Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Elizabeth Copeland share years of magical memories onstage, January 16

At the Chan Centre, the life partners offer songs and stories from their forthcoming album Laughter in Summer

Beverly Glenn-Copeland (left) and Elizabeth Copeland. Photo by Wade Muir

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts presents Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Elizabeth Copeland on January 16 at 7:30 pm

APPEARING AS A REGULAR on Mr. Dressup for over two decades is just one of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s many career accomplishments. The Black trans elder is a lifelong musician who has composed tunes for Sesame Street and collaborated with the likes of Bon Iver, Jeremy Dutcher, and Blood Orange on his 2021 album Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined, a collection of reworked songs from his Polaris Heritage Prize–winning 1986 record Keyboard Fantasies.

As one might guess, Glenn-Copeland has a lifetime of interesting stories to tell—and the visionary octogenarian will be sharing a handful of them with an audience alongside his life partner, fellow artist Elizabeth Copeland, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on January 16. The pair will be performing music from their forthcoming album Laughter in Summer, which is set to come out next month. They describe it as a memory-filled love letter to each other that balances grief and joy in light of Glenn-Copeland’s 2024 dementia diagnosis. And in a broader sense, the song collection emphasizes just how profoundly art connects people.

Beyond music, Elizabeth Copeland is an author, theatre artist, and educator whose own achievements range from touring with the Honolulu Symphony as the witch in Hansel and Gretel to writing the narrative poetry book Daring to Hope at the Cliff’s Edge.

The pair’s upcoming performance is part of the Chan Centre’s new Made in Canada series, which spotlights local talent in different disciplines.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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