At the Chan Centre, multimedia concert Echo gives voice to silenced memories, May 31
Gryphon Trio and Marion Newman lead a powerful performance that confronts historical trauma through poetry, music, and film
Echo: Memories of the World. Photo by Shayne Gray
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts presents Echo: Gryphon Trio & Marion Newman Nege’ga at Chan Shun Concert Hall on May 31 at 7:30 pm
THE PAST ECHOES into the present and future through images and sound. Echo: Memories of the World is a multimedia concert that weaves film, storytelling, and centuries of vocal and instrumental music into a futuristic vision grounded in memory.
A Gryphon Trio production in partnership with Chamber Factory, the project honours resistance to oppression—from the persecution of Indigenous peoples to genocides—through a powerful tapestry of sound and story.
Innovation lies at the heart of Gryphon Trio’s artistic vision. Defining chamber music in the 21st century, this three-time Juno Award–winning ensemble works within European classicism and multimedia. The Echo program places works by classical composers such as J.S. Bach and Beethoven alongside those of living composers like Andrew Balfour, Reena Esmail, and Arvo Pärt, fostering a conversation that transcends time and space.
Mezzo-soprano Marion Newman—whose traditional name is Nege’ga—and narrator Cheri Maracle will share the stage with the trio, giving voice to silenced stories. They will sing and recite poetic texts by Emily Dickinson and Margaret Atwood.
Newman, who is of Kwagiulth, Stó:lō, English, Irish, and Scottish heritage, is a driving force for truth and reconciliation within the context of classical music. Maracle is of Mohawk and Irish ancestry, and her roles on stage and screen help bring Indigenous history to life. Behind the scenes of Echo is an equally diverse team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, whose contributions—images, films, and research—complete fragmented histories to create unity onstage.
At an upcoming Chan Centre for the Performing Arts presentation on May 31, audience members will sit close to the musicians in the intimate Chan Shun Concert Hall. Through captured landscapes, libraries, and archives, Echo unearths suppressed memories, amplifies marginalized voices, and imagines a resilient future. 
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