{"id":124984,"date":"2026-06-08T14:28:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=124984"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:31:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:31:59","slug":"preview-apocryphonia-concert-series-season-finale-whales-willpower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/06\/08\/preview-apocryphonia-concert-series-season-finale-whales-willpower\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Apocryphonia Concert Series Season Finale: Of Whales And Willpower"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Tenor Alexander Cappellazzo; organist Joshua Duncan-Lee; tenor Paul Williamson (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto\u2019s Apocryphonia Concert Series concludes the 2025\/26 season with Of Whales And Willpower, and concert that offers a program of rarely performed Jamaican and West Indian classical music.<\/p>\n

The program for Of Whales and Willpower: The Jamaican Jonah features several Canadian premieres of works by Samuel Felsted (1743-1802), Jamaica\u2019s first classical composer. It includes excerpts from Jonah (1775), the first oratorio composed in the Western hemisphere.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the bill, curated by Jamaican-Canadian organist Joshua Duncan-Lee<\/strong>, is music by Noel Da Costa, Rashaan Rori Allwood, Ted Runcie, Craig Alistair Bloomfield, and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Duncan-Lee performs, with tenors Paul Williamson<\/strong> and Alexander Cappellazzo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis truly is a passion project,\u201d says Apocryphonia founder Alexander Cappellazzo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment Josh brought Jonah to my attention, we knew that it was something that had to be performed here in Toronto. It was serendipitous that Paul Williamson actually had performed the work in Jamaica back in 2002, and he was thrilled to do it again. The whole team behind this is so committed to bringing this music to life, it\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Program<\/h2>\n

The program showcases two centuries of Jamaican and West Indian classical music, with a focus on the work of Jamaica\u2019s first documented classical composer, Samuel Felsted (1743-1802). His piece Jonah is the first oratorio created in the West Indies, composed in 1775.<\/p>\n

Music by later composers connected to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean diaspora, including Noel Da Costa, and Craig Alistair Bloomfield, Torontonians Rashaan Rori Allwood and Ted Runcie. And Guadeloupe-born, Afro-French composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges rounds out the program. Bologne\u2019s L\u2019Amant Anonyme is the first surviving opera by a composer who was born in the West Indies.<\/p>\n

Together, the music represents a side of Jamaican and Caribbean musical heritage that is rarely represented and performed.<\/p>\n

The performers include leading Jamaican-Canadian artists tenor Paul Williamson and organist Joshua Duncan Lee, together with Apocryphonia\u2019s founder and tenor Alexander Cappellazzo.<\/p>\n

The full program includes:<\/p>\n