History of Music and Opera Appreciation
John Leberg, C.M., Founder of Music and Opera Appreciation Photo: Donal O'Connor, The Beacon Herald
Origins and Early Years
Music and Opera Appreciation has entertained audiences for 30 years. From its inception in May of 1994, Music and Opera Appreciation has produced annual Winter and Fall Series of educational afternoon programs, as well as several concerts featuring talented Canadian artists with international careers. Our mandate to develop programming to the very highest standards, to educate, excite and entertain anyone interested in the musical arts remains central and the measure of success.
Music and Opera Appreciation (MOA) began in 1994 as a seniors outreach program in St. Marys Ontario with six people attending. After a newspaper article in the Journal Argus featured the new program under the leadership of John Leberg, C.M., the audience grew exponentially. In November of 2003 Music and Opera Appreciation Inc. became a not-for-profit incorporated entity with a charitable business number from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). With generous support from patrons and continued sponsorship from Steve Cousins, general manager of Norampac of St. Marys, equipment for the presentation of programs was purchased and the Board of Directors developed a fiscally responsible, publicly accountable system of practice that accounts for the efficient status MOA enjoys to this day.
John Leberg, the founder, artistic leader and driving force behind Music and Opera Appreciation, presented his final program on November 18, 2014 and urged MOA to continue to develop programming that would excite, educate and entertain. When people are excited, art is relevant and education helps us understand the artistic ideas and technical skills used to communicate that excitement. Entertainment helps us deal with life on many levels. John’s vision, manifest through Music and Opera Appreciation, is that culture and its creations are essential to people and must be sustained in our communities. Traditionally subscribers come from Brantford, Kitchener, Waterloo, Stratford, St. Marys, Ingersoll and surrounding areas.
Under John’s aegis, a critical mass of loyal subscribers have expanded their intellectual world and understanding of the musical arts through Music and Opera Appreciation programming. John Leberg volunteered his time, talent and considerable professional experience in the music and opera profession to develop a music-listening and opera film program that evolved into a program containing six main components:
In the fall of 2006 John produced a very successful recital with internationally acclaimed baritone Russell Braun singing Schubert’s Die Wintereisse in the original German and the late Richard Monette, then Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, reading the poetry in English translation. The English poetry read by a legendary actor represented innovative programing and set the standard for concert programs to come. A very well attended, all-Beethoven recital with Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti at the Studio Theatre followed in the fall of 2008. The 2009 concert written and produced by John Leberg traced the fascinating story of Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms through their music and personal correspondence. The performance of Susan Platts (for John, the new Maureen Forrester), accompanied by Vancouver pianist Rena Sharon and acclaimed Canadian actor Seana McKenna as narrator, presented the music, the hopes and dreams and vulnerability of these iconic composers. The latest concert in October of 2014 saw Canadian superstar countertenor Daniel Taylor, internationally renowned soprano Suzie LaBlanc, Musicians of the Theatre of Early Music, and Legacy Award winner Martha Henry as narrator, presenting music from Handel and Monteverdi to celebrate Music and Opera Appreciation’s Twentieth Anniversary.
Transition and Continuation
Since John’s retirement, Music and Opera Appreciation programs have continued with the broad support of our community and the generosity of exceptional local talent in the Stratford area. In November 2013, as John’s final year was about to begin, a Strategic Planning Group was formed to chart the path forward beyond 2014. The group conducted a classical SWOT Analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in MOA’s future operation. It put forward a wide range of recommendations, and MOA established an Implementation Committee to carry them forward.
The implementation committee recognized that it would take time to select a new Artistic Director, and that the committee would therefore have to plan and oversee the programs covering a year-long transition period (the Winter and Fall Series of 2015). Those twelve programs adopted the appropriate themes of ‘A New Beginning’ and ‘A New Generation’. Exceptional presenters volunteered their time and talents to deliver the twelve programs.
At the same time, committee members asked David Beattie to take over the role of webmaster. He created an expanded MOA website, making it a continually evolving historical record as well as an up to date showcase for each new Series. He also designed an updated version of the MOA logo and adopted a new approach to the design of publicity posters.
