Views
8 years ago

Volume 13 - Issue 1 - September 2007

Choral Sceneby Allan

Choral Sceneby Allan PulkerSeptember is not a time when there are usually a lot of choralconcerts. September for most choirs is dedicated to rehearsing forperformances in October and November. The choral concerts that arein our September listings will without a doubt, however, make up inquality for the absence of quantity. The first of these will be onSaturday, September 8, when the Sretensky Monastery Choir fromMoscow will make its North American debut and only Canadianperformance at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The 42-voice allmale a cappella choir will perform a combination of liturgical -Byzantine and Russian chants - and secular music - folk songs andother choral compositions by Russian composers. The Choir is on aworld tour, which has included performances at Notre Dame inParis, UNESCO Hall and the Vatican. After Toronto, the choircontinues its tour in the U.S., before heading to Australia, and thenback to Europe.On September 15 at St. Thomas's Church on Huron Street,Cantores Fabularum, a group of highly experienced choristers whocome together only once or twice a season under this name, usuallyto raise funds for worthwhile causes, will perform the choral musicof Canadian composer, Derek Holman. Holman, who for manyyears was the director of music at St. Simon's Church, has declinedthe invitation to conduct the choir but instead will speak about theworks being performed. A concert like this, focussing on the workof one composer, is invaluable for the insight it offers into thatcomposer's development and creative process.The third of the four choral concerts in the September listingsis not officially a choral concert at all; it is the Toronto Symphony'scollaboration with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in performancesof Karl Orffs Carmina Burana on September 19 and 20. Havingsung in performances of this great and highly original work myself,however, I can assure you that it is first and foremost a choralwork, and one that induces spine-tingling energy and excitement.The fourth and last of these extraordinary choral concerts isthe Elmer Iseler Singers' tribute on September 23 to one of thatchoir's lifelong supporters, John Bird, who died last February. Ithink the fact that the Iseler Singers are doing this is an indication ofthe indispensable importance of the behind-the-scenes work, withoutwhich arts organizations could not possibly exist. As a bonus tohearing one of the best choirs in the country at this concert, we willalso hear one of the leading brass quintets in the world at thisconcert, the Canadian Brass. I will give the last word, however, tothe Iseler Singers, who write in their press release on this concert:"We celebrate in gratitude thelifelong support of John Bird asa member of the Board of theElmer Iseler Singers and theFestival Singers of Canada - aphilanthropist, mentor, friend andCanadian music publisher(through Gordon V. ThomsonLtd). John Bird was a dedicatedand active member of CanadianMusic Publishers Association,now SOCAN; the Ontario ChoralFederation, now Choirs Ontario;and the Kiwanis Music FestivalAssociation."John BirdWhile I expect there will be many more choral concerts next month,September's line-up will, as they say, be a tough act to follow.'Jalt Music on the HillThursdays, 12: 15 - 1 :00 pmAll concerts are free and are held at the historicSt. John's York Mills Anglican Church19 Don Ridge Drive, Toronto, 416-225-6611Sept 6 - Bellamusica Chamber EnsembleMaria Thorburn, soprano. Ines Pagliari, violin.Michelle Kyle, cello. Marianne Gast, piano.Sept 13 - Helena Kameka, Juno-nominated singer-songwriter.Sept 20 - Glynis Ratcliffe - music theatre and cabaret.Sept 27 - Ralista Tcholakova, violin.Oct 4 - Janet Catherine Dea, soprano.Kristin Moss Theriault , harp.Oct 11 - William Shookhoff, piano.Jessica Lloyd, mezzo-soprano. Art Janssons, violaNear York Mills subway. Close to Yonge and the 401.Free parking. Beautiful venue. Great music.Supported by the Toronto Arts Council.a S·C!l!S~n wrTH !HZ':IL&!Me6artr,11y - Holman - R;te,hn;uminoff • Handel - Briuclfn.er - Halle.,y.me,~o t:H~l!!Tmast>ec 18, 2007fflYSTICIL _VOIC!C!9Mar 2, 2008Experiemee_tnE!. Cimadian prert]iere of Paul McGartm~ , s awa-rrcl-Wi~ningoratorio ECCE COR MEUM, with the 200 vqices•of. t ~he',I~ Ol!IQir,;"Chorus Niagara and London Pro Musica, plus:O.rc,J,.aa"!:fi!it;JA tapestry of seasonal global traditions from Tor-olitci's diverse·cultural mosaic, plus your Christmas favourites. Featur.ing guestartists Waleed Abdulhamid and friends.Revel in the choral sounds of Rachmaninoff, El.r:uc~.ner, Haller ar.iij tntfre,with the Toronto premiere of Derek Holman's "highly mY$,,ti~ al'l(ildramatically compelling" REQUIEM24Robert CooperArtistic DirectorEdward MoroneyAccompanistBack to Ad IndexJO!!H! ""'UfflPHanTMay 11,2008Journey to Jericho as walls collap_s~ an,a the great city i~ -rava@e~ l'lyfire in Handel's dramatic oratorio, Ji:DSHL,JA, Triumphant chqruses,exquisite solo arias and lavish ortflesfral settin.$s, ,'F'OrS'fltJson ,'Sf.!bSqriptions er ~ingle tickets, p/ease QCfntact us iatwww.u,rpireuschtifirlsronto.com 41. 6 530 4428 orpheuschoir@sympatics.caWWW, THEWHOLENOTE.COM SEPTEMBER f- O CTOBER 7 2007

