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Volume 9 Issue 6 - March 2004

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' CHORAL SCENE by Larry

' CHORAL SCENE by Larry Beckwith Elsewhere in these pages r--------------~ are remembrances of the l~gendary and unique impress ari o Niki Goldschmidt, who passed away in his 96th year on February 8. I doubt there '·s a classical musician working today in Canada who hasn't been touched in some way by Niki's influence. Certainly the choral music community in Toronto has been enriched by his dreams and Leblanc and Taylor work their combined magic with the TMC March 3 schemes over the years, Toronto's choirs give us much to Leblanc, the Robert Desrosiers most notably in the three be proud of this month. On March dance troupe, and guest choir the International Choral Festi- 3, the youngest member of the venvals Palestrina Chamber Chorus make he curated in 1989, erable Toronto Mendelssohn fam- this a must-see. 1993 and 2002. ily, the Toronto Mendelssohn I was privileged to work Singers continues the TMC's perside by side with Niki on egrinations through the city's inter- The first weekend of March features three interesting choral programs, beginning with the Oriana the most recent festival and '----- ----------__J esting performing venues with a prosaw him on a daily basis gram of choral works of the Italian Singers on March 6, singing the for eight or nine months. . mixture of joy, pride and delight. Renaissance and Baroque at the music of Hildegard von Bingen. Hildegard's evocative chant was all It's an experience I'll always remem- He looked like b.e was ten years old. classy Carlu Concert Hall at College the rage among early music groups ber and I carry many stories and It was a magical moment in time, and Yonge. The Singers, a 65-voice a few years ago and it's wonderful memories of Niki with me, none of full of poignancy and warmth. We ensemble drawn from the ranks of to see modem choirs taking up this which is more vivid than the night live for those moments of connec- the TMC, made its debut last seathat the 65-voice choir from Upp- tion that music can so often create. son in Bach's B Minor Mass. interest as well. Also on the program is music by Brahms and Eleanor Daley. salla University in Sweden came to Niki knew this power of music inti- This, their second Mendelssohn town to perform at Massey Hall as mately. That's why he fought so tire- series appearance features Vivalai' s The following day, Robert Cooper part of the Festival. lessly, right up to the day he died, Magnificat and Gloria (in a dance conducts the combined Orpheus They gave a sensational concert to create opportunities for those interpretation choreographed by Roband we all repaired to a local water- moments, whether they happen on ert Desrosiers), and works by Pal­ Choir and the visiting Chorus Niagara in a performance of Antonin ing-hole to celebrate. The choir con- the concert stage or in the pub. We estrina, Pergolesi, and Monteverdi. Dvorak's powerful Stabat Mater. tinued to sing into the wee hours can all honour Niki's memory by Soloists Daniel Taylor and Suzie and when Niki and his wife Shelagh redoubling our efforts to "dream rose to leave, the men of the choir BIG" and continue to make music sang them a traditional Swedish lull- performance an integral part of who The Caribbean Chorale of Toronto aby. I'll never forget Niki's expres- we are as Canadians - and not be requires a Director of Music. The successful candidate sion as he listened to the lively croon- self-effacing, but P-R-R-R-R-ROUD wiJI conduct a variety of types of music, play the organ/ ing of the young men. His eyes spar- of the INC-R-R-R-R-EDIBLE talent piano, w,ill be willing to be flexible and is a team player. kled and his face radiated with a we have in our midst.! For further information, plea~e call Leonora Benjamil) at 905-837-5186. Interested persons should send their resume to the following address: Pa:a: CLrt.sti ;~~ ~ -~, CL' --"""le www.~alaorg ~·} v•v.. ·.· 416-494-7889 ,.... , Grllllt Us Peace Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem Durulle: Requiem Satwda:g,April24•,2004- 8pm Reserved seating $'25 Senioni/ Students '2 Children under 1'2 Yorkmiuster Park Baptist C hurch, 158.') Youge Street . Julie Bryen ton, sopr m10 Anita. Kraus~. mezzo-sopra no Stephen King, baritone with Meuuo Sind,E'rs, conductor Pe te r Nikifon1k aucl orchestra . i torontoartst ou nc i I The Search Committee The Caribbean Chorale of Toronto, PO Box 76638 1661 Dennison Street, Markham, ON L3R ON5 JUBILATE SINGERS AUDITIONS Dii·ector Isabel Bernaus leads a chamber choir with an edectic, multilingual repertoire (Cuban, Argentinean, Japanese, Italian; cl assical. traditional and contemporary), with a 3-concerts series and occasional community performances. There are openings in the soprano section. Rehearsals are Tuesdays 7:30 pm at St. Leonard's Church. Auditions March 23, 5:45-7:15 pm at St. Leonard's Church 25 Wanl ess Ave. (near Yonge & Lawrence) E-mail John atjohnriddell @sympatico.ca or call 416-686-7607 (evenings) to arrange a time. 18 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE . COM M ARCH 1 - APRIL 7 2004