Early in 2015, MOA publicly invited applications for the Artistic Director position. Three well-qualified candidates were eventually interviewed. That process culminated in the engaging of Barbara Steed Young, who accepted the Artistic Director position in 2015, her work to start with planning the 2016 Winter Series.
Barbara has brought her delightful imagination and energy to the role, along with extensive experience in all aspects of music performance and production, and a large network of contacts in the worlds of music and opera in Stratford and beyond. Audiences have responded well to her creative program planning and the combination of learning, entertainment, and inspiration that are central to MOA’s mission. John Lederman has worked with Barbara to produce a Study Guide for each Series containing copious historical and musical background information.
Growing audiences required the use of the larger Guthrie Room at The Quality Inn (formerly The Festival Inn). Recent upgrades in the sound equipment enhanced significantly the total experience that MOA’s loyal audience have come to treasure.
Starting in 2016, MOA actively supported the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy by including a live fundraising Concert as a part of each Fall Series . The performers have included Aggie Elliot, Ted Baerg, Gerald Isaac, Emily Hamper, Lucas Harris, Nathan Hiltz, Charlene Nafziger, Berthold Carrière, Mark Fewer with several of his musical colleagues (in several appearances), David Stones, and Kelly Walker. The proceeds have been used to provide scholarships for Vocal Academy participants. From 2017 until 2020, MOA also provided billeting for the participants. From 2017 until 2020 (when it was discontinued), MOA supported the “Live from the Met” opera programs presented by Queen of the Square Cinema at Stratford’s City Hall.
The arrival of COVID in March 2020 stopped in-person gatherings everywhere. For the Fall 2020 Series, Barbara created the “MOA Home Kit,” complete with a video introduction by Barbara herself in full and glorious costume, greatly enhanced by the essential technical support from videographer John Lederman. A Home Kit has been produced for every MOA Series since then, even after in-person gatherings were resumed at The Quality Inn, allowing patrons who are unable to attend to have a rich program to watch and listen to at home. It is made available to all subscribers, in-person as well as at-home. In recent years, Maxine Houghton became a contributor of insightful and amusing textual content for the Home Kits, as well as handling the technical aspects of formatting the Home Kits and getting them emailed to all subscribers at exactly the right time.
More big changes came along in 2024. Joanne McArthur stepped down as President following the Fall Series, and David DeVeau took over the presidential reins. With the Fall Series of 2024, MOA sessions were moved to the Stratford Country Club’s Grand Room, a large and pleasant space with several advantages for MOA presentations. Notable among these is the higher screen, making subtitles easier to read for patrons sitting toward the rear.
Contributors to the Transition
Many volunteers contributed to the successful transition of MOA in the months leading up to and following John Leberg’s retirement.
Strategic Planning Group Members:
James Colbeck – volunteer with Stratford Symphony Orchestra and
other community organizations
Emily Hamper – vocal coach and accompanist
Sandra Graff – MOA member
Eleanor Kane – Stratford Chef School founder, MOA member
Joanne McArthur – MOA president
Katherine Napiwotzki – MOA board member, musician
Ann Reynolds – MOA member, past board member
Marilyn Sharp – MOA member
Dr Susan Tamblyn (facilitator) – Public Health Consultant, MOA member
Bruce Wilkinson – MOA member
Implementation Committee Members:
Sandra Graff
Joanne McArthur
Ann Reynolds
Marilyn Sharp
Susan Tamblyn
Eleanor Kane
Website and Publicity Designer:
David Beattie
Interviewers of Artistic Director Applicants:
Susan Tamblyn
Dorothy Knight
Joanne McArthur
Board Members During the Transition Year 2015:
Karen Mychayluk-Wilson
Peter Fischer
Dorothy Knight
Joanne McArthur
Lead Program Presenters in the Transition Year 2015:
James Colbeck (twice) Heather Jewson
Gwenlynn Little (twice) Annette av Paul
Cynthia Toushan James Westman
Barbara Steed Young Ann Reynolds
Music and Opera Appreciation has entertained audiences for 30 years. From its inception in May of 1994, Music and Opera Appreciation has produced annual Winter and Fall Series of educational afternoon programs, as well as several concerts featuring talented Canadian artists with international careers. Our mandate to develop programming to the very highest standards, to educate, excite and entertain anyone interested in the musical arts remains central and the measure of success.
