Hi Everyone, it’s Lisa here. Frank may be having fun in the Arctic but I was truly fortunate to be able to attend NUMUS‘ final concert of the season.

NUMUS’ Artistic Director and brain injury survivor, Kathryn Ladano premiered Frank’s new composition, ‘Anatomy of the Recovering Brain’.

The Registry Theatre in Kitchener, Ontario. NUMUS' June 11th premiere of Frank Horvat's 'Anatomy of the Recovering Brain'.

Richard Burrows on vibraphone with Kathryn Ladano.

Morgan Lovell on cello with Kathryn Ladano.

Gregory Turner on piano with Kathryn Ladano.

Soprano, Pam Patel with Kathryn Ladano.

This composition couldn’t have happened without a lot of special people but the ones that I think had the most impact on all of us yesterday were the six brain injury survivors who told their stories as part of the piece. It takes courage to tell your story, courage to talk about your pain and struggles, courage to let everyone know your suffering. But, every single one of them did it for the rest of us. So we can be more understanding, so we don’t have to feel alone in our personal fight, so we can all get to the other side where health is our partner in life. It doesn’t matter where in our bodies or minds the dis-ease is, we owe it to ourselves to continue to learn about ourselves and the opportunities out there that we can grasp to heal.

This piece is an hour-long continuous piece (It is an audio documentary of sorts as it looks at the stories and inspirations from six brain injury survivors. often Invisible…) for bass clarinet and musical cameos from friends who have helped Kathryn on her recovery journey – Richard Burrows, Morgan Lovell, Gregory Turner, and Pam Patel.

Many thanks again to NUMUS and this premiere’s partners – Ontario Brain Injury Association and the Brain Injury Association of Waterloo-Wellington for all that they do year in and year out. This project wouldn’t have happened without the support of Ontario Arts Council, the Waterloo Region Community Foundation and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.

Stay tuned to Frank’s social media channels, blog posts and e-newsletter for updates on next steps for this project.

Watch Kathryn and Frank’s pre-concert chat about the piece…