BLUE PAGES 2013/14●Jubilate ● SingersWe are a small, mixed-voice chamber choir of35 or so amateur singers. We sing choral worksfrom all periods and genres, often involving languagesother than English. Our artistic directoris Isabel Bernaus. Caroline Spearing will beconducting this year while Isabel is on sabbaticalleave. This year’s concerts include an eclectic mixof classic and contemporary choral works and acollaboration with the Shevchenko Choir. Concertdates are November 23, February 22 and May 23and 24. We will be premiering a new work by aCanadian composer in the May concerts.We are a friendly and welcoming group,expected to work hard towards the goal of makingbeautiful music. We rehearse on Tuesdays,7:30pm to 9:45pm, at St. Leonard’s AnglicanChurch, 25 Wanless Ave., just north of Lawrenceoff Yonge. Auditions are held upon request. Weinvite singers who want to find out more aboutus to sit in on a rehearsal.David Reddin, membership coordinator416-459-8927.jubilatesingers.ca●●Kawartha ConcertsKawartha Concerts is the primary live performingarts presenter of classical chambermusic within the Kawartha Region. KawarthaConcerts is a division of Lindsay Concert Foundation,a registered charitable not-for-profit organizationin its 36th season.Join us for an exciting concert season presentingprofessional Canadian and internationalartists, both established and emerging,in performances of musical excellence at venuesthroughout the Kawartha Region, in the chambermusic series “Ovation” (Kawartha Lakes) and“Bravo” (Peterborough).Kawartha Concerts is committed to the educationof the next generation of audiences andperformers alike through audience developmentand outreach educational initiatives inthe Encore Series, a family and young audiencefriendly performing arts series; the Artist ConnectionSeries, a visiting artist residency creatingan opportunity for pre-concert chats, schoolconcerts/workshops and masterclasses; andCommunity Connections, providing local musiciansperformance opportunities, collaborationsand connections.Kawartha Concerts is dedicated to creatingmemorable musical experiences for the benefitof the youth and citizens of all ages in the ruralcommunities of the Kawartha Region.Kawartha Concerts is where...“Great MusicComes to Life!”Valerie McElravy,artistic director/manager705-878-5625info@kawarthaconcerts.cakawarthaconcerts.ca●●Ken Page Memorial TrustThe Ken Page Memorial Trust is a non-profit charitablefund created to support jazz and the musicianswho create the music.The aims of the Trust are to encourage emergingtalent, foster an understanding of the evolutionof the music, promote jazz education throughworkshops, master classes and outreach programsconducted by established professionalsand provide financial aid to jazz musicians on anemergency basis.The KPMT holds annual fundraising galas featuringsome of the world’s leading jazz artistsand honours jazz professionals with its LifetimeAchievement Award. In 2012 the Trust providedgrants to the Faculty of Music at the University ofToronto, the Humber College Community MusicSchool, the Ron Collier Memorial Scholarship andthe TD Toronto Jazz Festival’s jazz tuition projects.Donations are our lifeline. Board members areunpaid and every dollar goes to further the aimsof the Trust. Contributions are gratefully receivedand if you are currently a donor, we extend oursincere appreciation. If you would like to donateplease visit our website.Anne Page416-515-0200anne@kenpagememorialtrust.comkenpagememorialtrust.com●●Kindred Spirits OrchestraThe Kindred Spirits Orchestra has performed togreat acclaim, sold-out audiences and standingovations for four seasons at the renowned CBCGlenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto. As ofthe 2011/12 season, the KSO has established a sixconcertsubscription series at the Flato MarkhamTheatre, in addition to three communityoutreach and two educational concerts. Led bythe charismatic maestro Kristian Alexander, theKindred Spirits Orchestra is enjoying an enormouspopularity among York Region’s residentsand continues to attract avid audiences acrossthe Greater Toronto Area.The 2013/14 concert season includes internationallyrenowned soloists: pianists AntonKuerti and James Parker and violinist JacquesIsraelievitch, among others, as well as risingCanadian star, violinist