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Volume 23 Issue 2 - October 2017

  • Text
  • October
  • Toronto
  • Choir
  • Arts
  • Concerts
  • Orchestra
  • Jazz
  • Musical
  • Performing
  • Symphony
  • Volume
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.

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BLUE PAGES 2017/18 ●Toronto ● Symphony Orchestra Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s most important cultural institutions, recognized internationally. Peter Oundjian, now in his 13th season as the TSO’s music director, leads the orchestra with a commitment to innovative programming and audience engagement through a broad range of performances that showcase the exceptional talents of the orchestra along with a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. The TSO also serves the larger community with TSOUND- CHECK, the original under-35 ticket program; the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra; and music education programs that reach tens of thousands of students each year. Throughout its history, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has welcomed some of the greatest international artists, including James Ehnes, Maxim Vengerov, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Jessye Norman, Karen Kain, Yefim Bronfman, Angela Hewitt, Lang Lang (in his first week-long residency program in North America), and actor Christopher Plummer. Renowned composers Henri Dutilleux, R. Murray Schafer, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, John Adams and Tan Dun, among many others, have been in attendance for the orchestra’s presentations of their music. TSO Patron Services 416-593-1285 contactus@TSO.ca www.TSO.ca ●TorQ ● Percussion Quartet Canada’s premier percussion ensemble, TorQ Percussion Quartet, continues to bring new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance in every situation and opportunity. Renowned for their engaging performances, members Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy are committed to making percussion music accessible to audiences that span generations, and as the Toronto Star states “[TorQ] can stand proud among the growing throng of chamber percussion ensembles around the world.” Since coming together in 2004, some of their international highlights include performances at the International Percussion Quartet Festival (Luxembourg), Percussive Arts Society International Convention (Indianapolis) and with the Stuttgart Chamber Choir. At home, TorQ has made appearances at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, PEI’s Indian River Festival, Toronto’s Soundstreams, and Kitchener’s Open Ears Contemporary Music Festival. In 2012, they launched their first annual concert series in Toronto where they collaborated with invited guest artists, composers and dancers. As collaborative artists, the quartet has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Hamilton Children’s Choir, as well as with soloists Krisztina Szabó, Rivka Golani and composer Nicole Lizée. Richard Burrows 416-788-8272 info@torqpercussion.ca www.torqpercussion.ca ●Toyich ● International Projects (TIP) Toyich International Projects (TIP) is a non-profit charitable organization devoted to developing the skills, professional training and musical education of music students, performers, mature amateur musicians and music teachers by providing them with opportunities to develop and present their talents nationally and internationally. Our acclaimed Monster Concerts (piano orchestras) have showcased many talented performers over the years and have been featured on radio, television and print media in Canada and Europe. TIP’s mandate is inclusive and we provide and support professional training on an ongoing basis to musicians of all genres, instrumentalists and vocalists (contact boyanna@sympatico.ca for information on participation). TIP, in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, is proud to present RomeSMARTS (Rome Summer Musical Arts) in Rome, Italy, each summer offering performance programs for all musicians; masterclasses with Canadian and Italian teachers, lectures, collaborative studies, public performances and University of Toronto credit for eligible Faculty of Music students. The dates for next year’s program in Rome are July 9 to 20, 2018. Boyanna Toyich 416-922-0755 boyanna@sympatico.ca www.romesmarts.org ●Trio ● Arkel Our fifth season starts with an exciting program of contrast with two of the greatest chamber music composers who ever lived- Beethoven and Bartók. A beautifully romantic program of Russian music in early November features the cello as star instrument, with Shauna Rolston as guest cellist. After a long break in which the Trio will be presented at Gallery 345 in a program of modern music (see New Music Concerts, February 2018) our season continues with a program with the wonderful pianist Stewart Goodyear as well as Jeff Beecher, bassist of the Silk Road Ensemble, where the centrepiece is Schubert’s Trout Quintet. Trio Arkel is the collaboration of three women at the top of the classical music world in Canada, each a soloist and leader in her own right: Marie Berard is concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra; Teng Li is the principal violist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Winona Zelenka is the assistant principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Since 2008 they have joined forces to bring a wide variety of classical chamber music to the Toronto public, enlisting internationally renowned guest artists for a truly stimulating and eclectic musical experience. Winona Zelenka 416-409-6824 winonazelenka@gmail.com www.trioarkel.com ●●Ukrainian Art Song Project Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP) is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to record and publish a veritable anthology of over 1,000 art songs by 26 of Ukraine’s greatest composers for distribution to the music world. Since 2004, 352 art songs of Stetsenko, Stepovyi, Lysenko, Barvinsky, Liudkevych, Sichynsky and Turkewich have been released to critical acclaim, many of them only recently discovered and never previously recorded. Internationally-renowned bass-baritone and artistic director, Pavlo Hunka, has assembled a stellar cast of Canadian operatic performers for both recordings and performances. The principal piano accompanist for the project is Albert Krywolt. Musical scores for Ukrainian art songs are published on the UASP website and are available for download free of charge. In 2017, the inaugural Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute was held in August in partnership with the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. 2018 will see a renewed focus on completing the Galician II recordings including works by Nyzhankivsky, Salon performances and the opportunity for a Summer Institute in Munich and Toronto. Imagine, you can be part of this! Daria Olynyk 416-873-2287 info@ukrainianartsong.ca www.ukrainianartsong.ca ●●University of Toronto Faculty of Music The University of Toronto Faculty of Music is a vital destination for the professional and scholarly study of music in North America. As part of one of the world’s top universities, the Faculty of Music is home to a diverse and dynamic community. With superb educators in every area of music study and dozens of areas of specialization, we offer an education that is both broad and deep. Our students and alumni have garnered honours such as the Oscar, the Leonardo da Vinci Prize, Peabody, JUNO and National Jazz Awards, and occupy prominent positions with major performing arts organizations including the Toronto Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The Faculty of Music’s annual season features students, faculty and guests in over 600 events, including more than 150 public concerts, lectures and masterclasses. This year’s guests include composers George E. Lewis, Nicole Lizée, Imant B24 | theWholeNote 2017/18 PRESENTER PROFILES

