Montreal Fringe Festival Choral Poetry Project Performers

Elvi Dalgaard is a musician and an engineer. Her musical journey began in childhood and wound its way through church choirs and clarinet lessons, a college degree in clarinet performance, and ten years playing in a swing band before fetching up singing in Choeur Maha, Montreal’s feminist choir. Her stage credits are mainly with the aforementioned band (the sadly defunct Disciples of Ursula Big Band) and Choeur Maha, but she did a short stint in musical theatre as well, with the Cote-Saint-Luc Dramatic Society, type-cast as the cougar mom in Catch Me if you Can, Hairspray, and Little Shop of Horrors. She’s delighted to make her Fringe debut in Allie Weigh’s Choral Poetry Project.

Samantha Lo Monaco has been singing since she could talk. After receiving classical vocal training as a teenager, most of her recent performances were in Japanese karaoke rooms or fronting friends’ cover bands at house parties. After an especially challenging year, she is thrilled to have been invited to celebrate poetry and music in Allie Weigh’s original, moving, and surprising compositions. This beautiful opportunity for live, in-person performance marks her jubilant return to the stage.

Avery Gietz, B.Mus. (Percussion), M.Mus. (Sound Recording), has extensive performance experience on stage, in chamber and large ensembles, and in studio as a vocalist, percussionist and pianist. Her musical foundation is built on Western classical music, steeped in jazz, latin, pop and folk music styles. A former member of Musica Orbium and current member and soloist with Ensemble Kô and Ensemble Da Capo, she is currently studying classical voice with Jacqueline Woodley. Avery is delighted to add her voice to the Choral Poetry Project.

Allie Weigh has been singing in choirs for 47 years. Her mother and grandmother were choir directors. She plays violin, has written and performed solo shows for Fringe Festivals, and composes music for voices, and strings (notably in her work on a webseries about love and depression http://www.beddin.org). Over the last 20 years, she has sung in the St James United Church Choir, the CBC Radio Concert Choir, Musica Orbium, Chœur Maha, Ensemble Da Capo and Ensemble Kô. She is beyond grateful that, since 2017, she has always had wonderful people willing to sing her choral compositions.

Luc Jason Murphy has 30 years of full-time devotion to his instruments (all saxes, flutes, plus percussion and clarinet), many musical styles and stage performance. His primary band is the Québécois Les Tireux d’Roches which normally tours the world every year. Due to the pandemic, Luc has focused his grounded energy on composition including some collaborations with his partner Allie, and notably the creation of personalized, totally original, funky birthday tunes. Check them out at http://www.fb2u.net. Allie feels privileged to have him on board for this show.

Melanie Kerridge graduated with a BFA in Inter-related Arts from Concordia in 1989. Her focus was on choral singing, women’s studies and performance art. She has performed with various choirs and vocal ensembles over the years including Choeur Maha, Musica Orbium,Dragana, an all-women Bulgarian ensemble, and both the Concordia Chamber and Jazz Choirs. She is interested in the performative aspects of our lives, particularly women’s lives. Melanie is thrilled and honoured to be part of Allie Weigh’s Choral Poetry Project at the 2021 Montreal Fringe Festival.