ADI BRAUN is a singer/songwriter with a long list of cabaret, concert and theatre successes to her credit. She has performed in major jazz and concert venues in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In the fall of 2023 Adi released her sixth critically-acclaimed CD, “Night and Day – The Cole Porter Songbook”, which which had its premiere with full orchestra at the Rose Theatre, Brampton in February, 2025. Her other recordings include “Moderne Frau (Modern Woman)”, a tribute to the music of Weimar Berlin; “Canadian Scenes I”, featuring some of her own compositions; “Live at the Metropolitan Room” from New York City; “The Rules of the Game”, and “Delishious”.

After beginning her career in classical music, Adi started “singing sideways” in the late ‘90s and returned to her first love, which she calls “cabarazz”, drawing on aspects from both cabaret and jazz. Adi has received andbeen nominated for numerous awards, including “Best Major Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by New York’s Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, and two Juno album short-lists. Her repertoire ranges from the Great American songbook, to European cabaret, to contemporary songs by Canadian legend’s Shirley Eikhard and Gordon Lightfoot, among others.

In addition to performing, Adi is a sought-after German Diction and Lieder coach, has co-hosted “Classical Mornings” on the New Classical FM, and frequently speaks on topics related to Weimar Cabaret

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IAN CUSSON is a composer of art song, opera and orchestral work of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian descent.

He studied composition with Jake Heggie (San Francisco) and Samuel Dolin, and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School. He is the recipient of the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, and grants through the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.

Ian was an inaugural Carrefour Composer-in-Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra for 2017-2019 and was Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. He was a Co-artistic Director of Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre and the recipient of the 2021 Jan V. Matejcek Classical Music Award from SOCAN and the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize. Ian is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.

He lives in Collingwood, Canada with his wife and four children.

For more about Ian, see Ian Cusson.

IAN CUSSON'S PLAYLIST:

Benjamin Britten / Peter Grimes

Richard Wagner / Die Meistersinger

Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami, EJAE / Golden / KPopDemonHunters

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MUSIC FOR THIS EPISODE:

UN CRI S'ELEVE EN MOI

Composer: Ian Cusson

Text: Natasha Kanapé-Fontaine

Elisabeth Saint-Gelais, Soprano

Raphael Payare, conductor

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

AMBE (Chronos Vocal Ensemble / Jordan Van Biert, cond.)

Composer: Andrew Balfour /www.instagram.com/andrewbalfour_

PIXABAY Royalty Free Music

ADI BRAUN is a singer/songwriter with a long list of cabaret, concert and theatre successes to her credit. She has performed in major jazz and concert venues in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In the fall of 2023 Adi released her sixth critically-acclaimed CD, “Night and Day – The Cole Porter Songbook”, which which had its premiere with full orchestra at the Rose Theatre, Brampton in February, 2025. Her other recordings include “Moderne Frau (Modern Woman)”, a tribute to the music of Weimar Berlin; “Canadian Scenes I”, featuring some of her own compositions; “Live at the Metropolitan Room” from New York City; “The Rules of the Game”, and “Delishious”.

After beginning her career in classical music, Adi started “singing sideways” in the late ‘90s and returned to her first love, which she calls “cabarazz”, drawing on aspects from both cabaret and jazz. Adi has received andbeen nominated for numerous awards, including “Best Major Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by New York’s Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, and two Juno album short-lists. Her repertoire ranges from the Great American songbook, to European cabaret, to contemporary songs by Canadian legend’s Shirley Eikhard and Gordon Lightfoot, among others.

In addition to performing, Adi is a sought-after German Diction and Lieder coach, has co-hosted “Classical Mornings” on the New Classical FM, and frequently speaks on topics related to Weimar Cabaret.

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MICHELLE LEBARON - BIOGRAPHY

Michelle LeBaron is an internationally-known dispute resolution trainer, consultant and scholar. She works with organizations to foster conflict-fluency and the capacity to work effectively across differences.

With a commitment to creative and innovative engagement, Michelle has provided training to a wide range of clients in diverse contexts including BC Family Justice Counsellors, federally-appointed judges at the National Judicial Institute, the International Ombuds Association, and many environmental and civil society organizations. Michelle has trained hundreds of mid-career professionals in negotiation and dispute resolution, and has keynoted around the world including at the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland and the International Academy of Mediators.

Since 2003, Michelle has served as professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Prior to this appointment, she was professor at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. She has been core faculty at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and was the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (2015-2018), making seminal contributions to connecting theory, research and practice in conflict studies.

