JAZZ NOTES by Jim Galloway A s I was beginning this J-\: month's anicle I received the dreadful news about the death of Brian Ogilvie. Originally from Vancouver, Brian was a rare talent, both on clarinet and saxophone, with a great love of the:: early forms of jazz. He made his home in Toronto for a number of years where he quickly established hill)self. The Ogilvie Brothers band with Don on guitar and Kenny on bass, became a fixture on the scene before Brian's move to San Antonio in 1992 and a place in the Jim Cullum Band. In 1995 he moved to New Orleans where he immediately became one of the "in demand" players. He appear.ed in festivals here as well as in the States and Europe and was playing at the Nairn Festival in Scotland on August 12th. when he collapsed. Brian died on the 14th of August without regaining consciousness. He was a member of my Wee Big Band until his move to the States and in that time he played his way into the hearts of everybody in the band and all who heard his music. Brian's big, warm tone and his concept of the traditions of the music were only two of the ingredients that made him special. He was also a good guy. His death, at age 50, is a profound Joss - Brian was the real thing and we all will miss him, but never forget him. (PORT)HOPE SPRJNGS ETERNAL Just when you thought it was all over for the jazz festival season, here comes another - this time it is the 3rd annual All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope, September 24 to 26. Necessity may well have been the mother of invention and the decision to make the Port Hope Festival 100% Canadian a mixture of budgetary concerns along with a sense of patriotism, but whatever, the event has a stellar Maple Leaf line-up of artists such as Ranee Lee, Francois Bourassa, Alain Caron, Christine Jensen, Renee Rosnes, Michael Kaeshammer, Alex Pangman and Pat LaBarbera - just some of the artists helping to turn the town into jazz city for a week-end. DowN Bv THE OLD MtLL. •• The Old Mill, built on the site ,of, the original 200-year-old King's 2-a Mill,is something of an institution in this town and not just as a hotel and spa. It has been a home for music for a long time. In 1921 it began to feature dancing to live music, albeit with a pretty small group, violinist Cec Ryder and pianist Nelson Hatch. When a new dance floor was added in 1929, the duo expanded to a nine piece orchestra. In more recent years it has been one of the few, if not the only place to go dinner-dancing, although the band became a small combo. Well, on the 24th of September it will be big band night again at the Old Mill when the last Friday in the month is turned over to the is a "Jazz Studies Benefit Concert " - PJ Perry and an all-star faculty ba nd with Alex Dean, Terry Clarke, Kirk MacDonald, Terry Promane, Paul Read, Chase Sanborn & Dave Young. Tickets for this special one-nighter are .00. The Rex continues its admirable support of local musicians, (with the occasional visiting firemen), in another jazz-filled month featuring literally dozens of bands over the 30 days which hath September. FRANK FALCO IS ONE of the best piano teachers in town. He is also a really good player, but one who has chosen over the years to "hide his light under a bushel''. To say that he has kept a low profile over the years is an understatement, but he has been coaxed out of his house and you can catch him on Sunday September 12th at Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street, at 4:30. With Frank you can hear Rick Wilkins on sax, Scott Alexander, bass and drummer Brian Barlow. Two weeks later at the same altar of jazz you can hear the solo piano of Marilyn Lerner. As you can see, lots going on, so please get out there and listen to some live jazz. You'll feel better for it. Happy listening! swing sounds of a big band. The.