FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2014, KLEINBURG ON – On Thursday, July 10, 2014, Liona Boyd, the “First Lady of Guitar,” will perform an intimate concert of songs from her latest album, entitled The Return…to Canada with Love, at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Boyd, who has won five JUNO Awards and was named to the Order of Canada, will play among the masterworks of Canadian art that have recently inspired her. The Return, which includes songs dedicated both to the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, is a coast-to-coast celebration of Canada’s vibrant cultures and landscapes.
“The McMichael is honoured to host a musician of Liona Boyd’s talent and importance to our nation,” said Victoria Dickenson, McMichael Executive Director and CEO. “Her recent album celebrates so many of the things that the McMichael and its visitors hold dear—the beauty of the Canadian landscape and the diversity of its people being chief among them.”
Since receiving her first guitar at the age of thirteen, Boyd has performed for audiences around the world, including the British Royal Family, the King and Queen of Spain, Presidents of the United States and Mexico, and Prime Ministers of Canada, France, and Britain. She has toured with Gordon Lightfoot and Tracey Chapman, and recorded with Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and Olivia Newton-John, among others.
During the 1988 World Economic Summit, Boyd was invited by Mila Mulroney to perform at the McMichael for the spouses of the G7 leaders, including Nancy Reagan. Boyd’s upcoming concert marks her much-anticipated return to the gallery and represents a truly unique Canadian cultural experience.
“It’s been too long and I look forward to returning,” said Boyd. “I hope I will have a chance to look around and, now that I’m back in Canada, I plan to visit the McMichael more often.”
In 2003, Boyd was diagnosed with Musician’s Focal Dystonia, forcing her to leave the stage for six years. During that time she reinvented her guitar technique and returned to the recording studio in 2009. She currently performs with fellow classical guitarist and singer Michael Savona.
A revealing interview with Boyd, covering aspects of her artistic upbringing and illustrious career, as well as her experience collaborating with some of Canada’s most celebrated musicians on The Return, will be published in the inaugural issue of the McMichael Magazine, due out later this summer.
Tickets: $65 (includes taxes and gallery admission). To order, call 905.893.1121 ext. 2209 or visit mcmichael.com.
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of almost 6,000 artworks by Canadian artists, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists. The gallery acknowledges the support of the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation. It is located on 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails at 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the City of Vaughan. For more information: mcmichael.com.
For media inquiries:
Wendy Campbell
Manager, Media Relations and Online Presence
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2201
wcampbell@mcmichael.com
Rachel Weiner
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
rweiner@mcmichael.com