Songs from a Former Criminal
| Jun 26 | 7pm | Firehall Arts Centre |
$0 – $25 sliding scale |
Fin’ Amor (Songs from a Former Criminal) is a 50-minute song cycle for tenor and hurdy gurdy performed by Bud Roach, with music by Jeffrey Ryan and libretto/direction by James Fagan Tait. A contemporary reflection on Medieval chivalric love poetry, the work commemorates the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in 1969. By turns political, reflective, and slyly humorous, the piece extends the art song tradition through its unusual instrumentation and deeply personal perspective.
Created by three gay artists whose lives were shaped by criminalization and social stigma, Fin’ Amor gives voice to stories too often absent from the classical canon. Come hear this sonically unique, intergenerational reflection on queer Canadian history, resilience, and survival.
ABOUT BUD ROACH
Tenor Bud Roach maintains a busy schedule of performances from the Baroque to the contemporary. His recordings for the Musica Omnia label have been recognized internationally as ground-breaking achievements in historically-informed performance practice. “Roach is marvellous throughout….Five stars” (Early Music Today, UK). Recent highlights include staged works of Claude Vivier on tour in Berlin and London, UK (Soundstreams Canada, 2022), concert appearances with La Chapelle de Quebec, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the London Symphonia, the Bach Elgar Choir, Nota Bene Baroque Players, the Menno Singers, Soundstreams Canada, the Spiritus Ensemble, Talisker Players, Toronto Masque Theatre, and the Toronto Consort.
He founded the vocal quartet Capella Intima in 2009, and their recordings of Canzonette Spirituali, e Morali, 1657, and Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Gli equivoci nel sembiante” have met with critical acclaim in Canada, the US, and Europe. Bud has also premiered works by Jeffrey Ryan, Andrew Staniland, Melissa Hui, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, Norbert Palej, and John Burge.
ABOUT JEFFREY RYAN
With compositions that “engage heart and mind in a most satisfying way” (Audio Ideas Guide), Vancouver-based Jeffrey Ryan takes inspiration from the world around him and creates music from orchestral and chamber works to opera, art song, and choral music. With awards and recognition including multiple JUNO and Western Canadian Music Awards nominations, SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award and the 2025 WCMA for Classical Composer of the Year, his music has been commissioned, performed and recorded by orchestras, ensembles and soloists worldwide, including his award-winning portrait CD Fugitive Colours with the Vancouver Symphony and the Gryphon Trio. jeffreyryan.com
ABOUT JAMES FAGAN TAIT
Actor, writer and director James Fagan Tait is a native of Cornwall, Ontario. He trained at Ryerson Theatre School and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he worked as an actor and director for several years. He also studied theatre at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris where he worked as an actor and director for four years. He is one of Vancouver’s busiest actors / writers / directors, creating, directing, and/or performing in shows for numerous professional and community-based companies, including Neworld Theatre, Boca del Lupo, Western Gold, the Vancouver Playhouse, Caravan Farm Theatre, Vancouver Moving Theatre, the Electric Company, Runaway Moon, Bard on the Beach, and many others.