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CANCELLED: Bringing Music to War Ravaged Zones
March 25, 2020 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Orion Series in Fine Arts
Susan McDonald, guitarist and advocate
Lecture: Bringing Music to War Ravaged Zones
Susan McDonald is internationally known and respected as a performer and advocate of musicians in places of strife. In this lecture, Ms. McDonald describes her experiences bringing a message of music and hope to endangered refugees and artists in the war-torn Middle East, including Syria’s Orontes Guitar Quartet, who completed a residency at the University of Victoria in 2019.
Texas-based classical guitarist Susan McDonald has delighted audiences the world over, from the Amazon to Iraq. Her audiences have ranged from Holocaust survivors in Vienna to the President of the United States, and her music has been enthusiastically received in concert halls, universities, festivals, schools and hospitals. A protegee of the legendary Pepe Romero, Susan’s studies took her from the University of St. Thomas in Houston to the Mozarteum in Salzburg and finally to a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Susan’s many recordings and live performances have been heard on radio and television broadcasts worldwide. Increasingly, her passion and energy has been directed towards bringing music to people in regions of conflict or isolation. Through her non-profit organization, Remember the River, she works to support artists in conflict zones through teaching, mentorship and donations of musical instruments and art supplies.