INNERchamber season finale brings forgotten composer’s story to life
- May 7
- 3 min read
INNERchamber will close out one of its most successful seasons to date later this month with a concert that blends music and storytelling to shine a light on a largely overlooked composer.
The Stratford-based chamber-music ensemble’s season finale, Imagining Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, takes place May 24 at Factory163 and features actor and writer Roy Lewis as narrator alongside the INNERchamber ensemble.
Artistic director and violinist Andrew Chung said the concert grew out of a desire to introduce audiences to the work of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a celebrated composer in the early 20th century whose music has largely faded from public awareness.
“He was a super talented composer … lauded by the English establishment as a very bright young genius,” Chung said. “And nowadays, not many people have heard of this composer. So, we wanted to shine a light on his work and his story.”
Coleridge-Taylor, a Black British composer of mixed heritage, rose to prominence with works like “The Song of Hiawatha,” which was widely performed for decades and, at one point, rivalled Handel’s “Messiah” in popularity. Despite that success, he died at age 37 without seeing the full financial rewards of his work.
The May 24 performance will centre around his “Clarinet Quintet,” with additional selections from his “Piano Quintet” and “24 Negro Melodies,” as well as music by Antonin Dvorak.
What sets the concert apart, Chung said, is the narrative element created by Lewis, who has written a script combining historical fact with imagined diary entries and correspondence.
“With Roy’s gifts of writing, what emerged is a little bit of telling the story, but through diary entries and a series of letters,” Chung said. “These are fictional but based on fact.”
Through that lens, Lewis will portray Coleridge-Taylor as well as figures connected to his life and career, including composer Edward Elgar and others from the European and North American musical worlds. The story traces the composer’s journey through a period of major social and political change, including his connections to Black musical traditions in the United States.
The result, Chung said, is a concert experience that weaves together music and storytelling in a way that helps audiences better understand both the composer and the broader historical context of his work.
“There are times when the music operates separately from the narrative and then other times when it complements it,” Chung said, pointing to moments where live performance underscores key parts of the story.
The concert will also feature a mix of familiar and unexpected elements, including what Chung described as a “Bridgerton medley” woven into the program to offer a fresh take on historical themes.
The finale caps a season Chung described as a breakthrough for the organization, with strong audience support and sold-out performances at its Factory163 venue.
“Our season has been a tremendous success,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a season quite this busy before. Our concerts are all selling out … and there’s just been great buzz the whole season about what we’re doing.”
That level of interest suggests INNERchamber has achieved its longstanding goal of introducing more people to chamber music, Chung added, noting audiences are increasingly willing to attend performances without knowing exactly what to expect.
“There’s the trust that they will be fully entertained and educated,” he said.
With tickets selling quickly throughout the season, Chung encouraged anyone interested in attending the finale to secure tickets early. For tickets and more information about this concert and INNERchamber, visit www.innerchamber.ca.
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