WATCH: A touching musical tribute honours the life and legacy of B.C. teenager Amanda Todd. Ceilidh Millar reports.
The Victoria Symphony will pay tribute to Amanda Todd with a touching musical performance this weekend.
The orchestral tribute, titled My Name is Amanda Todd, was created to commemorate the life and legacy of the 15-year-old teenager from Port Coquitlam who committed suicide in 2012 after years of online harassment and cyber-bulling.
Joceyln Morlock, a Vancouver-based composer, was commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra to create the piece of music as part of a series on significant Canadian women.
“When I was asked to compose the piece, I first thought, I don’t want to write requiem music for a 15-year-old girl who was bullied and chased by horrible people,” said Joceyln Morlock. “That isn’t what we wanted to do with this piece.”
Todd posted a video before her death on Youtube that has been viewed nearly 13-million times, detailing how she was tormented by fellow students and strangers online.
Her story made headlines around the world and sparked a national conversation on bullying.
“We wanted to capture Amanda’s personality and talked about how strong she was to make this video and speak up for herself in the very place people were attacking her,” Morlock explained. “The awareness of cyber-bulling that Amanda’s video by going viral has actually made a big difference to people in a positive way.”
Todd’s mother, Carol Todd, was asked to provide input on creating the music, and describes the emotions she felt when she heard the 11-minute piece for the first time.
“To be able to see, and feel Amanda’s story come alive like that and to give hope and inspiration, she would have wanted this to happen,” Carol Todd said.
The piece was awarded Classical Composition of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards.
Carol hopes her daughter’s story, now personified in music, will help continue the conversation on bullying.
“Even though the story has been so horrific and tragic, we bring hope to others through it,” Carol explained.
The Victoria Symphony’s performance will be held on November 10 at 8:00 pm at the Dave Dunnet Community Theatre in Victoria.
Students from local schools are being invited to hear the piece.
For more information, visit the Victoria Symphony’s website.
Ceilidh Millar