-----. series will kick off with my Wee Big Band and you are cordially invited. WELCOME To THE CLUB Summer is now lodged in the memory bank and we are into the fall season which. means that the club scene starts to heat up for the colder weather with visiting artists such as singer/songwriter Anne Hampton Calloway at the Top 0' The Senator late in the month, followed by one of our adopted favourites originally from Quebec, Renee Rosnes, who brings her quintet to the club t.o take us ·from September into October. Over at The Montreal Bistro, there are a couple of special events during the month. On Monday, September 20, a tribute to Duke Ellington will feature David Warrack and Friends - with Shakura S' Aida, Thom Allison, Bill Bridges, Duncan Hopkins, Michael Stuart & Don Vickery and a week later on Monday, September 27 there In the Jazz Listings Dave Buchbinder: catch Shu rum Bunun Sep 4, 11; and Oct 6 by Sophia Perlman While September is gearing up to be an exciting month for. jazz in the clubs, it is also going to be an equally exciting month in the concert halls - with a range of jazz performances happening in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Progressive Jazz Concert Series presents eight concerts featuring world renowned jazz artists at various concert halls and clubs across Toronto, beginning September 11, with the Addison Groove Project at The 360. The series continues with performances by Soulive, and the Dave Holland Quintet performing in September, with performances by many others in October and November. (See our Co11cert Quick Picks for more details). Just when you thought you'd seen the end of the festival season, there two great opportunities to get out of the city and hear some great music this fall. The Guelph Jazz Festival (September 8-11) and the All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope· (September 24-26) offer a great opportunity to hear both some great established musicians as well as some incredible rising talent. Speaking ofrising talent, this month students are returning to classes at not one, but two renowned jazz programs in Toronto. On September 27•h, the UofT jazz studies program is holding a benefit concert at the Montreal Bistro featuring some of its faculty - including Alex Dean, Terry Clarke, Kirk MacDonald, Terry Promane, Paul Read, Chase Sanborn and Dave Young (Tickets through the University: 416- 946-3580). And of course, as always, the clubs are full of great Toronto jazz. For more information, please see the listings on page 52. SEPTEMBER 1 - OCTOBER 7 2004
Go Guelph: I Ith Jazz Festival Outdoes Itself BY PHIL EHRENSAFT I f your musical interests encom- pass avant-garde jazz and im- provised New Music, you most def- ticket prices to boot. A dream quarinitely want to savour year 11 of the Guelph Jazz Festival, Sept 10- ·Now to the superb music. There's a generous presence of avant-garde pioneers with modest tet with saxophonist Archie Shepp, trombonist Roswell Rudd on trom- 12. If your schedule permits, take bone, bassist Reggie Workman, three vacation days at the lead-in and drummer Andrew Cyrille headcolloquium where scholars and mu- sicians trade thoughts on the art leads a percussion quartet that inthat is the centre of their lives, in- eludes fellow jazz pioneer Famouterspersed with a generous dollop of concerts and musicians' work- shops. This celebration begins the afternoon of the 8th and runs through Friday, including Thurs- day evening where eminent saxo- phonist and composer Oliver Lake joins forces with Native American lines Saturday night. Cyrille also dou Don Moye and two master Ghanaian drummers. William Parker is both a top bassist and key organizer of the Down town scene. The seminal Chicago percussionist Hamid Drake and the remarkable Tuva vocalist Sainkho Namtchylak round vocalist Mary Redhouse. out the group. Free jazz bass pio- · Guelph 's an important player in fostering Canada's New Music. The artistic director Ajay I-Jehle and festival manager Julie Hastings Leandre in a duo with San Franwork hard to expose musicians from New York's Downtown neer Barre Phillips leads a trio. The bass cornucopia includes France's multidimensional Joelle cisco violinist India Cooke. Younger generations are not nescene, the nerve centre of avant- glected. Percussionist Suzie lbargarde jazz, and their European counterparts to this country's ex- ceptional talent. The festival's of- ficial launching of a new interna- ra, a very bright new light in the New York jazz scene, leads a trio. Drummer John Hollenbeck and Downtown vocalist Theo Bleck- . tional journal on improvised mu- man are full of surprises. The 4insic will provide parallel exposure for Canadian researchers. Within Canada, Guelph bridges