Marion Newman, mezzo soprano - Robert Holliston, piano

We are delighted to welcome renowned mezzo Marion Newman, making her Wentworth Villa debut, alongside collaborative pianist Robert Holliston, who is well-known to our audiences. This concert comprises a program of music for voice and piano inspired by nature, as well as Ancestral Voices, a song cycle written for Marion Newman by composer (and beloved Vancouver Symphony conductor) Bramwell Tovey, who died in 2022.

Marion Newman is Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish and Scottish heritage. Born in Bella Coola, Marion grew up in Sooke, BC, immersed in and embraced by her community and culture. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire ranging from Charpentier to Cusson and operatic roles including Carmen and Rosina (The Barber of Seville). Nominated for a Dora Award for her leading role in the world premiere of Shanawdithit (Nolan/Burry) with Toronto’s Tapestry Opera, Ian Ritchie wrote “she invests her character with towering dignity and courage”.

Recent performances include “Songs from the House of Death” (Cusson) with Regina Symphony and Beethoven’s Ninth with Symphony Nova Scotia. With Opera Kelowna, Marion performed with soprano Melody Courage in “Wreckonciliation”, approaching classical opera works through an Indigenous lens.

Marion created the role of Dawn with the Welsh National Opera world premiere of Migrations (Todd) and portrayed Isabelle Eberhardt in Missy Mazzoli’s “Song from the Uproar” with City Opera Vancouver. This season, Marion is Maddelena in Rigoletto with Pacific Opera Victoria. Upcoming new works include Mimi in Indians on Vacation, an operatic adaptation (Cusson/Vavrek) of the novel by Thomas King, with Edmonton Opera.

A driving force for truth and reconciliation within the context of classical music, she is helping lead colleagues and audiences through long overdue discussions about the very nature of what it means to call something “Canadian music”.

Marion is Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Victoria’s School of Music and is the host of CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.

Robert Holliston studied at the Victoria Conservatory of Music under Robin Wood and Winifred Scott Wood, and at the University of British Columbia under Robert Rogers. As an accompanist and chamber player he has performed throughout Canada and the USA, England and New Zealand, and has been heard frequently on CBC-Radio. He has recorded CDs with the popular salon ensemble Viveza, trombonist Ian McDougall, tenor Ken Lavigne, his brother Tom Holliston, Show Business Giants, and members of the Hornby Island Ensemble.

Robert has collaborated with many of Canada’s leading singers, including Richard Margison, Benjamin Butterfield, Judith Forst, Nathalie Paulin, Susan Platts, Peter Barcza, and fellow VCM faculty members; string players Eugene Fodor, Moshe Hammer, Marc Destrubé, Jonathan Crow, and Paul Marleyn; and (with Viveza) dancers Karen Kain and Evelyn Hart. A popular public speaker, Robert has given pre-performance lectures for Pacific Opera Victoria since 1993 and is POV’s Principal Coach. Still an active performer, Robert is currently Head of Keyboard at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he also teaches piano and music history, and acts as vocal coach. Robert was a founding director of the VCM Opera Studio.

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