The story behind the ,composition of this work is almost too painful to bear, but the piece stands as a triumph over tragedy and grief. Cooper has convened a wonderful quartet of soloists and the afternoon promises to be quite an event. That same afternoon, the Toronto Classical Singers presents readings of the oft-performed Requiem by Mozart and the justly .seldomperform!'!d Mass in D by Antonio Salieri. Familiarity usually breeds large audiences when it comes to choral music, so be sure you arrive early on March 12 for the St. J~mes' Cathedral Choral Society's performance of the 2nd and 3rd Parts of Messiah, by Handel and Antonio Vivaldi"s familiar setting of the Gloria. The Elora Festival Singers give a rare Toronto concert on March 21. The program features Rachmaninoff's Vespers, op. 37, and several shorter works by John Tavener. Conductor Noel Edison is also busy preparing the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for two glamorous performances of Romeo et Juliette, by Berlioz on Marc)125 and 27. Andrew Davis conducts, and the soloists include Gary Relyea, Ben Butterfield and Susan Platts. The choir gets no rest in the days following, as they prepare for an evening of the music of Brahms and Ruth Watson Henderson in early April. The Choral departments of the University of Toronto and York University.are busy this month with several performances, including the MacMillan Singers offering Canadian works on March 20, the York University Concert Choir essl!ying Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass on March 22 and York's Women's Choir giving an eclectic program on\ March 29. · Finally, I was saddened to hear of the cancellation of this year's Ontario Youth Choir. Choirs Ontario, the Arts Service Organization for choirs in the province, is having serious financial difficulties and a drive has been launched to try to save the organization from bankruptcy. Please look for more information about this innextrmnth's WholeNote. Larry Beckwith can be reached through chomlscene@thewholenote.com Knox United Church . Wayne Gilpin, Director of Music BASS SECTION LEAD Required for Thursday Evening Choir Rehearsals And Sunday Morning (10 a.m.) Services. Po.sition Available Immediately Call (416) 293-4424 to reserve an audition time and/or for more information Knox United Church 2569 Midland Ave., Scarborough The Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir . presents its . Spring (Jala Concert Gaynor Jones - Mezzo Soprano Bruce Schaef - Baritone Lenard Whiting-,Tenor An evening of Welsh hymns and so,:,.gs; North · American folk songs and spirituals; operatic choruses; and Broadway show tunes Wedriesday May 5th at 7:45 pm St."James' Cathedral at Church and King, Toronto Tickets: .00 Call: 416-410-2254 or E-mail: info@twmvc.com celebrating PROFESSIONAL CHORAL SINGING AT 50 R. MURRAY SCHAFER AT 70 February 28--29, 2004 with Tonu Kaljuste, Principal Guest Conductor • 01CtS Elmer lseler Singers; Lydia Adams, conductor (ON) Elora Festival Singers; Noel Edison, conductor (ON) Pro Coro Canada; Richard Sparks, conductor (AB) Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal; Christopher Jackson,-conductor (QC) Tafelmusik Chamber Choir; lvars Taurins, conductor (ON) Vanc~uver Chamber Choir; Jon Washburn, conductor (BC) Canadian Children's Opera Chorus; Ann Cooper Gay, conductor (O N) SPOTLIGHT CONC·E-RTS : February 28, 2004 Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East, Toronto 2:30 p.m. Elora Festival Singers, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and Vancouver Chamber Choir 7:30 p.m. Elmer lseler Singers, Pro Coro Canada, and Studio de Musique A,ncienne de Montreal GALA CONCERT February 29, 2004, 7:30 p.m. Barbara Frum Atrium, Canadian Broadcasting Centre 250 Fron't Street West, Toronto · In cooperation with 94./ cs~it:>radlq>t;;.~ Featuring the world premiere of Schafer's The Fall into Light. Single Tickets SPOTLIGHT CONCERT: Adults I Seniors I Stud ents GALA CO NCERT: Adults I Seniors I Students Festival passes and group sales available Contact St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Box Office: 416.366.7723 or www.stlc.com ~ C.nada Council Consell des Arts ~ for the Arts du Canada ..... < i to rontda rtsi:ou nc ii ,~ ~»-

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