Canada — and Canadians — must evolve if the country hopes to survive another 150 years, says Michael Stone. An instrumental instructor in the School of Creative Arts, he has composed the score for a multidisciplinary work which will be performed Saturday, August 19, to close the Stone and Sky summer literary, music and art series.

Alchemy, written by director Alix Sideris and production designer Patricia Fell with choreography by Anh Nguyen, will combine voice and text, movement and music in a piece examining Canada’s 150th anniversary.

“The concept of alchemy — change, transformation, letting go of the past, turning swords in to plowshares, etc., is our reaction to Canada 150,” says Stone. “Everything must change, as one of our songs says. Change is inevitable.”

A band of seven instrumentalists and two singers will bring his music to life in a score meant to support and underscore the action.

“Sometimes it’s droney and ambient, and sometimes it gets kind of wild and exciting,” says Stone.

The performance employs varying concepts of movement to illustrate its themes, he says.

“Dancers describe the work that change requires of us. Audience members, who have a pivotal role in the play, move from the fringes to the inner circle of the amphitheatre as the action progresses,” says Stone. “And the alchemist herself sails her ship through the sea of change.”

The event will start at 6 p.m. at the quarry on Pelee Island. Saturday’s agenda also includes a farmers’ market and jazz workshops. More information, including ticket details, is available on the event website.