first-ever recording,
first-ever recording, Cantate Domino, with performances directly from source materials and recorded in situ. The source in question, a 1661 version of the Allegri Misere, is especially haunting in its simplicity and the absence of the storied high C. Their second recording featured Palestrina and was reviewed by The WholeNote’s own Michael Schwartz. St. Michael’s Choir School has quite a season of its own ahead, ambitious even by the standards of this storied choir program. Of note is the splitting of Handel’s Messiah into two performances, one for the Christmas season and another for the Easter season. The Choir School does not often perform Handel and Jennens’ masterpiece, and Peter Mahon, senior choir director, looks forward to teaching this music to another generation. Part 1 will be featured in Massey Hall in a contemporary interpretation featuring the 160 voices of the senior choir. In April, Parts 2 and 3 will be presented in a much smaller performance, with Mahon leading an early music interpretation with Baroque instruments and pitch. Alumni and early music specialists Simon Honeyman and Richard Whittall will be featured alto soloists for the 647 performances along with Joel Allison, bass. St. Michael’s Cathedral music programming is also turning to a new ticketing model, one with no ticket sales. Suggested donations are now the norm for this season. “Anyone can come and may pay only as they are able”, says William O’Meara, St. Michael’s COURTESY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CATHEDRAL Sacred Music Concert at St. Michael’s Cathedral Cathedral organist. “We all hope it welcomes those who may not be able to afford to go to regular concert series in the city.” This admirable choice will bring peace and music to many people who would otherwise not be able to afford the experience. (And as an aside, St. Michael’s Choir School’s junior choir director, Maria Conkey, also takes on a new role this year, as artistic director of Young Voices Toronto, heading into its 31st season. Stay tuned for more news as Conkey takes the reins.) Canadian Children’s Opera Company Speaking of storied children’s and youth choirs, the Canadian Children’s Opera Company (CCOC) heads into its 50th anniversary season under music director Teri Dunn, also a choral instructor at St. Michael’s Choir School! The renowned Ben Heppner will host the CCOC’s October 26 gala concert at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which will feature performances by Richard Margison, Krisztina Szabó, Simone Osborne and Andrew Haji and a chorus made up of company alumni, many of whom have gone on to notable musical careers. Former music and artistic directors John Tuttle and Ann Cooper Gay will also conduct. Their 50th anniversary season will also include the world premiere of The Monkiest King with music by Alice Ping Yee Ho and libretto by Marjorie Chan. This beloved Chinese folk tale will be brought to life by 7456 7578 2017-18 Season Crossroads Robert Cooper, C.M. Artistic Director Edward Moroney Accompanist Last Light Above the World Canada Remembers Experience the Toronto premiere of Ontario composer Allan Bevan’s Last Light Above the World: A War Litany, a stirring tribute to the passion and sacrifice of armed conflict. Woven with David Lang’s riveting National Anthems, this concert is a moving commemoration of the courage of ‘those who serve’. Welcome Christmas! Nordic Light This Thirsty Land November 5, 2017 3:30pm December 15, 2017 7:30pm February 24, 2018 7:30pm April 29, 2018 3:00pm Swing into the Festive Season Expect high-energy charttoppers from the Bob DiAngelis Big Band and acclaimed jazz pianist John Sherwood, alongside Nils Lindberg’s hypnotic Christmas Cantata, as we invigorate your senses and celebrate the joy of the Yuletide season. An Ēriks Ešenvalds Spectacular Explore the majesty of the aurora borealis with the Canadian premiere of Nordic Light Symphony by renowned Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. Join the Orpheus Choir, That Choir, and Ešenvalds for this spectacular, multi-media, multi-sensory experience. An exploration of water’s life-giving force Enjoy the combined voices of Orpheus and the award-winning DaCapo Chamber Choir in the Toronto premiere of Leonard Enns’ This Thirsty Land, a tribute to our intense relationship to water and its power on our lives. www.orpheuschoirtoronto.com 40 | September 2017 thewholenote.com
C H O R A L E C H O R L A E the CCOC in May 2018 as the CCOC under artistic director Dean Burry continues its pursuit of artistic, educational and cultural excellence. TSO Doing Its Part The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has several big choral works planned this season, featuring the Toronto Children’s Chorus and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. September 27, 28 and 30, Brahms’ A German Requiem will be performed, including soprano Erin Wall and baritone Russell Braun. Just over a month later, the Toronto premiere of Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation will be performed by the massed power of the Toronto Children’s Chorus, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Measha Bruggergosman. Victoria Symphony Orchestra music director Tania Miller takes the podium, guiding the words of Suzanne Steele, Canada’s war poet, and set to music by Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan. I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way. As musicians around the region return home to start the new season, I will be there, diligently sitting in rehearsal, seeking that elusive balance of emotion and contemplation through music, and hopefully bringing peace to a few others along the way. Make sure to come out to as many performances as you can – audiences are an essential part of the musical process. See you out there and don’t forget to say hi! Follow Brian on Twitter @bfchang. Send info/media/tips to choralscene@thewholenote.com P A X • C H R I S T • C H O R A L E I David Bowser Artistic Director PAX CHRISTI CHORALE’S 2017–18 SEASON MUSIC AT METROPOLITAN 2017| 18 SEASON SUNDAY, NOV. 19, 1:30pm Jazz Standards of the Seventeenth Century Musicians on the Edge with Rezonance Baroque Ensemble SUNDAY, DEC. 17, 7pm Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols with the Metropolitan Choirs Freewill offering SUNDAY, APR. 22, 1:30pm Marg and Jim Norquay Celebration Concert: Mystery of the Unfinished Concerto Musicians on the Edge and Rezonance Baroque Ensemble SUNDAY, DEC. 10, 1:30pm Deck the Halls: Downtown Carol Sing with the Metropolitan Silver Band Sing favourite carols with the Metropolitan Silver Band and organ. GOOD FRIDAY, MAR. 30, 7:30pm Mass in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach The Metropolitan Festival Choir, Orchestra, and soloists SATURDAY, MAY 26, 7:30pm Show Tunes for 200 A multimedia journey through music for the theatre from 1818 to today featuring tenor Charles Davidson and others. DURING 2018, METROPOLITAN UNITED CHURCH celebrates A Great Light - 200 years of worship and service in downtown Toronto. There will be additional concerts and programs celebrating this anniversary. Romantic Masters The passion of Bruckner, Brahms, and Beethoven Sunday, October 29 2017, 3:00 p.m. Gloria The joie de vivre of the season Saturday, December 16 2017, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 17 2017, 3:00 p.m. Die Schöpfung Haydn’s The Creation illuminated by live video Saturday, April 28 2018, 7:30 p.m. SUBSCRIBE TODAY PAXCHRISTICHORALE.ORG www.metunited.org 416-363-0331 x 26 56 Queen Street East, Toronto MetUnited Music MetUnitedMusic thewholenote.com September 2017 | 41
