Beverly Glenn-Copeland: with Owen Pallett

Celebrating four decades since the release of his groundbreaking album Keyboard Fantasies, Beverly Glenn-Copeland returns to the stage for a deeply moving retrospective performance spanning his extraordinary body of work. Joined onstage by theatre artist, writer, and longtime creative & life partner Elizabeth Copeland, and led by musical director Alex Samaras, 40 Years of Keyboard Fantasies: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland is an intimate and transcendent evening tracing a musical journey unlike any other.

Across more than fifty years of music-making, Beverly Glenn-Copeland has created a singular catalogue that defies categorisation—drawing from folk, electronic, classical, jazz, spiritual music, and children’s storytelling while remaining unmistakably his own. A classically trained musician who studied at McGill University, Glenn-Copeland’s work has continually evolved through a profound commitment to emotional truth, community, and spiritual inquiry.

At the centre of the evening is Keyboard Fantasies, Glenn-Copeland’s visionary 1986 album, created using early synthesisers in rural Ontario and rediscovered decades later by a new generation of listeners. Once a little-known cassette release, it has since become recognised as a landmark recording in ambient and experimental music, earning the Polaris Heritage Prize and inspiring artists and audiences around the world. In recent years, Glenn-Copeland’s influence has expanded through collaborations with artists including Sam Smith, Blood Orange, Bon Iver, and Jeremy Dutcher, helping introduce his work to broader international audiences. His music continues to bridge genres and generations, drawing from diverse traditions while remaining unmistakably his own—an enduring artistic voice that resonates as powerfully today as ever before.

The performance will also spotlight material from Glenn-Copeland’s luminous new album, Laughter in Summer—a profoundly moving collaboration created alongside Elizabeth Copeland. Written during a deeply personal chapter of their lives, the record reflects on love, companionship, ageing, memory, grief, and transcendence with remarkable tenderness and grace. Widely praised as among the most poignant works of Glenn-Copeland’s career, the album stands as both a celebration of enduring connection and a testament to art’s ability to hold joy and sorrow together.

Now in his seventh decade as a recording artist, Beverly Glenn-Copeland continues to bridge generations through music that feels timeless, healing, and urgently human. Together with Elizabeth and a remarkable ensemble led by Alex Samaras, these performances invite audiences into a rare shared space—one of reflection, resilience, community, and joy.