SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Inuk Soprano Deantha Edmunds, Princess Kusugak, and DalChorus
JUNO Award-winning Inuk soprano and composer Deantha Edmunds, C.M., joins DalChorus and Nunavut-born DalVoice student Princess Kusugak for an evening celebrating Inuit culture, language, and storytelling through music. Featuring works in Inuktitut and English, the program brings together Edmunds’ own compositions with music inspired by Inuit heritage, history, and contemporary identity.
Saturday, October 24, 2026 • 7:30pm
Joseph Strug Concert Hall, 1385 Seymour Street
Accessible Venue
Ticket Availability: Good
You will be redirected to the Dalhousie Arts Centre's website to purchase tickets.
Presented by DalChorus and the Fountain School of Performing Arts EDIA Committee, in partnership with Atelihai Inuit and Cecilia Concerts. Season Sponsor: NICE MOVES / Red Door Realty
Program Information
JUNO Award-winning Inuk soprano and composer Deantha Edmunds, C.M., joins DalChorus for a special evening celebrating Inuit culture, language, and storytelling through music. Canada’s first Inuk professional classical singer and a Member of the Order of Canada, Edmunds has built a distinguished career sharing Inuit stories and perspectives through performance and composition. In 2025, she became the first Indigenous artist to receive the JUNO Award for Classical Composition of the Year and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Acadia University. Joined by Nunavut-born DalVoice student Princess Kusugak, DalChorus, director Dr. Nicole Jordan, and pianist Joseph Dowell, Edmunds presents a program of sacred and secular music in Inuktitut and English. Featured works include her compositions “Legacy” and “Life’s Song,” alongside Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” performed in Inuktitut. Presented by DalChorus and the Fountain School of Performing Arts EDIA Committee, in partnership with Atelihai Inuit and Cecilia Concerts.
Artist Biographies
Deantha Edmunds, soprano
Deantha Edmunds is Canada’s first Inuk professional classical singer.
On July 1st, 2025, she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honour, for her work which seeks to empower Indigenous people and share their stories. As a performer, composer, writer, and mentor, Deantha uses her voice to share about her journey as an artist and the issues that matter the most to her: the climate crisis, language revitalization, MMIWG2S+, Truth and Reconciliation, and the threads that connect us. Her work has international reverberation as well as community integrity, and she brings a level of professional excellence to Canada’s Indigenous art scene that is unique and important.
Most recently, she was nominated for the Ontario Arts Council’s 2025 Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance. In November 2025, MusicNL awarded Deantha with both ‘Classical Artist of the Year’ and ‘Indigenous Artist of the Year.’
In July 2025, Deantha was commissioned to compose and record an original piece, ‘Anânak silatsualimâk’ (Mother Earth) that was featured in “Rhythms of the Land,” a national music documentary celebrating the strength and revitalization of Indigenous languages in Canada. It was produced by the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, broadcast nationally on CTV, and is also streaming on Crave.
Opera on the Avalon released a video of Deantha and her daughter Annabelle singing Nunatsiavut’s anthem, ‘Labradorimiut/Sons of Labrador’ with Inuit youth throat-singers and the Atlantic String Quartet, in June 2025, National Indigenous History Month.
In May 2025, Acadia University awarded Deantha with an Honorary Doctor of Music degree, celebrating her impact on Canadian culture and her achievements as an Indigenous classical musical artist.
Deantha won the 2025 JUNO award for ‘Classical Composition of the Year’ for her original song-cycle “Angmalukisaa,” which she recorded on “Alikeness” with Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia, conducted by Mark Fewer. The album was nominated for ‘Classical Album of the Year (large ensemble).’ She was also named “Indigenous Artist of the Year” at the 2025 East Coast Music Awards.
She has released three solo albums. Connections, recorded with the Atlantic String Quartet, won the 2022 Music NL awards for ‘Classical Album of the Year,’ and ‘Indigenous Artist of the Year.’ Connections was also nominated for a 2023 East Coast Music Award. Her EP My Beautiful Home (2019) and full-length CD Pillorikput Inuit: Inuktitut Arias for All Seasons (2016) also garnered ECMA nominations.
In 2024, Deantha was awarded Newfoundland and Labrador’s inaugural Premier’s Medals for the Arts and Heritage and was named Arts NL’s “Artist of the Year.”
