CONTENTS VOLUME 6 #7
CONTENTS VOLUME 6 #7 ·:· APRIL 1 TO MAY 7 2001 Toronto's only comprehensive monthly classical and contemporary concert listing source Volume 6 #7 April 1 to May 7, 2001 Copyright (c) 2001 PerPul Proze, 60 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto, ON MST 2N4 Publisher: Allan Pulker Editor: David Perlman Production Manager: Peter Hobbs Listings: Simone Desilets, .Karen Ages, Elizabeth Lutz Layout & Design: David Perlman, Michael Busija, Verity Hobbs Cover by Rocket Design Photography: Den Ciul, Rob Di Vito, Michael Shaw Advertising: All.an Pulker, Karen Ages Acting Distribution Manager: Ken Larone Contributing Writers: Bandstand: Merlin Williams; Choral: Larry Beckwith; Early Music: Frank Nakashima; Hear & Now: Paul Steenhuisen, David Olds; Jazz: Jim Galloway; Music Theatre: Sarah B. Hood; Features: Phil Ehrensaft, Dawn Lyons, David Perlman, Allan Pulker. How to Reach Us Advertising and Membership Allan Pulker, Karen Ages ph 416-323-2232, fax 416-926-7539 Listings, Unclassified Ads Simone Desilets ph 416-323-2232, fax 416-926-7539 Editorial David Perlman ph 416-603-3 786 fax 416-603-3787 Subscriptions: Faiza Ansari Phone: 416-469-211 7 /year + GST Email: info@thewholenote.com DEADLINES Next issue is Volume 6 #8, May 2001 (covering events May 1 to June 7) Publication: Friday April 27 Free listings: 6pm Sunday April 15 Advertising reservations: Colour: (ipm Monday April 16 B/W: 6pm Thursday April 19 Printing by New Concept Circulation: 25,000 The WholeNote is a kmDRUM Publication. CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT 1263846 ISSN 1488-8777 WHOLENOTE (PRINT) iSSN 14888-8785 WHOLENOTE www.thewholenote.com Special Focus on Musical Instruments by David Perlman 7 CONCERT ~OTES Overview by Allan Pu Iker 8 Early Music by Frank Nakashima 10 Choral Scene by Larry Beckwith 12 Hear & Now by Paul Steenhuisen 13 Jazz Notes by Jim Galloway 14 ~ ~and Stand by Merlin Williams 18 ~potlight on Music Theatre by Sarah B. Hood 22 . LISTINGS Music Theatre 23 Quick Picks 24 Concert Listings A. GTA 25-40 FEATURES Cover Story: Tapestry presents Chan Ka Nin's Iron Road by David Perlman 44 From bottom left clockwise: Director Tom Diamond; Choreographer Xing Bang Fu;· Composer Chan Ka Nin; Set and Costume Designer Dany Lyne; Music Director Wayne Strongman; Stuart Howe (James Nichol); Zhu Ge v Zeng (Lai Gwan); Courtney Chow (Young Lai Gwan). Company Photo: Den Ciul; Poster Art: Christina Van Musicians in Our Midst: Ron Collier by Merlin Williams 17 B. Further Afield 40-41 C. Too Late to List 41 Instrument care by Gary Armstrong 19 Index of Presenters and Venues 42 Etcetera File: 42 (Un)classified advertising 43 Readers write 47 Acrobat Music 10 Aldeburgh Connection 33, 36 Alexander Singers & Players 23 All the King's Voices 38 Amadeus Choir 27 Audio Group 11 Bell' Arte Singers 39 Bloor St./Trinity·St. Paul's United 28 Calvin Presbyterian Church 28 Calyx Concerts 27 Canadian Children's Opera Chorus 4 Canadian Music Centre 15 Carlson-Wagonlit Travel 11 Cathedral Bluffs Symphony 34 CBC On Stage 27, 30 Choral Store 13 Chris Reibling Real Estate 8 ·christ Church Deer Park 30 Classical 96 FM 5 Claviers Baroques 21 Columbus Centre 22 Commensal, Le 11 Concerts at St. George's 32 David Tamblyn 20 Deer Park Concerts 34 Elmer lseler Singers 32 Faculty of Music · U of T 3,, 17 Gary Armstrong Woodwinds 7 George Heinl 21 Heliconian Club 34 Humber Music 28 Hummingbird Centre 33 Buying: Clarinets by Alan Rossi 20 . INDEX OF ADVERTISERS, APRIL 2001 I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble 26 I Virtuosi de Toronto 40 Jazz FM91 16 John Newton 20 King Street Artists Management 9 Kingsway Baptist Church 28 Leasipe Concert Series 27 Lena Auclair 13 Linda Maguire 12 Linda Shumas (New Music Gallery) 31 Long & McQuade 18 Markham Concert Band 39 Midsummer Music by the Lake 16 Mikrokosmos 8 Millennium Youth Orchestra 38 Mississauga Children's Choir 13 Montgomery Sound 12 Music at Metropolitan 29,38 Music at St. John's 26 Music Chamber 13 Music Toronto 31, 32, 45 New Guitar 26 New Music Concerts 35 New Opera & Concerts Centre 22, 23 North Toronto Institute of Music 43 Northdale Concert Band 36 Off Centre Music Salon 39 Orion House. 36 Patricia Sonego 2 Paul Hodge Audio 10 Pax Christi Chorale 35 Peter Chandler 21 Philip L. Davis Luthier 20 Phoeriix Records 5 Precision Music Products Ltd. 1 ~ Quentin Playfair 21 Recorder Center 19 Remenyi House of Music 45 Royal Conservatory of Music 36 Scarborough G & S Society 23 , School of Philosophy 47 Shar Music 19 Sine Nomine 34 Sinfonia Toronto 9, 26 Song Circle 37 Sound Post 21 Soundstreams Canada 29 St. James' Cathedral 25 St. Michael's Choir School 30 Stephen Fox 20 Tafelmusik 31, 40 toneART Ensemble 39 Toronto Children's Chorus 13,, 35 Toronto Mendelssohn Choir 31 · Toronto Operetta Theatre 48 Toronto Philharmonia 37 Toronto Senior Strings 30 Toronto Sinfonietta 38 Tryptych 23 Vocal Art Forum 41 Voice & Piano Lessons 13 Wendy Maxwell & Friends 37 Women's Musical Club of Toronto 41 Yamaha Canada 19 6 Wholenote APRIL 1, 2001 - MAY 7, 2001
