{"id":124844,"date":"2026-06-04T09:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=124844"},"modified":"2026-06-03T23:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T03:48:05","slug":"interview-composer-sarah-slean-talks-work-importance-earnest-stratford-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/06\/04\/interview-composer-sarah-slean-talks-work-importance-earnest-stratford-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Composer Sarah Slean Talks About Her Work On The Importance Of Being Earnest At The Stratford Festival & More"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Composer,
Composer, singer and arranger Sarah Slean (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Composer, singer, and arranger Sarah Slean has created the music for The Importance of Being Earnest at the Stratford Festival. The play by Oscar Wilde is a comedy, it\u2019s full title The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People.<\/p>\n

The story is a parody of Victorian manners and the dramatic norms of Wilde\u2019s day, and is characterized by his celebrated wit.<\/p>\n

The play began previews on May 19 and runs until Oct. 23, 2026<\/strong>, with opening night on June 18<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It marks Slean\u2019s debut at the Stratford Festival, but is only the next step in a long and varied career.<\/p>\n

Sarah Slean<\/h2>\n

Sarah Slean began her career in music early, signed to Atlantic Records as a singer-songwriter while still a teenager. She has since released 11 albums of her own music, netted four JUNO and two Gemini nominations, and won a Canadian Screen Award for music along the way. She has toured internationally as a solo artist.<\/p>\n

Sarah has also written books of poetry and starred in short films. She\u2019s composed works for chamber ensembles, written film scores, and worked with orchestras across Canada, including the 2021 JUNO nominated collaboration and recording with Symphony Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a classically trained musician and composer with a Masters degree in Composition, and has created orchestral arrangements of both her own music and that of other pop singers. She\u2019s sung the world premieres of several works by contemporary composers.<\/p>\n

Recent work includes composing a musical on the life of Maud Lewis for Theatre Calgary\/National Arts Centre, and commissions for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Iris Trio, Elora Singers, and Against the Grain Theatre.<\/p>\n

Sarah Slean: The Interview<\/h2>\n

\u201cAll I really understood about myself as a person growing up and getting an education and all that, was that I loved music,\u201d Slean says.<\/p>\n

As she notes, she was signed to a recording contract at the age of 18 as a university music student. She left school to tour for 25 years, but eventually, did finish her degree. She finished her Master\u2019s when she was in her 40s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always really interested in school, and interested in succeeding, but I was always really just interested in music. I was very lucky to be making music of the kind that was popular at the time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat felt really great for a time, but then it became really frustrating and even confining.\u201d Even with a record company that she describes as accommodating \u2014 allowing her, for example, to include a string octet on her debut album \u2014 she became less and less enchanted with the pop music industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unsatisfying,\u201d Sarah says. \u201cI wanted to make music that connected with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"L-R:
L-R: Christopher Allen as Algernon Moncrieff, Marissa Orjalo as Cecily Cardew, Allison Lynch as Gwendolen Fairfax and Joe Perry as John Worthington, The Importance of Being Earnest. Stratford Festival 2026. (Photo: Dariane Sanche)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Music & Theatre<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen I was a small elementary school child, my parents took me to stage musicals,\u201d she says. She recalls singing the lyrics of the latest hit musicals with her friends. The genre captivated her imagination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s the marriage of sound and emotion, and how easily manipulated we are with sound to feel.\u201d She likens it to scoring music for films. \u201cYou can use sound, and your knowledge of music […] to manipulate human emotion, and that to me is fun and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She describes taking part at a composing for film residency at the Canadian Music Centre. At one point, she was shown film footage without music, and it brought home the crucial role that music plays in movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s dead. And you put music to it, and it [comes to life]. Without music it does not breathe and live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Composing for theatre and film was a process of development. \u201cI was a songwriter,\u201d she pointed out. Orchestration came along later. \u201cMusical theatre is the intersection of so many musical disciplines,\u201d she points out. It involves not just the music, but the text, songwriting skills, what she calls the \u201cnitty gritty of tambral\u201d, or tone colours, and orchestral setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s what I love about musical theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaboration<\/h3>\n

She points out that working on theatrical productions also means interacting with several other professionals. \u201cYou work with so many of them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe older I get, the more I want to collaborate,\u201d she adds. \u201cThe more you develop your skills, you develop ruts and habits,\u201d Slean says. Working with other artists shows you new ways of doing things that you\u2019d never have thought of on your own. \u201cThat’s how you get out of your ruts,\u201d Slean says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey surprise you with their own uniqueness. I just recently did an opera commission with Against the Grain Theatre<\/a>. I had a very celebrated librettist writing the words.\u201d Slean notes, they were words that she\u2019d never have used herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn and of itself, it\u2019s so creatively inspiring. Collaboration is what I want to do from here on out.\u201d<\/p>\n