Deantha performs with professional ensembles and companies across Canada and abroad, such as New Orford String Quartet, Against the Grain Theatre, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, musica intima, Stratford Summer Music, Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Scotia Festival of Music, Cecilia Concerts, PerSIStence Theatre Company, Perchance Theatre, Toronto Summer Music in the Garden, and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
In 2024, she was a lead actor, soloist, and music director for “Nsituninal: Our Voices,” a Newfoundland and Labrador Year of the Arts project of Indigenous Performing Arts NL, which toured the province presented by the Arts and Culture Centres.
Her contribution to the internationally acclaimed “Messiah/Complex” with Against the Grain Theatre and Toronto Symphony Orchestra helped earn the production a 2022 JUNO nomination, and the project also won the first ever Opera America Digital Excellence Award.
Other notable appearances include singing at the opening ceremony of the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2021, performing for Inuit residential school survivors in the presence of His Holiness, Pope Francis in Iqaluit at his official residential school apology in 2022, and singing the Nunatsiavut anthem for King Charles III at the St. John’s welcome ceremony of the 2022 Canadian Royal Tour which focused on Reconciliation.
As one of Canada’s official delegates at the Opera Europa conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2023, Deantha had the opportunity to introduce her opera “Irngutaq,” the first opera written and composed by an Inuk.
Deantha has been an Artist-in-Residence focusing on “Reconciling through Music” at University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Acadia University School of Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland School of Music, Grenfell School of Fine Arts, Bishop’s University Department of Music, and The Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University.
Creating original works, collaborating with other musicians, contributing to Indigenous productions, and mentoring young artists, Deantha shares her voice and vision with her whole heart, and is drawing accolades from across Canada and the world.
Location
Joseph Strug Concert Hall (Dalhousie Arts Centre)
1385 Seymour Street • Halifax, Nova Scotia • B3H 3M6
Frequently Asked Questions
How will I receive my tickets?
Tickets for this performance are sold through the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office. Electronic tickets will be sent to the email address used when purchasing your tickets. Please keep your tickets handy on your smartphone or bring a printed copy with you to the concert. If you have questions about your order or have not received your tickets, please contact the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office.
What time should I arrive?
The concert begins at 7:30 pm at the Joseph Strug Concert Hall. We recommend arriving early so you have time to enter the venue, find your seat, and get settled before the performance begins.
Can I arrive late?
Latecomers will be seated at an appropriate break in the performance, when possible. To avoid disruption to the artists and audience, we recommend arriving before the concert begins.
What is the seating like?
The Joseph Strug Concert Hall is an intimate concert venue located in Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of Performing Arts. Seating for this performance is general admission and arrangements and accessibility accommodations are managed through the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office. Please contact the Box Office if you have a specific seating or accessibility requirement.
Are children welcome?
Yes, children are welcome. Families should keep in mind that this is a concert performance and may wish to purchase seats that allow for an easy exit if needed during the performance.
What should I know about concert etiquette?
If you are new to live concert performances, you are welcome. We ask audience members to help create a quiet and respectful environment for the artists and those around them. Please silence your phone before the concert begins, avoid talking during performances, and wait for pauses between selections to move around when possible.
When should I clap?
It is always fine to applaud when a complete piece has ended. Some works have several movements with short pauses between them, and audiences usually wait until the entire work is finished before applauding. If you are unsure, feel free to follow the rest of the audience.
Can I use my phone during the concert?
Please silence your phone before the concert begins. We ask that phones and bright screens not be used during the performance, as they can be distracting to artists and audience members.
Can I take photos or videos?
Photos are welcome before or after the concert. Unless otherwise announced, photography, audio recording, and video recording are not permitted during the performance.
What accessibility features are available?
The Joseph Strug Concert Hall is located in Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of Performing Arts and offers accessible entry and seating. If you require accessible seating or have a specific accessibility question, please contact the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office when purchasing your tickets.
Is the venue scent-sensitive?
To help make the concert comfortable for everyone, we ask guests to avoid wearing strong scents or fragrances.
Is there parking or public transit nearby?
The Joseph Strug Concert Hall is located in the Fountain School of Performing Arts at 1385 Seymour Street on Dalhousie University’s Studley Campus in Halifax. Street parking and university parking options are available in the surrounding area, and the campus is served by several Halifax Transit routes.
What happens if there is a storm?
If severe weather affects the performance, updates will be shared by the event presenters and Dalhousie Arts Centre. Please check for current information before travelling to the venue.
What happens if a concert is changed, postponed, or cancelled?
As tickets for this performance are sold through the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office, any ticketing arrangements resulting from a change, postponement, or cancellation will be handled according to Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office policies.