Catherine Robbin, one of Canada’s best known mezzo-sopranos and York University faculty member, will be joined by vocalist friends on March 1 to headline a performance in the Department of Music’s Faculty Concert Series.
The concert runs from 7:30 to 9:30pm in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall at York’s Keele Campus, and tickets are $15, or $10 for students and seniors.
Robbin will be joined by soprano Vania Chan and mezzo-soprano Lillian Brooks, along with collaborative pianists Susan Black and Doreen Uren Simmons as they perform works by Handel, Schubert, Brahms and Mahler, along with French duets, Canadian contemporary songs and English songs.
A heralded mezzo-soprano, Robbin established an international reputation from her debut year in 1972, performing with leading conductors throughout the world. Her illustrious 30-year performing career included performances and recordings with conductors John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock, Christopher Hogwood, Bernard Labadie, John Nelson, Andrew Davis and many others, in concert halls from Rome to Tokyo. She performed and recorded a wide range of vocal music, but is particularly noted for her interpretations of baroque and romantic repertoire in oratorio, opera and recital.
In 2003, Robbin retired from a performing career, giving her farewell concert at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto with Tafelmusik. Since then, she has been the director of classical vocal studies in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) at York University. Her students have won numerous awards and have gone on to graduate studies at many Canadian, American and European universities. July 2018 marks the end of her academic career, as she looks toward a second retirement.
Robbin is often called upon to adjudicate and give masterclasses at universities across Canada, as well as for young artists’ intensive programs. She is an honorary patron of the Toronto Children’s Chorus, the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto and Pax Christi Chorale. Throughout her career, Robbin has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Juno Award, a Grand Prix du Disque and a Grammy nomination. In 2011, she was named an officer of the Order of Canada.
Tickets to the concert can be purchased online or by calling 416-736-5888.