Volume 25 Issue 4 - December 2019 / January 2020

DANIEL FOLEY Roger D.

DANIEL FOLEY Roger D. Moore there. The piece was originally composed for pianist Jamie Syer and includes elements of Westerkamp’s improvisational recordings onsite, along with recordings of steam trains and old machinery from the sound archives of the World Soundscape Project. Attending to Sacred Matters, also from 2002, is a work for twochannel audio based on sounds from the many religious and spiritual practices the composer encountered while visiting India. During Westerkamp’s visit to Toronto in January, she will also be participating in the Weather Soundings series of events supported by the U of T’s Jackman Humanities Institute. On January 13, a conversation with Westerkamp, Iwaasa, and British musicologist Daniel Grimley will take place at the Canadian Music Centre with playback of some of Westerkamp’s electroacoustic works along with a group discussion of sonic practices, listening and creative activism in the context of climate change. Remembering Roger D. Moore: One final highlight of the U of T New Music Festival will be the January 21 concert, Speak, Be Silent, performed by U of T’s Contemporary Music Ensemble and dedicated to the memory of Roger D. Moore. As I mentioned earlier in the column, Moore was passionately committed to supporting musical life in Toronto, with a particular fondness for contemporary music, supporting both large and small musical organizations and individual artists. The title of this concert that honours his contribution comes from the name of one of the works on the program – Speak, Be Silent – a work composed by Australian-born Liza Lim in 2015 for solo violin and an ensemble of 15 musicians. Lim was inspired by a translation of a Rumi poem by Coleman Barks and sought to create a piece that plays with ideas of union and separation. She was recently appointed a professorship at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music and part of her post is to be involved in a national women composer’s development program. I mention this here as a way of highlighting that all the works on this January 21 concert are composed by women, an important statement towards normalizing the practice of giving all marginalized genders access to opportunities and visibility. The other works on the program include Kaija Saariaho’s From the Grammar of Dreams, composed in 1988 for solo voice(s) and up to six players; Bekah Simms’ Foreverdark, a 2019 cello concertino work for amplified cello with live electronics and chamber orchestra; and Unsuk Chin’s large ensemble work, Gougalon: Scenes from a Street Theatre, composed in 2009/2011 which is about an imaginary folk music. An additional note about these featured composers is that both Saariaho and Chin have been visiting composers during past 21C Festivals. The Mouths That Roar: Expect your ears to pop at this lively January 10 concert, co-produced by New Music Concerts and the Music Gallery, with vocalists Gabriel Dharmoo and Janice Jackson. Montreal-based Dharmoo will be performing his Anthropologies Imaginaires, a work for solo voice and video which has been described as a mockumentary, all combining to invite the listener to imagine other possibilities and worlds from those already known. Using extended vocal techniques and elements of improvisation, this piece is both satirical, playful and profoundly serious, and is made up of 11 songs, each with accompanying gestures. Halifax-based Jackson will perform her solo program, “Voice Dance,” which features several works of contemporary music. Known as an adventurous performer of vocal music that pushes all boundaries while conveying a deep emotional connection with her out-of-the-box soundmaking, Jackson will perform compositions by Canadian composers Marie Pelletier, Derek Charke, Alice Ping Yee Ho and James Rolfe. Jackson’s willing exploration of the voice opens the door to the full array of what the human voice is capable of, and through her collaboration with composers, she is able to use her creative intuition to connect to the underlying stories within each piece. Tafelmusik Commissions: During the 2019/2020 season, the Baroque orchestra Tafelmusik has undertaken a commissioning program to introduce contemporary works to their audiences. This past fall, world premieres by Cree composer Andrew Balfour, Italian composer Guido Morini, and Torontonian James Rolfe were performed. Upcoming from January 16 to 19 during their “Gone with the Winds” concerts, they will perform a world premiere by Canadian Cecilia Livingston; and from February 6 to 9 in their “Dreaming Jupiter” program, Italian composer and gambist Vittorio Ghielmi joins the orchestra performing various Baroque works and the premiere of a composition of his own. IN WITH THE NEW QUICK PICKS !! DEC 6 AND 7, 8PM: Music Gallery with Bad New Days present “Melancholiac: The Music of Scott Walker.” Part concert, part spectacle, part existential talk show. !! DEC 8, 8:30PM: Red Shift Records presents the CD launch at the Tranzac Club of Harbour featuring six works for piano by Anna Höstman and performed by Cheryl Duvall !! DEC 10 TO 12 8PM: Soundstreams presents their annual tribute to the holiday season with the electro-improv Electric Messiah, an upbeat reimagining of Handel’s classic Messiah. !! DEC 12, 7:30PM: Canadian Music Centre presents both world and Ontario premieres of works performed by Arraymusic’s artistic director David Schotzko. Works by Bolton, Sherlock, Smallwood and others. !! DEC 12, 7:30PM: Bunker Lane Press and the Piano Lunaire Project present their monthly full-moon event, “Cold Moon,” with works by Crumb, Kendall, Liebermann, Copland and Sherkin; with pianists Stephanie Chua, Adam Sherkin, Gregory Millar and Lisa Raposa. !! DEC 13, 8PM: Spectrum Music at the Small World Music Centre presents their next concert, “Seven Wonders,” with compositions that focus on the theme of celebrating the beauty and preservation of our planet. New works created by Spectrum composers and guests James Ervin, William Lamoureux and Sina Fallah, along with jazz/world musician collective So Long Seven. Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electrovocal sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com. 40 | December 2019 – January 2020 thewholenote.com

