The Arcady Ensemble is a Canadian musical ensemble based in

Brantford, Ontario Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

founded in 1998 by composer and artistic director Ronald Beckett. The organization serves as an arts training organization that combines professional singers and instrumentalists from

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

with emerging artists and youth in rehearsal and performance. Its repertoire consists primarily of contemporary Canadian compositions by Ronald Beckett and emerging composers. It holds performances entitled ''There’s a Song in the Air'' and ''Voices of Summer'' in Brantford each year. The ensemble evolved from a group that performed historically informed concerts of

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

. Arcady Ensemble still gives at least two early music performances annually, including

Handel's Messiah ''Messiah'' (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 ...

at Lighthouse Festival Theatre in

Port Dover, Ontario Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is the site of the recurring Friday the 13th motorcycle rally. Prior to the War of 1812, this community w ...

. The organization's roster includes some 150 Canadian musicians in total.

Training Programs

The Emerging Artist Program provides early professional experience and mentorship for singers, instrumentalists, composers, conductors, poets, and dancers at the beginning stages of their professional careers. Five to seven emerging artists are selected each season from a list of applicants. These performers are showcased as soloists in Arcady Ensemble performances throughout the year, receive artistic and career mentorship by professional musicians, and premiere new music written especially for them by Ronald Beckett. The Arcady Youth Singers comprises young choristers ranging in age from 8 to 18, mostly from Brantford and

Brant County The County of Brant (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 39,474) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Although it retains t ...

. The Emerging Artist Composer Competition is an annual international competition for musicians who self identify as emerging composers. The application deadline is January 30 each year and the winners are announced the following month. Winning compositions in both International and Canadian categories are premiered by Arcady Ensemble each June.

Director

Ronald Beckett is the founder, Artistic Director, and Composer-in-Residence of the Arcady Ensemble. His compositions have been performed throughout Ontario, including fully staged performances of his opera trilogy: Ruth, John, and I Am... . Ronald Beckett's compositions include works for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, orchestra and chorus,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, pieces for organ and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and some two hundred songs for soloists and youth chorus. His works are featured in Arcady Ensemble's recorded albums, music publications, and performances throughout each season. Ronald Beckett is a graduate of

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in History and Theory, holds a Master of Music in Composition from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

, and is an Associate of the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...

in Piano Performance. He is a member of

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

, the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, and the

Canadian League of Composers The Canadian League of Composers is an organization formed in 1951 of Canadian composers primarily interested in raising awareness and acceptance of Canadian music. Its activities are overseen and directed by an executive, and by a National Council ...

Recordings

Arcady Ensemble has recorded five albums including three under the Crescendo label: A Baroque Messiah (1999), Welcome Yule! (2001), and the opera Ruth (2007); one album under Phoenix Records: A Beckett Miscellany (2002); and a holiday album for Ruby Productions: Peace on Earth (2000).

Music Publications

Arcady Ensemble has produced twelve music publications of music by Ronald Beckett: Volume 1: Songs and Arias (2008), Volume 2: Works for Organ (2008), Volume 3: Symphony No. 2 (2016), Volume 4: Songs and Song Cycles for High Voice (2020), Volume 5: These are Thy Glorious Works (2018), Volume 6: Woodwind Quintet (1986), Volume 7: An Offering of Songs (2011), Volume 8: Music for Strings and Voice, Volume 9: Christmas Music for Strings and Voice, Volume 10: Music for Strings and Voice Part II, Volume 11: Songs for all voices, Volume 12: Ruth.

References

{{reflist

External links

* www.arcady.ca * www.ronaldbeckettmusic.com

Arcady Ensemble

Music organizations based in Canada Music companies of Canada