Canada’s first and only Inuk professional classical singer, Deantha Edmunds, is a proud resident of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a two-time Dora Award Nominated performer and is much in demand as a singer, actor, and collaborator in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous projects. She is also a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Circle of Artists.
Edmunds was nominated for the East Coast Music Award ‘Indigenous Artist of the Year’ in 2020 for her solo EP, “My Beautiful Home,” and in 2016 for the album “Pillorikput Inuit: Inuktitut Arias for All Seasons.”
2019 performances included the world premieres of Indigenous operas “Shanawdithit” with Tapestry Opera/Opera on the Avalon, and the Cree and Sámi double-bill “Two Odysseys” with Soundstreams/Signal Theatre/Sámi National Theatre Beaivváš.
Most recently, Edmunds represented the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Against the Grain Theatre’s national film “Messiah/Complex,” accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The project received international acclaim.
An urban Inuk, Edmunds aims to empower Indigenous people and share their stories. She explores and embraces her Indigeneity through poetry and song. Upcoming projects include performances at Stratford Summer Music Festival as well as recording her collection of songs, “Connections” with string quartet. Edmunds is currently writing the libretto for her opera, “Ingutak” which will be the first opera sung in English and Inuktitut.
Program
From EP 'My Beautiful Home'
*Labradorimiut/Sons of Labrador by Sid Dicker
From Deantha's upcoming original album 'Connections'
*Song of the River
*Legacy
*Life's Song
From 'Pillorikput Inuit: Inuktitut Arias for All Seasons'
*Saimartigut by Carl Wilhelm Fliegel
Poem
*Map of Your Heart