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Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

  • Text
  • November
  • Toronto
  • Jazz
  • Arts
  • Symphony
  • Orchestra
  • Musical
  • Theatre
  • Choir
  • Performing
  • Volume
"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!

Wednesday December 2

Wednesday December 2 ●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Welcome Yule! St. Cecilia Singers; Western University Singers. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. ●●7:30: Plumbing Factory Brass Band. Semiannual Convention of the Plumbers Union and Its Delegations. J.J. Richards: Emblem of Unity March; M.M. Snyder: Fraternal Overture; Mendelssohn: Nocturne from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Weber: “Leise, Leise” from Der Freischütz; and other works. Henry Meredith, conductor. Byron United Covenant Church, 420 Boler Rd., London. 519-471-1250. ; (st). ●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. Alexander Tselyakov, piano - with Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Musicians. Hummel: Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op.87; Chopin: Barcarolle; Ballade No.4; Piano Concerto No.2 in f with quintet. Joyce Lai, Alain Bouvier, violins; Ian Clarke, viola; Andras Weber, cello; Tim FitzGerald, bass. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. ; (st). Thursday December 3 ●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston). Advent Concerts at the Cathedral. Mark Himmelman, organ. 270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-548-4617. Free with voluntary offering. Thursdays until Dec 17. ●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Hot Ticket: Louise Pitre. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. . Friday December 4 ●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Hot Ticket: Jesse Cook -- One World! Jesse Cook, guitar. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. . Saturday December 5 ●●2:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. . Also 7:30. B. Concerts Beyond the GTA Laura Secord Secondary School Concert Choir Dave Sisler ~ Conductor Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School Concert Choir J.P. Dupont ~ Conductor The St. Catharines Civic Brass Ensemble Steve Fralick ~ Conductor ●●5:30: St. Andrew’s United Church. Indian Christmas Night: Concert & Dinner. Christmas carols performed in Indian Raga/fusion style on sitar, flute, guitar and tabla. Bruce Harding, flute and guitar. St. Andrew’s United Church (Hamilton), 497 Upper Paradise Rd., Hamilton. 905-383-7411. ; (adv). Authentic Indian dinner. ●●7:00: Guelph Youth Singers. Snowforms. Annual winter concert. Markus Howard, artistic director/conductor; Heather Fleming, choir/conductor. Harcourt Memorial United Church, 87 Dean St., Guelph. 519-763-3000. ; (sr/st); (eyeGO). ●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. . Also 2:30. ●●7:30: Lyrica Chamber Choir. A Canadian Noel. Works by Mark Sirett, Jeff Enns, Eleanor Daley, Derek Holman, Healey Willan and others. Lyrica Chamber Choir; Steve Winfield, director; Brent Mayhew, piano. Burton Avenue United Church, 37 Burton Ave., Barrie. 705-722-0271. ; (sr/st). Sunday December 6 ●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Family Concert: From Neverland to Hogwarts. Peter Pan; The Harry Potter Children’s Suite. Bradley Thachuk, conductor. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688- 0722. ; (child). ●●7:30: Achill Choral Society. Rejoice. Rutter: Magnificat; and other works. Christopher Dawes, organ; Shawn Grenke, piano; Roger Flock, percussion; A. Dale Wood, conductor. St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Orangeville), 5 First Avenue, Orangeville. 905-936-5060. ; (13-17); (child). Also Nov 28 (Bolton), 29 (Colgan). Tuesday, Dec. 8 th ● Noon St. Thomas’ Church, 99 Ontario St. Doors Open at 11:30 a.m. Free-will collection to Community Care 25 TH ANNIVERSARY CIVIC CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE CITY OF ST. CATHARINES Peter M. Partridge Conductor of Massed Choirs Ross R. Stretton Producer & Organist of the Civic Christmas Carol Concert JANE BUNNETT continued from page 31 Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories record was going to be for, because at that time EMI was being bought by Universal and so we didn’t have a label for it. A lot of people work like that, do it independently, but we had spent a lot of money and we were very lucky, we got some assistance from Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council and FACTOR to make that recording. That all being said, when it was done, I thought, ‘This music is very, very different from any of the musics I have written.’ There is a feminine – there’s something different from any other record I’ve made. There’s all these women singing – there’s a vocal component on four tracks – it’s not a pure jazz record, not a pure Afro-Cuban record, it’s a real mixture of the two things. I was really afraid of how people were going to react to it. “As with all of our recordings, we are always moving ahead of the curve when we make something and it’s also our problem in a way too. I can’t stay in one place, do the same thing over and over again, but just as somebody starts to understand what our last project is, we have moved on to something different. So there’s always kind of a catch-up mode with your audience, and some people get it and some people don’t. But yeah, I was really afraid, to be totally honest. Plus with it being an all-female record, I was worried that people wouldn’t give it their ears – an all-girl group – not give it the real attention and look at the integrity of it. Every one of those artists, even though some were more developed than others – it was a leap of faith taking a bunch of girls – most of them had never been into a studio before and it was their first recording. “It’s a whole bunch of firsts and Larry and I were carrying all these new things, it was a huge leap of faith and money to do this and say to the world, “What do you think of this one now?” Larry really was the one that was saying, ‘It’s going to be a great record.’” Maqueque is now working on their second album. “We’re writing new material and rehearsing every day, much to my neighbour’s chagrin,” laughs Bunnett. Following Saturday’s concert, they are doing a tour of Australia – Bunnett’s first time down under since 1993 – as well as performances planned in Cuba as part of the JAZZ.FM91 jazz safari and the Kennedy Center in May. “The record was great and it’s the door opener, but I think when this group gets on stage, people’s minds are blown because the energy is so strong from these young women. They so love performing and they so love the opportunity to get on a stage. I have been saying this for years in interviews: the only way you get better – you get more popular, you become great – is by performance opportunity. Look at Esperanza Spalding as a perfect example. She is a great talent, but if she didn’t get all those opportunities with Joe Lovano and all those people, they have all been stepping stones to her becoming her own artist. “There’s the 10,000 hours thing which has been studied – but you can put all those hours in and not get the opportunities too. I feel it so greatly when I get on the stage with them … they have these great big smiles and they are not being phony. They’re so excited to be in front of an audience, playing and getting feedback. They love it and it’s very contagious. And they’re all kickass musicians who play their instruments so well. They love being together as a group, and I know that because they’re all living in our house! So I see how it works, there is a deepness in the relationship, all the girls coming from Cuba and knowing what they’ve had to be up against. And knowing that what is happening for them right now is a huge opportunity. It’s been great for me because it has given me new energy also.” Heavyweights’ Chris Butcher: As selected by Bunnett, the Emerging Artist Award that goes with the Premier’s Award went to trombonist, composer and bandleader Christopher Butcher. At the awards gala, she introduced him: “This wonderful young musician has been in the trenches as an artist/educator/radio show host at U of T and an arts activist. Along with his Heavyweights Brass Band, he brings great musicianship to the streets and concert halls …” And says Butcher: “It is a huge honour to be selected by Jane 54 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Bunnett as emerging artist at the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. The award comes at an important moment in Jane Bunnett and Chris Butcher my career. I’m heading to New Orleans in January to study with trombone master and producer Delfeayo Marsalis, with support from the Ontario Arts Council. I look forward to being able to focus on my art while soaking up vibrations from the birthplace of the music I love. I’ll be coming back to the first American tour of my group, the Heavyweights Brass Band, in March, with clinics and concerts in NYC, Buffalo, Williamsville, Cleveland, Akron, Detroit and more, as well as heading out west with Mexican singer/songwriter and JUNO award-winner QuiQue Escamilla.” Butcher, like many musicians – yours truly included – feels lucky to have Jane Bunnett as an inspiring beacon in our community. “Jane has been a mentor and inspiration to me for years. I feel validated and inspired to have been selected by her. Not only do I want to work harder for a positive change to the fabric of Canadian culture through my art/music, I also want to give back to the community and have a positive impact on humankind. With her Spirit of Music Foundation, which provided instruments for Cuba, and countless benefit concerts, Jane has showed the way.” Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz musician, writer and educator who can be reached at oridagan.com. C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! Music Never To Die For BOB BEN This past September, The WholeNote celebrated its 20th anniversary with a concert/party at the newly renovated Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Rarely passing up an opportunity to hear live music for free, and absolutely never turning down a good excuse to wear a suit and tie, I reserved my seats very quickly. It was great. There was a diverse program, lots of good humour, and perhaps most importantly cake. I remember turning to my plus-one after a lot of the performances and saying “Okay, that was my favourite.” Some highlights include: Mary Lou Fallis, who did a great job co-hosting the event with WholeNote publisher David Perlman, sang a hilarious song, listed in the program as Tone Deaf, in which the narrator goes on about her musical ineptitude, pokes fun at herself and punctuates phrases with deliberately off-key notes. It’s the tiniest bit ironic that while singing about an inability to distinguish pitches, Fallis demonstrates a very finely tuned command of pitch by nailing those “off” notes so perfectly imperfectly. The pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico paid tribute to renowned violinist and educator Jacques Israelievitch, who passed away from lung cancer three short weeks earlier, by playing a quick and upbeat piece of music, Glass Houses (5) by Anne Southam because, as she told it, the “always on” Israelievitch never wanted to play things slow (or, more accurately, below performance tempo), even in sight-reading sessions, and “because he would have liked it.” The program also included some jazz. During the second set, as Sophia Perlman, Julie Michels and Adrean Farrugia approached the 120 Diner 120 Church St. 416-792-7725 120diner.com (full schedule) Nov 1 6pm Emily Mac . 8pm Tracey Gallant . Nov 3 7-11pm Girls Night Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 4 6pm Black Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Amanda Martinez . Nov 5 6pm Perlhaze . Nov 6 6pm Sam Broverman . Nov 7 6pm Rebecca Binnendyk . Nov 8 6pm Coleman Tinsley ; 8pm Hello Darlings . Nov 10 7-11pm Girls Night Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 11 6pmBlack Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Julie Michels . Nov 12 6pm Liz Tansey . Nov 13 6pm Bobby Hsu & Alex Samaras: Tribute to Angela Lansbury . Nov 14 6pm Brenda Lewis CD Release with Margaret Stowe (guitar) . Nov 15 6pm Darlene Stimson Sings Carole King ; 8pm Laura Hubert . Nov 17 7-11pm Girls Night Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 18 6pm Black Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey . PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Daniela Nardi . Nov 19 6pm Ori Dagan & Marla Lukofsky Sing June Christy . Nov 20 6pm Kathleen Gorman . Nov 21 6pm Kristina Nojd . Nov 22 6pm Bossa Nova with Angela Turone & Chris Platt ; 8pm Kalya Ramu: Kal’s Hot Four . . Nov 24 7-11pm Girls Night Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 25 6pm Black Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey. PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Rebecca Campbell . Nov 26 6pm Michelle Lecce . Nov 27 6pm Whitney Ross Barris . Nov 28 6pm Elizabeth Martins . Nov 29 6pm Hampton Avenue Four ; 8pm Juliet Dunn & Peter Shea . Alleycatz 2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 alleycatz.ca All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated. Call for cover charge info. November 4 Amber-Leigh. November 6 Taxi. November 7, 27 Jamesking. November 11 Sean Stanley with Carlos Morgan. November 13, 14, 21, 28 Lady Kane. November 18 Play at the Parks. November 20 Recipee Band. November 25 Nightbird Band. Annette Studios 566 Annette St. 647-880-8378 annettestudios.com Every Mon 9:30pm Jazz Jam w/ Jared Goldman Quintet. Suggested donation /(st). Artword Artbar 15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512 artword.net (full schedule) November 12 8pm Vocal jazz jam with Sue Ramsay Trio. November 13 8pm Art Crawl: Beg to Differ Trio with Tim Ninehouse PWYC. November 15 7pm Lee Barwin 3 plus Schoorl & Krakowiak . Blakbird, The 812b Bloor St. West 647-344-7225 theblakbird.com (full schedule) Bloom 2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315 St. Philip’s Anglican Church Sunday, December 6, 4:00 pm | Jazz Vespers Tribute to Frank Sinatra with Alex Samaras (vocals), Colleen Allen (saxophone), Scott Alexander (bass), Gary Williamson (piano) and Brian Barlow (drums) Sunday December 20, 4:00 pm | Christmas Jazz Vespers Diana Panton (vocals), Reg Schwager (guitar) and Don Thompson (piano). St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke 25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon) 416-247-5181 • stphilips.net • free will offering thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 55

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