derfully in Quebecite, the jazz opour musical solitudes. This year's Objects jazz collective features Yoon Sun Choi, who sang won- era premiered at last year's festileading lights from Montreal 's vi- val. Toronto's Barnyard .Drama, brant improv scene include Jean Derome, Joanne Hetu, Walsh, Michel Lambert and Thorn Gossage. The broad network of sponsors that Heble and Hastings recruited bodes well. The lead sponsor of this Ontario festival is none other than Quebec's premier featuring vocalist extraordinaire Tom Christine Duncan and drummer/ turntablist Jean Martin is quite ca pable of holding its own in the company of this distinguished Downtown New York talent. The above is just a sample. For a full schedule, call 519-763-3155, or financial institution, Desjardins! go to www.guelphjazzfestival.com . • Featuring some of Toronto's best jazz musicians with a brief reflection by Jazz Vespers Clergy Sunday, September 12 • 4:30 RICK WILKINS, saxophone; FRANK FALCO, piano; SCOTT ALEXANDER, bass; BRIAN BARLOW, drums Sunday, September 26 - 4:30 MARILYN LERNER, solo piano Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street (north of St. Clair at Heath St.) 416·920-5211 Admission is free. An offering is received to support the work of the church, including Jazz Vespers. • all-canadian a FESTIVAL oort hope September 4. 25 & 26. 1004 Mapf !.eeV.r.oove Salute to Canadian Composers Montreal Smokes Alain Caron Franois Bourassa Michel Donato's Hot Club Trio The Canadian Premiere of RNQ Daytime Concerts Memorial Park 12.00 noon -6.00p.m. Sat u r d·a y Blow Your Own Horn Jazz Parade Kevin Clark • Pat LaBarbera Quintet Alex Fangman • Roberto Occhipinti Sextet Daniel Barnes Trio ·Moe Koffman Tribute Band Young Jazz Showcase · Sunday Peter Dent Quartet •Brian Barlow Brass Quintet Karin Plato Quartet• Michael Kaeshammer Christine Jensen Quartet• Young Jazz Showcase www.allcanadianjazz.ca Great Jazz' all Weekend in Port Hope Canada's National Jazz Festival Tickets Headliner Concerts . Night Club Cover $10 Memorial Park: Daypass Weekend , under 12's free. Tickets 1-866-565-5009 Online at www.capitoltheatre.com and at the gate for Daytime Passes Port Hope is' one hour east of Toronto on the 401, exit 461 SEPTEMBER 1 - OCTOBER 7 2004 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COM 29
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Choral Scene: Uncharted territory: three choirs finding paths forward; Music Theatre: Loose Tea on the boil with Alaina Viau’s Dead Reckoning; In with the New: what happens to soundart when climate change meets COVID-19; Call to action: diversity, accountability, and reform in post-secondary jazz studies; 9th Annual TIFF Tips: a filmfest like no other; Remembering: Leon Fleisher; DISCoveries: a NY state of mind; 25th anniversary stroll-through; and more. Online in flip through here, and on stands commencing Tues SEP 1.
Following the Goldberg trail from Gould to Lang Lang; Measha Brueggergosman and Edwin Huizinga on face to face collaboration in strange times; diggings into dance as FFDN keeps live alive; "Classical unicorn?" - Luke Welch reflects on life as a Black classical pianist; Debashis Sinha's adventures in sound art; choral lessons from Skagit Valley; and the 21st annual WholeNote Blue Pages (part 1 of 3) in print and online. Here now. And, yes, still in print, with distribution starting Thursday October 1.
Alanis Obomsawin's art of life; fifteen Exquisite Departures; UnCovered re(dis)covered; jazz in the kitchen; three takes on managing record releases in times of plague; baroque for babies; presenter directory (blue pages) part two; and, here at the WholeNote, work in progress on four brick walls (or is it five?). All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Tuesday Nov 3.
In this issue: Beautiful Exceptions, Sing-Alone Messiahs, Livingston’s Vocal Pleasures, Chamber Beethoven, Online Opera (Plexiglass & All), Playlist for the Winter of our Discontent, The Oud & the Fuzz, Who is Alex Trebek? All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Friday December 4.
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest. Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
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.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).