L’Academie at Dana Farber Cancer Institute: An Interview with Leslie Kwan
by Published April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
EMA Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Brandon Labadie, caught up with Leslie Kwan over the phone last February to discuss her work with her ensemble, L’Academie, in the Boston hospital system. Since 2009, L’academie has been presenting French Baroque music to the patients of Dana Faber Cancer Institute and has recently financial support for their outreach programs from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Leslie gives EMA the story behind L’academie’s beginnings, how she feels the group’s music making has made an impact, and what other projects might be on the horizon.
[button link=”https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/leslie_kwan.mp3″ color=”red”]Please click here if the audio doesn’t load automatically[/button]
Retelling her ancestry as a series of musical stories, the author starts with a very great grandmother, Pa I Sha. She walked the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from their homelands to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The Chickasaws called this dark chapter “the Removal.” She tells a musical story both harrowing and hopeful, about both hardship and love.
The Oklahoma Baroque Orchestra, founded in 2022, has rapidly blossomed under artistic director Dylan Madoux. His goal is to create a self-sustaining early-music community for Oklahoma City and the region. People around the country are starting to take notice.
In appointing Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière to lead its prestigious dance activities, BEMF has picked a multidisciplinary choreographer, dancer, actor, and musician. She has been 'an invaluable collaborator for many years and is at the top of her field.'
Receive weekly email updates and news from EMA and the early music community. Sign Me Up!
Before making your gift, would you consider something?
Become a “Continuo” donor by converting your gift into an ongoing monthly gift (and if you pay by bank transfer, your payment details stay current).
By joining the Continuo program, you join a group of early music supporters committed to helping EMA sustain its operations all year long.
For those of you who are already monthly donors, thank you! For everyone else, if you change your gift to a monthly amount, you offer consistent help throughout the year, at a monthly rate that works for you.