Music and Opera Appreciation (MOA) began in 1994 as a seniors outreach program in St. Marys Ontario with six people attending. After a newspaper article in the Journal Argus featured the new program under the leadership of John Leberg, C.M., the audience grew exponentially. In November of 2003 Music and Opera Appreciation Inc. became a not-for-profit incorporated entity with a charitable business number from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). With generous support from patrons and continued sponsorship from Steve Cousins, general manager of Norampac of St. Marys, equipment for the presentation of programs was purchased and the Board of Directors developed a fiscally responsible, publicly accountable system of practice that accounts for the efficient status MOA enjoys to this day.
John Leberg, the founder, artistic leader and driving force behind Music and Opera Appreciation, presented his final program on November 18, 2014 and urged MOA to continue to develop programming that would excite, educate and entertain. When people are excited, art is relevant and education helps us understand the artistic ideas and technical skills used to communicate that excitement. Entertainment helps us deal with life on many levels. John’s vision, manifest through Music and Opera Appreciation, is that culture and its creations are essential to people and must be sustained in our communities. Traditionally subscribers come from Brantford, Kitchener, Waterloo, Stratford, St. Marys, Ingersoll and surrounding areas.
Under John’s aegis, a critical mass of loyal subscribers have expanded their intellectual world and understanding of the musical arts through Music and Opera Appreciation programming. John Leberg volunteered his time, talent and considerable professional experience in the music and opera profession to develop a music-listening and opera film program that evolved into a program containing six main components:
- Complete video/DVD presentations of operas;
- Explanation of musical elements and how they relate to larger musical forms;
- Biographical information on composers and performers;
- Musical Moments: music listening and discussion;
- Invited professionals who have gained national or international recognition to present some of the programs: the late Lotfi Mansouri, then General Director of the San Francisco Opera; Raffi Armenian, Conductor Emeritus of the KW Symphony; the Canadian mezzo-soprano Janet Stubbs; and the pianist of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Sylvia Hunter.
- Concerts
In the fall of 2006 John produced a very successful recital with internationally acclaimed baritone Russell Braun singing Schubert’s Die Wintereisse in the original German and the late Richard Monette, then Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, reading the poetry in English translation. The English poetry read by a legendary actor represented innovative programing and set the standard for concert programs to come. A very well attended, all-Beethoven recital with Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti at the Studio Theatre followed in the fall of 2008. The 2009 concert written and produced by John Leberg traced the fascinating story of Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms through their music and personal correspondence. The performance of Susan Platts (for John, the new Maureen Forrester), accompanied by Vancouver pianist Rena Sharon and acclaimed Canadian actor Seana McKenna as narrator, presented the music, the hopes and dreams and vulnerability of these iconic composers. The latest concert in October of 2014 saw Canadian superstar countertenor Daniel Taylor, internationally renowned soprano Suzie LaBlanc, Musicians of the Theatre of Early Music, and Legacy Award winner Martha Henry as narrator, presenting music from Handel and Monteverdi to celebrate Music and Opera Appreciation’s Twentieth Anniversary.
Transition and Continuation
Since John’s retirement, Music and Opera Appreciation programs have continued with the broad support of our community and the generosity of exceptional local talent in the Stratford area. In November 2013, as John’s final year was about to begin, a Strategic Planning Group was formed to chart the path forward beyond 2014. The group conducted a classical SWOT Analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in MOA’s future operation. It put forward a wide range of recommendations, and MOA established an Implementation Committee to carry them forward.
The implementation committee recognized that it would take time to select a new Artistic Director, and that the committee would therefore have to plan and oversee the programs covering a year-long transition period (the Winter and Fall Series of 2015). Those twelve programs adopted the appropriate themes of ‘A New Beginning’ and ‘A New Generation’. Exceptional presenters volunteered their time and talents to deliver the twelve programs.