Nicole Li. The repertoireincludes symphonies by Brahms, Schumann andShostakovich, as well as masterworks by Handel,Wagner, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns and others.Subscription packages and single tickets aresold through Flato Markham Theatre Box Office.Save up to 60% and subscribe for as few asthree concerts!Kristian Alexander, music directorAndrew Cheng, associate conductorMichael Berec and Matthew Poon,assistant conductorsJobert Sevilleno, chief executive officer905-604-8339info@KSOrchestra.caKSOrchestra.caBox Office: 905-305-7469MarkhamTheatre.ca●●King Edward ChoirKing Edward Choir is a 75-voice SATB auditionedchoir, led by artistic director Floydd Ricketts andassociate conductor Lucie Veillette. The qualityof the music and fine leadership provide incentivefor some of the area’s best choristers andaccompanists to be part of the choir. Audiencesare entertained with a varied repertoire from differenttraditions around the world. The 2013/14season includes three performances.November 29, 2013: our Christmas concert willfeature Handel’s Messiah (including guest soloists,accompanied by organ, harp and percussion),Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein,three settings of the Ave Maria text and a collectionof favourite Christmas carols.March 25, 2014: “Choral Festival Spectacular,”showcases King Edward Choir, Lyrica ChamberChoir, Bravado Show Choir, Barrie high schoolsingers and the Huronia Symphony Orchestra,all under the direction of Oliver Balaburski. Featuredmusic will include Fauré’s Requiem andDvořák’s Te Deum.May 2014: “Spring Sing: 100 Years Since theWar.” Works by Fauré, Holst, Nathaniel Dett,Adolphus Hailstork, Vaughan Williams andothers will be featured, depicting loss, spiritualityand renewal.Find us on Facebook and Twitter!Tyrell-Ann Williams, vice president905-554-2317tyrellann.williams@gmail.comkingedwardchoir.org●●Kitchener-WaterlooChamber Music SocietyIn its 40th season, Kitchener-Waterloo ChamberMusic Society is one of Canada’s busiest presentersof chamber music concerts with over 60concerts per year, ranging from solo recitals tosextets. Programs range from medieval to contemporary;most feature both classics and recentmusic. Concerts take place at our Music Room,57 Young St. W., Waterloo, in a private homethat holds about 85 people. A superb Steinwaypiano, good acoustics, a supportive audience andan intimate but informal atmosphere make forgreat concert experiences. Notable performersthis year include Eric Himy, Janina Fialkowska,Till Fellner and many more pianists, in addition toensembles including the Penderecki, New Orfordand Alcan quartets. Specials this year include“Viennese Quartets – Old and New,” starting withthe Dali and Cecilia quartets, followed by the Avivquartet with the complete late Schubert quartetsand Quintet in C (February 15 and16), and finishingwith the complete “Second Viennese School,”played by the Lafayette and Molinari quartetsB14 | theWholeNote 2013/14 PRESENTER PROFILES
(February 25 to 27). See our continually updatedwebsite for details.Jan or Jean Narveson519-886-1673kwcms@yahoo.cak-wcms.com●●Koffler Centre of the ArtsKoffler Centre of the Arts is Canada’s only multidisciplinary,contemporary Jewish cultural institutionpresenting cutting-edge exhibitions of newCanadian and international art and diverse programsin music, dance, literature, film, spokenword and theatre open to everyone from everybackground. The Koffler engages local and visitingartists to teach students of all ages and stages.The Koffler is home to the Koffler ChamberOrchestra (KCO), comprising some of the Toronto’smost well regarded professional musiciansperforming with community members and musicstudents, under the direction of acclaimed violinistand former TSO concertmaster JacquesIsraelievitch. The KCO performs three publicperformances per season. Throughout the year,the Koffler also produces concerts and othermusic events featuring local, national and internationalmusicians.Tony Hewer,head of communications and marketing416-638-1881 x4228thewer@kofflerarts.orgkofflerarts.org●●Larkin SingersThe Larkin Singers, a 16-voice chamber choir,has quickly established itself as one of the finestexamples of Canada’s strong choral heritage,dedicating itself primarily to renaissance andbaroque repertoire. Founded in 2008 