Women on the Verge (WOV) are a dynamic trio of female musicians that are experienced performers, teachers, and mentors.
WOV is comprised of American soprano Emily Martin, Canadian soprano Elizabeth McDonald, and Canadian pianist Kathryn Tremills. Through musical performance, the Trio focuses on the stories of women, both historical and fictional, that are relevant to contemporary culture to help create a dialogue about women’s experience. WOV is committed to commissioning new music with future generations in mind: repertoire that expand the sonic possibilities of art song and questions the thin stereotypes that have restricted female characters in Classical music.
In addition to performing, the Trio are passionate and inspired educators with a commitment to sharing their stories with students of all ages. Previous examples include lecture-recitals on their first commission, Blue of the Distance by Emilie Lebel who was recently named Affiliate Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which focused on the effects of the worldwide Syrian refugee crisis on women; traditional masterclasses on art song and opera with university and high school level singers and collaborative pianists in Canada, the US, Iceland, and the UK; and lecture-discussions at various educational institutions on arts entrepreneurship and bringing an idea to fruition. 2018-2019 found WOV presenting lecture-recitals and masterclasses at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Iceland University of the Arts, and the Universities of Alberta, Calgary, and Lethbridge.
2019-2020 season projects include masterclasses and performances at McMaster University, a lecture-recital on entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto New Music Festival, and working with emerging composers, singers and pianists in developing new vocal repertoire through Green Room Sound Collective. Projects in the pipeline also include their next commission written by Canadian composer Cecilia Livingston and Toronto poet laureate Anne Michaels. Women on the Verge, with composer Cecilia Livingston, were recently awarded four grants, one from the Ontario Arts Council, one from the Toronto Arts Council, one from SOCAN, and another from the Canada Council of the Arts to support this project.
With only a 17% acceptance rate, Women on the Verge have recently been asked to present at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference in June 2020 in Knoxville, TN. The session “New Choices in Art Song Repertoire: Canadian composers Emilie Lebel and Cecilia Livingston” will be a comprehensive presentation of both composers’ music including Blue of the Distance and WOV’s new commission with Cecilia Livingston and Anne Michaels.
As administrators and producers, WOV has spent the last two seasons (2017-2019) commissioning, performing, and touring Blue of the Distance. In 2018, the Trio received two grants from the Canada Council for the Arts to support the touring of Blue of the Distance - one Travel Grant and one Circulation and Touring Grant. In October 2018, Women on the Verge were featured on NW Focus Live on KING 98.1 FM in Seattle, WA, a radio program with 250,000 listeners, which highlighted Blue of the Distance. Tours have included (2018-2019) a trip to Paris with multiple performances in April 2018, a two-week tour of Western Canada and Washington State in October 2018, and a two-week tour of London, England, and Iceland in February 2019. WOV was the producer of the first Canadian songSLAM event in January 2019 that kicked off the New Music Festival at the University of Toronto.
As a professional trio, WOV has created a new brand that connects and inspires multiple generations of women in classical music. Fully self-developed, they are garnering attention as leaders in Canadian vocal music and classical music entrepreneurship. Though artists for all, we seek to broaden and deepen our connection to women of all ages in a community of all backgrounds.