Juno award-winning percussionist to give intimate fundraising concert series in treehouse

Carleton University music professor Jesse Stewart is planning to give a series of intimate solo percussion concerts in a most unlikely venue—a treehouse that he built in Ottawa. Nestled in the branches of a large silver maple tree, the treehouse will be the site for a number of unique listening experiences that will feature improvised music performed by Stewart on a variety of percussion instruments. All proceeds from the concerts will go to a children’s charity chosen by each audience member.

Stewart, who received an “Instrumental Album of the Year” Juno award last month for his innovative work with Stretch Orchestra, writes:  “While I was building the treehouse, I could not help but think about the fact that many children in the world do not have a house to live in, let alone a treehouse to play in. That realization made me want to organize a series of solo percussion concerts—performances for audiences of one, two, or three—in the treehouse as a means of raising funds for various children’s charities in order to help, in however modest a way, children in need.”

Rather than charging admission, Stewart will ask audience members to make a donation to a children’s charity of their choice, enabling them to receive a tax receipt from that charity. Anyone interested in a treehouse concert should email info@jessestewart.ca, indicating the number of people (to a maximum of three) that will attend the concert, the charity that you wish to donate to, and the amount that you will donate.

For more information (including images of the treehouse and an award-nominated documentary about the treehouse and its maker), visit www.treehouseconcerts.ca or contact info@jessestewart.ca or (613) 520-2600 ext. 4348.