Presenter: Olivia Whiddon
Join singer and harpist, Olivia Whiddon for a special Canada Day celebration with a selection of songs from the Celtic harp and the third story in the Written by Water collection: “The Prince, the Bridge Troll and the Water Spirit.”
Olivia has recently received an Ontario Arts Council Northern Arts Projects grant to write her last Written by Water story: “The Water Spirit and the Opera Singer.”
There is no registration required for this all-ages event. Recommended for children and families. Admission is by donation.
All proceeds from the performance will go towards the purchase of a new harp! The new harp is a Starfish Glencoe coming all the way from Scotland. Olivia ordered it in July of 2022 after visiting the workshop. This harp allows the harpist to stand while playing, making it ideal for a singer! It can take up to two years to receive one of these harps as they always have a waitlist.
If you have questions, please contact Shelby Smith, Art Centre Programmer at 807-467-2201 or by emailing [email protected].
The first pieces Olivia learned as a child were evocative of nature, and strongly rooted in Celtic and Canadian folk music. As a professional musician, much of her effort has been focused on classical music. She teaches music full time, privately and as an Artist in Residence with the Kenora Catholic District school board, and is the creative director of Kenora Opera Theatre, while continuing to perform regularly. In 2016, she went back to her roots and built a small Celtic harp with Esme Boone, which led to the purchase of a 34 string Ravenna Dusty Strings harp and a 25 string Christina Triplett harp. In August of 2019, she was a Bridge and Falls Creative Resident in Sioux Narrows, ON where she began writing for harp and voice. This residency was where the project Written by Water began. She loves working with artists of different disciplines and is especially interested in the interplay that can be made between music and visual art.