentor, impresario, colleague, and friend who died on January 10 at the age of 68. Prominent singers whose careers Crory nurtured, including Phillip Addis, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Isaiah Bell, Benjamin Butterfield, Tracy Dahl, Nathalie Paulin, Brett Polegato, Jean Stilwell, Krisztina Szabó, Daniel Taylor, Erin Wall, and Monica Whicher, will perform selections from the music most cherished by Crory at 7 PM on Friday, October 11 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. The Neil Crory Tribute Concert includes the participation of CBC Radio-Canada personalities Ben Heppner, Eric Friesen, and Françoise Davoine and will be recorded by CBC Radio Music for future broadcast. Tickets and information are available at tafelmusik.org/crory.
All proceeds from the tribute concert will be directed to The Neil F. Crory Endowment Fund, administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation to carry on his legacy by supporting young singers enrolled in the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy - a fitting tribute for a man whose passion and devotion launched the careers of many internationally renowned singers. Complete artist and program details will be announced in late August.
"Neil was a light: the quiet and warm beam that guided others to be better versions of themselves. I always consulted Neil about roles, projects, and repertoire because I trusted his instinct 100% and felt he really knew my developing voice," said soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. "The creative spark that he lit in me years ago continues to propagate and live on, just like his legacy. It is my great honour to participate in this tribute concert in celebration of Neil's irreplaceable spirit."
An extraordinary presence in Canada's music and broadcast worlds, Neil Crory is best known for his remarkable career as a Senior Producer for CBC Music during an era when the Corporation regularly recorded and broadcast Canada's classical musicians and singers. Among Crory's most treasured accomplishments are a score of CDs that garnered eight JUNO awards, an American Grammy Award nomination, and an East Coast Music Award. Other highlights include the 1997 CBC Schubertiade, the famous New Year's Eve Gala at Roy Thomson Hall welcoming the 21st century with twelve of Canada's greatest opera singers, several Glenn Gould Prize celebrations honouring, among others,
Yo-Yo Ma, Oscar Peterson, André Previn and
Pierre Boulez; gala concerts from Rideau Hall; and national broadcasts of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, and Opera Atelier. His proudest achievement was the
Maureen Forrester Memorial Tribute at Stratford Summer Music in 2010. Crory also made innumerable contributions to the pages of Opera Canada and other publications.
"Even before I created Stratford Summer Music in 2001, Neil Crory was encouraging me to start a music festival, and for all my 18 years there he was at my side, sharing his amazing knowledge, his vast musical contacts and his unfailing encouragement. One program that Neil particularly supported was the festival's Vocal Academy to train emerging Canadian classical singers; that's why he suggested a Fund that has appropriately come to bear his name and build on his goals of emphasizing and providing significant instruction for singers and accompanists in classical repertoire," said
John Miller, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Stratford Summer Music.
"For many years, I was lucky enough to work closely with Neil Crory. He was a brilliant producer," said Mark Steinmetz, former director of music at CBC. "Any concert or recording project he produced was marked with his own distinct stamp. Each detail was acutely fashioned, carefully tweaked and, finally, impeccable. Neil's love and knowledge of music was unsurpassed. His dedication to Canadian musicians was exceptional. His passion for radio and public broadcasting ran deep. His creativity was irrepressible and inspiring. In short, Neil Crory was an artist."
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