Hailed by National Public Radio as “one of today’s most compelling composers for the human voice,” Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is a poignant choral meditation on the fragility of our natural world. Blending Nathaniel Bellows’ evocative poetry with the traditional Latin Mass, this work is a plea for compassion and stewardship in the face of environmental crisis. Also presented alongside this work is Andrew Balfour’s Gaze Upon the Trees, R. Murray Schafer’s virtuosic Wild Bird for violin and harp, as well as works by Chris Hutchings, Olivier Messiaen, and Arvo Pärt. Soundstreams’ opening concert is a deeply moving reflection on our responsibility, relationship and connectivity to the planet and its creatures.

EPSG:4326

Mass for the Endangered

Trinity-St. Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts

Letters to God is a spiritual exploration of the musical threads connecting Canadian and Japanese culture. It features Japan’s legendary Fujii Percussion (mother Mutsuko Fujii, and daughters Haruka Fujii and Rika Fujii), Soundstreams Choir 21, The Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Gregory Oh (piano), and Ryan Scott (percussion). Akira Miyoshi’s Letters to God brings to life a collection of letters written by children, notable for their refreshing directness, unexpected humour, and startling clarity of thought; R. Murray Schafer’s evocative Seventeen Haiku is a theatrical composition that sets Japanese poems to music that evokes the singing of birds, crickets, streams, the tolling of a bell, or fireworks at a festival. The program features other evocative works: Seasons by Toru Takemitsu, river woman by Melody McKiver, and Pulau Dewata by Claude Vivier.

Soundstreams Choir 21

Nov 22, 2025

Mass for the Endangered

Oct 24, 2024

Letters To God

Soundstreams Choir 21