~~r;J'mrLydia Adams, Conductor 29th Season2007-2008 Concert SeriesSunday, September 23, 2007 • 7:00 p.m.TRIBUTE CONCERT in honour ofJOHN CHARLES BIRDOur Lady of Perpetual Help Church78 Clifton Rd. at St. Clair EastSpecial Guest Artists:Canadian Brass; Peter liefenbach - organSaturday, October 13, 2007 • 8:00 p.m.BYZANTINE CELEBRATIONSt. Anne's Anglican Church • 270 Gladstone AvenueIn collaboration with SoundStreams Canada"The Troparion of Kassiani" - Christos Hatzis"The World" and the Canadian Premiere of"The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete" - John Tavener"Come Holy Ghost" - Jonathan HarveySpecial Guest Artist: Patricia Rozario, SopranoFriday, December 7, 2007 -8:00 p.m.MESSIAH by G. F. HandelMetropolitan United Church - 56 Queen St. EastSpecial Guest Artists: The Amadeus ChoirSoloists - Meredith Hall, Anita Krause, Mark DuBois andAlexander DobsonPre-Messiah Dinner at the Albany Club - 91 King Street E.Saturday, February 16, 2008 - 8:00 p.m.THE JOURNEYJane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre - 27 Front St. E.In collaboration with Soundstreams Canada"Pimooteewin - The Journey" - Melissa Hui (World Premiere)Libretto by Tomson Highway,Choreography by Michael GreyeyesNarrator, Soprano and Tenor Soloist (To be announced)Friday, March 7, 2008- 8:00 p.m.CHORAL CELEBRATIONMetropolitan United Church - 56 Queen St. EastMusic by Whittaker and Willan and a World Premiere byChristos Hatzis.Special Guest Artists: Vancouver Chamber Choir,Jon Washburn, conductorAll programmes and locations subject to changeSubscriptions to our 5-concert Toronto series are $130for regular tickets, and 5 for seniors and students.Single Tickets are regular and Seniors/Students,except for Messiah, tor which tickets are and .Pre-Messiah dinner at the Albany Club 2180 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3K7Bis Canada Council Conseil des Artst o ro n tdartsb O LI n C i I~ for the Arts du Canada ~ Anarm's l•ngth bodyo!theCityofTorontoC9ONTARIO ARTS COUNCILCONSBL DES ARTS DE l'ONTARIOWWW. TH EWHO LENOTE,COMBack to Ad Index

Volumes 26-29 (2020- )

Volumes 21-25 (2015-2020)

Volumes 16-20 (2010-2015)

Volumes 11-15 (2004-2010)

Volumes 6 - 10 (2000 - 2006)

Volumes 1-5 (1994-2000)