Michelle LeBaron’s books include Changing Our Worlds: Art as Transformative Practice (with Janis Sarra); The Choreography of Resolution: Conflict, Movement and Neuroscience (with Carrie MacLeod and Andrew Floyer Acland); Conflict Across Cultures: A New Approach for a Changing World (with Venashri Pillay); Bridging Cultural Conflicts; and Bridging Troubled Waters.

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MICHELLE'S PLAYLIST:

- GABRIEL'S OBOE from the movie THE MISSION / Ennio Morricone

- WELCOME HERE AGAIN (album) / Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill

- MAGNIFICAT (songs) / Noirin Ni Riain

- IMBOLC (video/poetry/music) / Grace Wells

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About Michelle Lebaron:

Michelle LeBaron | Peter A. Allard School of Law

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MUSIC FOR THIS EPISODE:

AMBE (Chronos Vocal Ensemble / Jordan Van Biert, cond.)

Composer: Andrew Balfour /www.instagram.com/andrewbalfour_

PIXABAY Royalty Free Music

ADI BRAUN is a singer/songwriter with a long list of cabaret, concert and theatre successes to her credit. She has performed in major jazz and concert venues in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In the fall of 2023 Adi released her sixth critically-acclaimed CD, “Night and Day – The Cole Porter Songbook”, which which had its premiere with full orchestra at the Rose Theatre, Brampton in February, 2025. Her other recordings include “Moderne Frau (Modern Woman)”, a tribute to the music of Weimar Berlin; “Canadian Scenes I”, featuring some of her own compositions; “Live at the Metropolitan Room” from New York City; “The Rules of the Game”, and “Delishious”.

After beginning her career in classical music, Adi started “singing sideways” in the late ‘90s and returned to her first love, which she calls “cabarazz”, drawing on aspects from both cabaret and jazz. Adi has received andbeen nominated for numerous awards, including “Best Major Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by New York’s Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, and two Juno album short-lists. Her repertoire ranges from the Great American songbook, to European cabaret, to contemporary songs by Canadian legend’s Shirley Eikhard and Gordon Lightfoot, among others.

In addition to performing, Adi is a sought-after German Diction and Lieder coach, has co-hosted “Classical Mornings” on the New Classical FM, and frequently speaks on topics related to Weimar Cabaret.

================================

JUDITH YAN - BIOGRAPHY

Equally at home in symphony, opera, and ballet, JudithYan has held Staff Conductor positions with the San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and National Ballet of Canada.

A dedicated advocate for new works, she has conducted numerous world premieres, including An American Dream (Perla/Murphy) for Seattle Opera, Dracula (Pastor/Kilar) for West Australian Ballet, February(Kaminsky/Moore), and Ours (Estacio/Chafe)for Opera on the Avalon, where she serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor.

Recent performances include Don Giovanni and Suor Angelica with Opera Omaha, Madama Butterfly with NewOrleans Opera, The Rape of Lucretia with San Francisco Opera(Merola), La Bayadère and Swan Lake with theKorean National Ballet, and Don Quixote with the Hong KongBallet. Since 2021, Yan has maintained a close association with the SaskatoonSymphony Orchestra, leading nine programs featuring repertoire ranging from Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Dvořák to Gipps, Richter, and Copland.

In the 2025–26 season, Yan will make her London Coliseumdebut with the English National Ballet and lead Giselle anda Gala Concert with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The season also includes a concert production of Tosca, orchestral programs featuring Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in Canada. She returns to the Jacobs School of Music for a mixed program of works by Janes, Balanchine, and Taylor, and makes her Opera Grand Rapids debut conducting Madama Butterfly.

Yan’s performance of Sasha Jane’s The Nutcracker was featured in a PBS documentary and was broadcasted nationwide this winter.

JUDITH YAN'S PLAYLIST

- ADI BRAUN / MODERNE FRAU (ALBUM)

- RICHARD WAGNER / TRISTAN & ISOLDE / LIEBESTOD

- RICHARD STRAUSS / FOUR LAST SONGS

- NINA SIMONE / STARS

- ERICH WOFLGANG KORNGOLD / GLUECKWUNSCH

- ROBBIE BURNS / A RED, RED ROSE

JUDITH YAN WEBSITE

www.judithyan.com

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MUSIC FOR THIS EPISODE:

AMBE (Chronos Vocal Ensemble / Jordan Van Biert, cond.)

Composer: Andrew Balfour /www.instagram.com/andrewbalfour_

PIXABAY Royalty Free Music

SWAN LAKE (Tchaikovsky / Saskatoon Symphony / Erin Brophey / Judith Yan)