A popular CBC music broadcaster, Howard Dyck is also Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kitchener Waterloo Philharmonic Choir and Chamber Singers as well as the Consort Caritatis Choir and Orchestra. He will discuss the creation of the Consort Caritatis, a uniquely Canadian musical group united around humanitarian ideals. He will play samples from the two CDs that the Consort Caritatis has produced for charity: an all-Canadian production of Handel's Messiah (released in 1995 by SONY Classical) and the more recent recording of Verdi's Messa da Requiem featuring Consort Caritatis and Virtuosi di Praga under his own direction. The proceeds of the Messiah CD went to the Mennonite Central Committee and Habitat for Humanity; those of the Requiem CD went to help victims of land mines throughout the world. Dyck will discuss how the arts speak to us, using stories from performance situations that show the communicative power of music.
Dr. Howard Dyck
Howard Dyck is well-known across Canada as the Programme Host of "Choral Concert" and "Saturday Afternoon at the Opera" on CBC Radio Two. Besides the two works mentioned, he has released a 1985 recording of the Missa Brevis in G Minor (Joh. Seb. Bach) with London Pro Musica and the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra, which was named "Best Choral Recording of the Year" by Music Magazine. Maestro Dyck is the 1990 winner of the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Award (Music) and the recipient of the 1996 Ontario Choral Federation Distinguished Service Award. He is listed in Canadian Who's Who (University of Toronto Press) and was recently selected to be included in the 2000 edition of the International Who's Who in Music. He has been awarded honorary doctor of laws (LL.D) degrees by both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.