At the same time, committee members asked David Beattie to take over the role of webmaster. He created an expanded MOA website, making it a continually evolving historical record as well as an up to date showcase for each new Series. He also designed an updated version of the MOA logo and adopted a new approach to the design of publicity posters.
Early in 2015, MOA publicly invited applications for the Artistic Director position. Three well-qualified candidates were eventually interviewed. That process culminated in the engaging of Barbara Steed Young, who accepted the Artistic Director position in 2015, her work to start with planning the 2016 Winter Series.
Barbara has brought her delightful imagination and energy to the role, along with extensive experience in all aspects of music performance and production, and a large network of contacts in the worlds of music and opera in Stratford and beyond. Audiences have responded well to her creative program planning and the combination of learning, entertainment, and inspiration that are central to MOA’s mission. John Lederman has worked with Barbara to produce a Study Guide for each Series containing copious historical and musical background information.
Growing audiences required the use of the larger Guthrie Room at The Quality Inn (formerly The Festival Inn). Recent upgrades in the sound equipment enhanced significantly the total experience that MOA’s loyal audience have come to treasure.
Starting in 2016, MOA actively supported the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy by including a live fundraising Concert as a part of each Fall Series . The performers have included Aggie Elliot, Ted Baerg, Gerald Isaac, Emily Hamper, Lucas Harris, Nathan Hiltz, Charlene Nafziger, Berthold Carrière, Mark Fewer with several of his musical colleagues (in several appearances), David Stones, and Kelly Walker. The proceeds have been used to provide scholarships for Vocal Academy participants. From 2017 until 2020, MOA also provided billeting for the participants. From 2017 until 2020 (when it was discontinued), MOA supported the “Live from the Met” opera programs presented by Queen of the Square Cinema at Stratford’s City Hall.
The arrival of COVID in March 2020 stopped in-person gatherings everywhere. For the Fall 2020 Series, Barbara created the “MOA Home Kit,” complete with a video introduction by Barbara herself in full and glorious costume, greatly enhanced by the essential technical support from videographer John Lederman. A Home Kit has been produced for every MOA Series since then, even after in-person gatherings were resumed at The Quality Inn, allowing patrons who are unable to attend to have a rich program to watch and listen to at home. It is made available to all subscribers, in-person as well as at-home. In recent years, Maxine Houghton became a contributor of insightful and amusing textual content for the Home Kits, as well as handling the technical aspects of formatting the Home Kits and getting them emailed to all subscribers at exactly the right time.
More big changes came along in 2024. Joanne McArthur stepped down as President following the Fall Series, and David DeVeau took over the presidential reins. With the Fall Series of 2024, MOA sessions were moved to the Stratford Country Club’s Grand Room, a large and pleasant space with several advantages for MOA presentations. Notable among these is the higher screen, making subtitles easier to read for patrons sitting toward the rear.
Contributors to the Transition
Many volunteers contributed to the successful transition of MOA in the months leading up to and following John Leberg’s retirement.
Strategic Planning Group Members:
James Colbeck – volunteer with Stratford Symphony Orchestra and
other community organizations
Emily Hamper – vocal coach and accompanist
Sandra Graff – MOA member
Eleanor Kane – Stratford Chef School founder, MOA member
Joanne McArthur – MOA president
Katherine Napiwotzki – MOA board member, musician
Ann Reynolds – MOA member, past board member
Marilyn Sharp – MOA member
Dr Susan Tamblyn (facilitator) – Public Health Consultant, MOA member
Bruce Wilkinson – MOA member
Implementation Committee Members:
Sandra Graff
Joanne McArthur
Ann Reynolds
Marilyn Sharp
Susan Tamblyn
Eleanor Kane
Website and Publicity Designer:
David Beattie
Interviewers of Artistic Director Applicants:
Susan Tamblyn
Dorothy Knight
Joanne McArthur
Board Members During the Transition Year 2015:
Karen Mychayluk-Wilson
Peter Fischer
Dorothy Knight
Joanne McArthur
Lead Program Presenters in the Transition Year 2015:
James Colbeck (twice) Heather Jewson
Gwenlynn Little (twice) Annette av Paul
Cynthia Toushan James Westman
Barbara Steed Young Ann Reynolds