Raminsh and Howard Shore; pianists John Hess and Renee Rosnes; conductor Johannes Debus; and mezzo-soprano Judith Forst. Don McLean, Dean and professor Natasha Smith, marketing & publicity 416-978-0491 / Box Office: 416-408-0208 publicity.music@utoronto.ca www.music.utoronto.ca ●●Upper Canada Choristers The Upper Canada Choristers is a mixed voice community choir in Toronto with a history of collaboration with international choirs and local children’s choirs. Performing with a wide variety of guest artists, the choir has a diverse repertoire and is committed to excellence. Cantemos is the auditioned Latin American chamber ensemble of the Choristers. Founding artistic director and conductor, Laurie Evan Fraser and accompanist, Hye Won Lee provide the professional musical leadership for this vibrant organization. The choir performs 15-20 concerts in the community annually. Our 2017/18 concert season opens with “Christmas Joy!” on December 1, 2017 at Grace Church on-the-Hill; the program will feature Messe de Minuit pour Noël by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Our spring concert on May 11, 2018 at Grace Church on-the-Hill, “The Magic of Music,” includes Five Mystical Songs by R. Vaughan Williams with Bradley Christensen, baritone, and the world premiere of La rosa de los vientos by Venezuelan composer, César Alejandro Carrillo. On Sunday, June 17, 2018, the Choristers and Cantemos will hold our annual Strawberry Social in the Parish Hall at Grace Church, featuring light classics and show tunes. Laurie Evan Fraser 416-256-0510 info@uppercanadachoristers.org www.uppercanadachoristers.org ●Vesnivka ● Choir This award-winning women’s ensemble, established by Halyna Kvitka Kondracki in 1965, has delighted audiences around the world with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian classical, sacred, contemporary and folk music. Vesnivka begins its 52nd concert season on October 29, 2017 with a delightful afternoon program of light romantic music by Ukrainian Canadian composer I.B. Veselowskyj, joined by the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir, with guests Ron Cahute Trio and the renowned Canadian instrumental ensemble Quartetto Gelato. On January 14, 2018, Vesnivka presents its ever-popular annual Ukrainian Christmas concert, joined by TUMCC, guest soloists soprano Natalya Matyusheva and baritone Pavlo Fondera, and singers from the Dudaryk Men’s Choir (Ukraine) in their first North American performance. On April 28, 2018, Vesnivka will be joined by TUMCC and the Canadian Bandurist Capella in a concert commemorating the 100th anniversary TORQ PERCUSSION QUARTET of Ukrainian independence with music taken from the Oleksander Koshyts’ North American concert tour during the early 20th century. Vesnivka also sings Christmas and Easter Liturgies on January 7, 2018 and April 8, 2018 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (Toronto). Nykola Parzei 416-246-9880 nykola@vesnivka.com www.vesnivka.com ●Victoria ● Scholars Men’s Choral Ensemble The namesake of the Victoria Scholars, Tomás Luis de Victoria, was an outstanding Renaissance composer whose music is renowned for its spirituality and emotional expressiveness. The Victoria Scholars bring the clarity and balance of sound so characteristic of Renaissance music to all their repertoire, encompassing Medieval plainchant, works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary eras and newlycommissioned works. Past winners of the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the CBC Radio National Competition for Amateur Choirs, the Victoria Scholars have performed with many exceptional arts organizations (including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kiev Chamber Choir) and vocal soloists (including Sondra Radvanovsky, Michael Schade, Russell Braun and Norine Burgess). They have toured nationally and internationally and are heard regularly on CBC Radio 2 and Classical 96.3FM. The 2017/18 concert series is our 25th Anniversary Season and includes “Yuletide on the Canadian Side” (December 17 and 18), “Spirit of the Renaissance” (February 25), and “Scholars’ Choice” (May 27). Volunteers are always welcome to help with operations such as website management and concert-related activities. Please contact us for more information on joining the Victoria Scholars organization. Felipe Morgado 416-761-7776 info@victoriascholars.ca www.victoriascholars.ca ●Village ● Voices Village Voices was formed in 1989. It is a not-forprofit adult mixed voice community choir which performs in the Markham community and surrounding area. Village Voices is member of Choirs Ontario, SOCAN, York Region Arts Council and the Markham Arts Council. Our director, Oksana Vignan, is a talented conductor and pianist. Winter and Spring programs are presented each year. We also serve the community by performing in senior homes. “Here’s to Song,” our May 2017 concerts, were a celebration of Canada 150th Anniversary. Village Voices was joined by Men of Note as well as the Jubilate Singers to present a 120-voice extravaganza of Canadian music surrounding the central piece, Missa Pax by Timothy Corlis, at St. Maurice and St. Verena Coptic Church in Markham. We were proud to present our second concert in front of this acclaimed Canadian composer himself. Our December 2017 and May 2018 concerts will offer the same blend of well-loved traditional scores and new contemporary scores, to at the same time engage and challenge our faithful audience. Ellen Dowswell 905-763-4172 info@villagevoiceschoir.com www.villagevoiceschoir.ca ●Visual ● and Performing Arts Newmarket (VPAN) Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket (VPAN) was organized in 1988 with the aim of bringing together arts lovers and campaigning for a theWholeNote 2017/18 PRESENTER PROFILES | B25

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