For more than a decade, Art Song Lab has been making an indelible mark on the landscape of contemporary classical song in North America.

After ten summers focusing on composers and writers in Vancouver, BC, this year’s programming brings performer participants into the mix between June 24-29th in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Activities include intensive rehearsals, workshops with esteemed guest artists, and performances including interactive SongSparks evenings, and the SongLAUNCH concert of world premieres.

This year, 19 participants from Canada and the United States were selected to undertake the 6-month collaborative opportunity. Teams of one composer, one writer, and one singer were formed earlier in 2024 to collaboratively create a song for voice and piano from scratch.

“There’s something truly special about the singing that happens in Winnipeg. I had no idea how lucky I was while I lived there. After moving away from Manitoba, I realized how privileged I was to have sung in the Winnipeg Boys Choir, at the New Music Festival, and to have studied at the University of Manitoba. Laura Loewen and Mel Braun taught me so much about how to connect piano playing to the text of sung music. It’s an honour to bring (art) Song Lab back to where I started, and to be working with them as peers.”

Park and pianist Alison d’Amato co-founded the program along with poet Ray Hsu in 2011 and have co-directed the program together since 2015. Since its conception in 2011, (art) Song Lab has connected 70 writers with 108 composers, presenting world premieres of 126 new art songs.