under thedirection of Matthew Larkin, the choir is formedof professional choral singers from the Torontoarea. The Larkin Singers has had successfultours to Bristol, UK (as resident choir at BristolCathedral) and to New York City, and has alsopresented concerts in Ottawa, London and Kingston.In 2008, the Larkin Singers released its firstrecording, A New Work is Come on Hand, featuringmusic of the Christmas season by Bach,Vaughan Williams, Howells, Ord and others.Now in its sixth season, the Larkin Singerspresents a three-concert subscription series aswell as outreach and collaborative performancesthroughout Ontario.Robin McLean, general managerinfo@larkinsingers.comlarkinsingers.comNAGATA SHACHU●●Lawrence ParkCommunity ChurchLawrence Park Community Church has a longtradition of fine music, both in worship and inconcert. Sunday services are held at 10:30amin the recently renovated and air-conditionedsanctuary. Musical groups include the AdultChoir (volunteer and professional singers) andthe Lawrence Park Handbell Ringers. There is aweekly choral program for school-age childrenand monthly sessions for youth with saxophonistand percussionist Kenny Kirkwood. New membersare warmly welcomed in all of the groups.On October 6 the Brian Barlow Quartet will befeatured at the 10:30am Sunday morning worship.The MegaCity Men’s Chorus will presenta Christmas concert on Sunday, December 1 at2:30pm.Mark Toews416-489-1551 x28mark@lawrenceparkchurch.calawrenceparkchurch.ca●●Li Delun Music FoundationThe Li Delun Music Foundation was establishedin 2002 in Toronto as a non-profit organizationdedicated to the promotion of cultural exchangebetween the east and the west through musicalevents. Named after the renowned Chinese conductorLi Delun, who founded the first symphonyorchestra in the People’s Republic of China, thefoundation is now well known in the communityas a presenter of high quality musical eventssuch as the annual “East Meets West New Year’sConcert” at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Asidefrom forming the Toronto Festival Orchestra,which gives talented young aspiring musiciansa chance to work alongside seasoned professionals,the foundation also provides a platformfor young up-and-coming soloists to play on theconcert hall stage accompanied by a professionalorchestra, in front of a live, appreciative audience.The Li Delun Music Foundation also holdsmasterclasses and workshops given by internationalacclaimed artists such as Lang Lang andChen Sa and consults other community groupssuch as the Confucius Institute on musical events.Find us on Facebook!Rosalind Zhang, contact416-490-7962; 647-281-8768lidelunmf@gmail.com●●Linda Litwack PublicityHaving begun her career as a summer reporterwith the Winnipeg Tribune, arts publicist LindaLitwack is a long-practised matchmaker betweenartists and the media. Her services include variousforms of writing and editing — from mediareleases and bios to radio spots and CD booklets— working with designers, photographersand other professionals and above all, liaisingwith the media. In addition to media, music andother contact lists, she maintains a list of Friends,who receive notices of special events, often with adiscount offer. Since leaving CBC Publicity — after20 years in radio and three in TV — she has collaboratedwith a host of creative people on challengingendeavours, mostly in classical music butalso in theatre, books, TV documentaries and visualarts. Among her long-time clients have beenMooredale Concerts, the Musicians In Ordinary,One Little Goat Theatre Company, the TorontoJewish Folk Choir and pianist Christina PetrowskaQuilico. Linda is also a member of the InternationalResource Centre for Performing Artists.416-782-7837lalitwack@rogers.com●●Living Arts CentreServing as an important resource for the arts,education and business, the Living Arts Centrefeatures over 225,000 square feet of multipletheWholeNote 2013/14 PRESENTER PROFILES | B15
In our features, Music & Health Vivien Fellegi looks at music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into the new plans for new music in Gustavo Gimeno's first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Peggy Baker Dance Projects headline Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread. All this and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
