Toronto’s Upper Canada Choristers and their accomplished Latin ensemble Cantemos celebrate the diversity of music from Latin America in a concert titled Inti Ukana: A Latin American Tapestry. Originally scheduled for May as a public performance, it will now be live-streamed, with some pre-recorded elements this Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm EDT.

Co-founder/conductor Laurie Evan Fraser directs the 45-member mixed choir in music new and old, traditional Indigenous and more widely known contemporary, with pianist Hye Won Cecilia Lee.  Joining them are leading artists from Toronto’s Latino community, among them tenor Antonio Mata, and Claudio Saldivia on charango and quena.  Well-known singer-songwriter and radio host Laura Fernandez will emcee the evening and serve as narrator.

The concert – presented without intermission, to preserve the flow – takes its name from Inti Ukana, sung in Aymara, the language of Indigenous people living in the Andean region.  The song will be performed in a new arrangement by Evan Fraser.

Cantemos will also perform Apamuy shungo, a traditional yumbo from Ecuador – a style named after the Yumbo people who came to live in the Sacred Valley of Tulipe around 800 B.C.E.  It is sung in Quechua.  As well, the ensemble will offer the Venezuelan number Mare-Mare, which tells about the nomadic Kariña tribe that travelled through what is now Venezuela and the Caribbean. 

I spoke with co-founder/conductor Laurie Evan Fraser and creative director Jacinto Salcedo to find out more about the inspiration for the concert, the program, and more about going virtual. Take a listen!

The Upper Canada Choristers present 
Inti Ukana: A Latin American Tapestry

With conductor Laurie Evan Fraser, pianist Hye Won Cecilia Lee, Cantemos Latin ensemble; M.C. Laura Fernandez
Friday, October 2, 2020, 7:30 pm EDT

Admission is free, but donations are welcome to cover the costs. You can join the concert through the Upper Canada Choristers’ website or through via Facebook Live.