Volume 15 Issue 10 - July/August 2010

Guillermo Silva-Marin,

Guillermo Silva-Marin, Founder and General Director2010-11 SeasonDieFledermausor THE REVENGE OF THE BATby Johann StraussDecember 28, 29, 31,January 2 (mat), 5, 7,8, 9 (mat)LuisaFernandaby Moreno TorrobaMarch 9, 11, 12, 13 (mat)The Pirates ofPenzanceby Gilbert & SullivanApril 26, 27, 29, 30,May 1 (mat)plusVienna GoldSeptember 11 & 12 (mat)Gala OffenbachienneNovember 14 (mat)Broadway’s New York– A Musical Journeyat the Marriott Toronto DowntownEaton Centre HotelApril 9a subscription brochure willbe available in Julycall 416-922-2912www.torontooperetta.comPRINCE EDWARD COUNTYMUSICFESTIVALSeptember 16-25, 2010The Church of St. Mary MagdalenePicton, OntarioStéphane LemelinArtistic director and pianistSteven GellmanComposer-in-residenceInformation: (613) 393-3798info@pecmusicfestival.comwww.pecmusicfestival.comPresented byThe Prince Edward County Arts CouncilONTARIO ARTS COUNCILCONSEIL DES ARTS DE L’ONTARIONo Strings TheatrePRESENTSLes Misérables®School EditionPerformed entirely by students.A musical by ALAIN BOUBLIL andCLAUDE-MICHEL SCHONBERG.School Edition speciallyadapted and licensed byMUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONALand CAMERON MAKINTOSH.Show Dates:July 29 - 7:30 pmJuly 30 - 7:30 pmJuly 31 - 1:30 pm & 7:30 pmBuy Tickets Onlineup to 3 hours before each show.Online Prices: , , At the door: , , $15For tickets, informationor program details visitWWW.NOSTRINGSTHEATRE.COMor Call (416) 912-9809750 SPADINA (AT BLOOR)Harbourfront and Morek a r e n a g e SBunraku Bay Puppet Troupe.Summer is here, bringing with it a plethora of world music eventsto take in, many of which will occur outdoors. Harbourfrontis of course one of the biggest purveyors of music and cultureon its many stages both indoor and out, but before having a look atits summer line-up, I’d like to draw your attention to a special eventhosted by the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Bunraku is a formof Japanese puppet theatre, which originated in 17th-century Osaka.Puppets are often life-size, and the drama is accompanied by traditionalmusic. On July 22, the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe and ImadaPuppet Troupe will performat U of T’s MacMillanTheatre, preceded bya pre-performance talk at6:45pm. The Bunraku Baygroup is the only Americantroupe of its kind, and theyare joined by their mentorsfrom Japan (Imada wasfounded in 1704!) in a seriesof short plays.Heading down toHarbourfront, Music inthe Garden curator TamaraBernstein has once againput together a fine seriesof free Thursday (7pm)and Sunday (4pm) concerts,running July 1 to September19. For the full schedule,check out Harbourfront’swebsite, but hereare some “world” highlights:on Canada Day, the Ahkwesasne Women Singers sing traditionalMowhawk songs, and there will be a world premiere of a newpiece by Barbara Croall, Agamiling (On the Shore), for Native instruments,voice, clarinet and field recordings. On July 22, folk dancesfrom around the world will be performed by Jayme Stone (banjo),Mike Barnett (fiddle), Grant Gordy (guitar) and Greg Garrison (bass).Vancouver’s Orchid Ensemble presents “The Road to Kashgar” onJuly 29, featuring music inspired by countries and cultures along theSilk Road. In addition to Chinese, Indian, Jewish and Central Asianmusic, they’ll play works by contemporary British Columbia composers.Toronto’s own Japanese taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu performson August 5; and sarangi virtuosa Aruna Narayan, with Vineet Vyas(tabla) and Akshay Kalle (tanpura) perform North Indian ragas designatedfor twilight on August 19.Still at Harbourfront, World Routes 2010 is a series of mini festivalsrunning every weekend from Canada Day through Labour Day.Some highlights: vocalist Cheryl L’Hirondelle presents contemporarysongs expressing the Cree world view, July 1, at Redpath Stage.(Unfortunately this is around the same time as that evening’s MusicGarden concert, so you’ll have to choose.) “Hot Spot” runs July 2-4;highlights include the Toronto International Flamenco Festival, featuringdancers, singers and musicians, and l’Orchestre Septentrional,an 18-piece big band from Haiti, on July 3. “Expressions of Brazil”runs July 16-18; Roda de Samba performs July 17, and 17-yearoldMallu Magalhaes performs songs from her two albums, in Portuguese,English and French. “Island Soul” presents Caribbean cultureJuly 30-August 2; roots/reggae vocalist Queen Ifrica performs July 31,and some of Canada’s best steelpan players jam August 1 and 2.“What is Classical?” (Aug. 6-8) explores notions of “classical”music, of both East and West. The Turkish ensemble Djoumbushjoins forces with Warhol Dervish (baroque and contemporary cham-22 THEWHOLENOTE.COMJuly 1 - September 7, 2010

er music collective) on August 7. And last but not least, the AshkenazFestival of Jewish culture returns for its eighth round of performancesshowcasing both local and international artists, August 31-September6. For details, visit www.ashkenazfestival.com and www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes2010for details on all Harbourfrontfestivals.The 11th annual Bana Y’Afrique, a free outdoor festival of Africanmusic and culture, takes place July 24 and 25 at Metro HallSquare (King/John). Presented by Africa New Music, there willbe 16 performances by groups from across Canada and one fromabroad. Performers include M’bilia Bel (Congolese singer known asthe “Queen of Congolese rumba”), Ethio Stars Band (Ethiopian songsfrom the 1960s to the present), Afrafranto (Ghanaian “palm winemusic” – a style involving guitars, named after the drink served atgatherings where African guitarists played), Umurisho (a Burundian-Canadian drumming/dance group), and much more.Staying on the outdoors theme, Yonge/Dundas Square is a hub ofactivity throughout the summer. The Global Grooves series includesTambura Rasa on July 2, a cross-cultural group featuring Spanish guitar,gypsy strings, Afro-Latin percussion, Flamenco and belly dancers.Co-presented with Small World Music, another “ethno-fusion”band from Quebec, Apadoorai combines Australian didgeridoo, Reggae,Arabic, Celtic and folk music, July 23. Also a Small World copresentation,Les Gitans de Sarajevo plays Balkan/Gypsy style musicand song on August 13. For the full schedule of events at Yonge/DundasSquare visit www.ydsquare.ca and for more from Small WorldMusic, visit www.smallworldmusic.com.If you’re a jazz fan, the Danforth Mosaic BIA (www.danforthmosaicbia.com/blog)has a series of free outdoor concerts at the CoxwellParkette (Danforth, just west of Coxwell station), every Wednesdayevening beginning July 7. You can hear Suba Sankaran and Indianjazzfusion band Autorickshaw on July 14.If staying indoors is a must, head to Hugh’s Room on July 9 tohear the Gypsy jazz ensemble Gypsophilia; they’ll also be at London,Ontario’s Sunfest on July 10/11. And the Russians are coming!The Russian Cossack State Dance Company makes its Massey Halldebut on September 1. Thirty dancers, a chorus, vocal soloists, and a10-piece chamber orchestra present a colourful and lively evening ofsome of the most athletic dance and music around!Karen Ages can be reached at worldmusic@thewholenote.comJuly 1 - September 7, 2010 THEWHOLENOTE.COM 23