ENJOY TWO DAYS OF WONDERFUL BAROQUE MUSIC, JUST ONE HOUR WEST OF TORONTO ;;11-~A A/ A. trJ • GRAND RIVER BAROQ_UE KEVIN MALLON. FE ST I VAL ARTI STI C DIRE CTOR JUNE 16 &17 BUEHLOW BARN, AYR,ONTARIO TICKETS 519-578-1570 OR I-800-265-8977 The Centre in the Square Box Office IOI Queen Street North K itchener www. centre-square .com ·.: '· Urban Festivals Music festivals in smaller centres and rural settings, are the heart and soul of the summer music season, but the urban festival/multi-day special event, while not a new phenomenon, seems to be on the up and up as a more widely used vehicle for the presentation of music during the fall/winter/spring season, in Toronto and other urban centres. Guelph Spring: The Guelph Spring Festival, one of the oldest and most established urban festivals, sent us a press release in February announcing that the illness of one of its founders and the death of another had resulted in "a time of flux for the event," effectively forcing the question, "should the Festival continue and how?" It goes on to say that while the festival's organizers are giving this question serious consideration, they know that it " ... is a critical part of our community. It plays a key role in helping define Guelph's unique character ... and with an exciting milestone, our 40th anniversary in two years - we are obliged to take this Festival as far as it can go, to make it as good as it can be." Hopefully there is someone out there ready and willing to take on the jobs that need to be done to continue making this great event a reality. Meanwhile, what the rest of us can do is vote with our feet and get out to an event or two in Guelph. The festival runs from April 27 to May 7, and all the details can be found in our listings. Organix: William O'Meara and Gordon Mansell, the organizers of the "Organix" festival write on their festival's website: "We ... want to see the organ continue to be part of the musical landscape in our country. Unfortunately, we often see diminishing audiences, difficulties in maintaining instruments, concert halls and churches being built without organs, and fewer concert opportunities for young organists. And yet the organ can lay claim to spectacular repertoire and immense sonic possibilities. Organ festivals in Europe, South America and Asia all testify to the power and appeal of what Mozart called "the King of Instruments". With imaginative programming, sometimes incorporating other instruments and voices, and an allstar roster of organists from both the local and international communities, their festival is one we owe it to ourselves to get out to, so again, get out and vote with your feet! New Urban Venues Rose Theatre Brampton: with all the excitement about the really big arts building projects in Toronto, it is all too easy to overlook two smaller but significant arts infrastructure developments: Brampton's new Rose Theatre, a million state-of-the-art performing arts facility with an 880-seat theatre, a 160-seat recital hall and a community meeting space, has announced it will opening on schedule in September this year. A cornerstone of Brampton's five year downtown revitalization plan, the theatre, is one of the largest public infrastructure projects in the country at this time. Kudos to the people behind it; if the performing arts are to thrive they must have dedicated spaces where they can be heard and seen at their best. Danforth Music Hall: The Danforth Music Hall has new owners who are determined to revitalize this historic venue for live performance, particularly musical theatre. The recently completed renovations include new seats, a new climate control system, cutting edge sound and light systems, new washrooms, a completely renovated backstage and a new lobby, bar and box office. The renewed Music Hall will open for business on May 4 with the Canadian premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's show, Song and Dance, starring singer, Louise Pitre and dancer Rex Harrington. Dave Snider Music Centre 3225 Yonge St. PH (4 16) 483-582 5 c Mai I: s n idcrrn us i c@sn i dcrm us ic. com www. sn idcrrn usi c. com One of Toronto's Oldest Music Stores ... With The Best Selection of Pop, Jazz & Broadway Sheet Music in the city - For Beginners and Professionals - Come in and browse over 25,000 sheet music publications. ha ve a wide array of Woodwind, Brass, Keyboards, Guitars and Accessories. Music Lessons offered on site.
EARLY Music by Frank Nakashima Ages of song, sensuous and sonorous Thanks to a generous donation in memory of Joan and Geoffrey Riggs, the Toronto Chamber Choir has been presenting an innovative Bach Cantata Series in which director David Fallis begins each of four Kaffeemusiks by placing a cantata in context, analyzing the mu sic, and having the choir demonstrate. Then, if you've been paying attention, this will enhance your enjoyment of the choir's full performance of Bach's Cantata #161 Komm, du susse Todesstunde with orchestra and soloists (May 14, at Christ Church Deer Park). Coffee, tea and sinful home-baked refreshments follow . Their website: www .geocities.com/torontochamberchoir Considered by many to be Bach's finest work, J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor will be performed by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, considered by many to be one of the finest ensembles of its kind (May 3-7), with sopranos Suzie LeBlanc and Catherine Webster, countertenor Matthew White, tenor Pascal Charbonneau, baritone Nathaniel Watson, and the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction ofivars Taurins, at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. Studio Sixteen performs the sensuous and sonorous 8-part choral sacred works from Spain and Portugal, including Duarte Lobo's Requiem, also music by Victoria and Guerrero, in a program entitled "Carn;;iones de el Alma: Songs of the Soul." This concert takes place SruD!O XVI - columnist/chorister Frank Nakashimn is front & centre. To his left, WholeNote's Sheil.a McCoy. e~ /~Ge(~. 11 1.\ / \ & Co. Limited 1 OFfme&RamV,obm Cl " ; at Toronto's acoustically stunning and visually exquisite St. Paul's Basilica (May 13). Website: www.studiosixteen.ca The Tallis Choir pays homage to one of the world's most beloved composers, Mozart, with a reconstruction at St. Basil's Church of the service music as it might have been heard at Mass in Salzburg Cathedral over 200 years ago (May 13). Guest soprano Laura Albino and The Talisker Players assist. The program includes the Coronation Mass, Exsultate Jubilate, and Ave Verum Corpus. Visit www.tallischoir.com Since being founded just a few years ago, the Toronto Masque Theatre has based its presentations on an old performance art known as the masque which combined elements of theatre, music and dance. This month (May 17 & 18), they will be revisiting the music of Henry Purcell in a much-anticipated presentation of the 17th century spectacle, actually a semi-opera (an integration of music and spoken word), Dioclesian which brings together a period instrument ensemble, and dancers in costume, under the direction of WholeNote's very own Larry / ( CO/\'SU,\A(OR5 & PURVEYOR5 CONTINUES ~d ?:O i Chur,:h St., To:·ontu. ON. M5B f Y-. Email: ghcl@idircct.com Tel 416-363-0093 - Faxc t J6 263 0053 www.georgeheinl.com Canada's foremost v10lin experts Proud of our h:':ritag:':. Excit:':d abou~ t!1c future. M AY 1 - ] UNE 7 2006