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MUSIC FESTIVAL JAN 11-25/2020 / TORONTO FEARLESS MUSICIANS FRESH NEW SOUNDS Against the Grain Theatre’s Ayre and other works by Osvaldo Golijov SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 8PM KOERNER HALL Performers include Miriam Khalil, Joel Ivany, Jamey Haddad, Barry Shiffman, Gabriel Radford, Michael Ward-Bergman, Juan Gabriel Olivares, Roberto Occhipinti, and Cantor Alex Stein. 21C Afterhours: Véronique Mathieu SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 10:30PM TEMERTY THEATRE A program titled True North, featuring works by Alice Ping Yee Ho, Derek Johnson, Adam Scime, and Barbara Croall. Philippe Sly & Le Chimera Project: Winterreise FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 8PM PRE-CONCERT TALK 7PM KOERNER HALL This fresh 21st century theatrical take on Schubert’s final masterpiece blurs the line between concert and theatre. 21C Cinq à Sept SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 5PM TEMERTY THEATRE Musicians from The Glenn Gould School perform works by Laurie Anderson and others. Laurie Anderson: The Art of Falling SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 8PM KOERNER HALL SOLD OUT! Grammy Award-winning NYC composer Laurie Anderson will perform solo works and in collaboration with her long-time musical partner, cellist Rubin Kodheli.perform solo works and in collaboration with her longtime musical partner, cellist Rubin Kodheli. Zakir Hussain and John Patitucci with Danilo Pérez, Brian Blade, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Zane Dalal FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 8PM / ARTIST TALK 7PM KOERNER HALL Hear the Canadian premiere of Hussain’s tabla concerto, Peshkar, and the world premiere of Patitucci’s Hypocrisy for orchestra and jazz trio. The GGS New Music Ensemble – “For Michael Colgrass” SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 1PM MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL FREE (TICKET REQUIRED) Works by Michael Colgrass, by Bekah Simms, Gabriel Dharmoo, and Miguel Azguime. Generously supported by Dorothy Cohen Shoichet Danilo Pérez’s Global Messengers and Allison Au Quartet SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 8PM POSTLUDE PERFORMANCE KOERNER HALL The Royal Conservatory has commissioned both Pérez and Au to write new pieces, which will premiere at this concert. #21Cmusic facebook/koernerhall Twitter: @the_rcm #KoernerHall TICKETS FOR ALL CONCERTS START AT ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 RCMUSIC.COM/21C THE 21C MUSIC FESTIVAL IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF MICHAEL AND SONJA KOERNER 237 BLOOR STREET WEST (BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO KOERNER HALL 2019.20 Concert Season