Canada – Red Bay Basque Whaling Station

Aiden Hartery inspired by UNESCO site to write opera for music composition thesis at Western University.

A music student from Labrador is taking inspiration from his home by writing an opera about Basque whalers in Red Bay for his PhD thesis.

Aiden Hartery studies music composition at Western University in London, Ont., and was looking for ideas for his thesis.

At first he considered just doing the typical large-scale orchestral work most people in the program do, but then he started looking at the possibility of doing an opera and stories he could tell.

“Being from Labrador — my family is also from Newfoundland — and living in Ontario I personally go through spurts of homesickness,” he told Labrador Morning. “Thinking about stories I sort of looked back, and the province has such a wealth of stories and tales and history.”

Inspiration

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