S ecial focus on musical instruments ·or rising tides, and Remenyi Swamped with a million details, head spinning, despairing of ever beginning to do justice to the impossibly large task we bit off for this month's special focus, I . picked up th.e phone and called veteran independent .violin maker . Quentin Playfair-one of the dozen or so instrument makers, menders or vendors who unhesitatingly thiew their support our way when we indicated we wanted to explore the world of · musical instruments in relation to our main focus - concert coverage. As so often happens here at · WholeNote, our grandiose topic was considerably more than we could chew. So I was calling Quentin in a laJt desperate attempt to find a focus for all this. Result: things got worse before getting better, as we ranged over the dozens of topics that WholeNote should, might, could be coveiing here - wood and materials; the "big shop" vs the in- . dependent; the decline of Canadian manufacture in some areas; the emergence of Canadian craft in others; what to consider when you buy an .instrument; new vs old; cooperation and competition among makers; what makes Toronto a good place to be doing this kind of work. "Problem is " I said "how do we do justice to all these people and all these stories, without 'playing favourites'''. Gary Toronto's c~nte for Clarinets &Oboes SALES * REPAIRS * by David Perlman He laughed. "As Mary McGeer says" l]e said "a rising tide floats all boats." And that's when it hit me we'd be doing no-one a favour by 'trying to touch on everything. Rather, we should give a couple of people the opportunity to say something interesting about the thing they know. And we should indicate to all concerned our willingness to stay with the subject over time. So we're doing that. What you'll find inside ai-e just two articles: Instrument Care (1); and Buying (1) - both very specific; both written by people "in the know''. Based largely on your response (readers and prospective contributors alike) we'll commit to opeping up a permanent niche, in the magazine and on our website, for this topic. In this case, enthusiasm is the "ris-. ing tide." Ebb and flow "Fifty nine in 59" was the phrase Michael Remenyi used when we spoke about a month ago, to describe the circumstances under which which House of Remenyi arrived in Toronto from Budapest. It was 195~ and his father was 59 years old. As for many immigrants, generations steeped in a craft in "the old country" meant little in Toronto then, and the first Remenyi "House" of music was a half store on Queen qpg Wood Street West "opposite the Downtown Rug Co, west ·of Spadina" selling mostly accordians and guitars and the like to immigrant families not comfortable with fancier stores. "Steve's was our big competitor in those days. But for what they do, Queen Street became the right place to be." Fqr Remenyi Queen Street became a liability, and it was only with their bold move to their present location on Bloor Street that House of Remenyi in its present incarnation was able to flower. · Now the House is on the move again - turning the end of their long relationship with the Royal Conservatory Bookstore into the impetus for a major consolidation and expansion of their Bloor West Store. Remenyi has seen the industry from all sides; Queen Street margin, Bloor Street top of the heap, and now, with the advent of mega-players in music \lS elsewhere, somewhere in between. Growth and re-organization, at a time when some are doom-and-glooming about the .death of classical music and the economy, is a hopeful sign. • If Quentin Playfair is right, a rising tide for Remenyi will also fl0at a lot of other boats. . INSTRUMENT FOCUS continues on page 19 720 Bathurst St.. Suite 502 (Just south ofBloorf 416-535-6000 Warranty Repair Depot WholeNote's Editorial Calendar for 2001 ~ The economics of the music business. · ~ Summer music camps and schools. ~ ment business. History. Buying, selling, maintaining and repairing instruments. ·~ The 2001-2002 season in the making. ~ The summer music season overview. ~ The summer music season: a detailed guide. ~ Music and education. ~ season. ~ Composers In our midst. ~ Choral Music APRIL 1, 2001 ~MAY 7, 2001 wholenote 7
