Renaissance Singers, continued Conducted by Richard Cunningham www.therenaissancesingers.ca Contact Jason Schattman al jschattman@hotmail.com RIVERDALE YOUTH SINGERS Founded in 1999, the Riverdale Youth Singers (RYS) consists of two choir divisions: the Riverdale Young Singers (choristers ages 7-9 years) and the Riverdale Youth Singers (choristers ages I 0 and up). The RYS seeks to develop the unique talents of each choir member and is committed to making the experience of learning and performing a line choral repertoire accessible to interested children/youth from all racial, cultural. economic and musical backgrounds. Our Annual Holiday Concert - "Songs of the Season" -will be held Monday December 13, 2004 al 7:30 pm al St. John's Presbyterian Church - 415 Broadview Avenue (I block north of Gerrard Street al Simpson Avenue). This concert will feature our choristers with brass quintet. Admission is free. The venue is wheel-chair accessible. Membership in the RYS is open to any student age 9 and up. A simple audition is required. Rehearsals are held Mondays from 4:30- 5: 15 pm for the Young Singers and from 6:30 - 8: 15 pm for the Youth Singers in the auditorium of St. John's Presbyterian Church, 415 Broadview Avenue Conductors: Mark Bell, Sandra Spencer and Anne Massicotte Accompanist: John Govedas Manager: Laurie Smith 415 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, M4K 2M9 416-875-1587 Fax: 416-778-0796 conductor@riverdaleyouthsingers.org www.riverdaleyouthsingers.org • Rav THOMSON HALL AND MASSEY HALL RTH/Massey, Canada's premier concert halls, present a showcase of world-class artists in classical, jazz, pop, world music & dance and comedy. The world is represented by the Alro-Cuban All Stars Peru Negro, the Budapest Operetta Theatre, and Spain' Tango flamenco featuring the Compaflia Talent Danza. The 2004-2005 International Vocal Recital Series features tenor Salvatore Licitra, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. The Virtuoso Performances Series returns with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec, The Tallis Scholars, and the Kirov Orchestra. Jazz highlights include Tony Bennett, the Chick Corea Elektric Band, and trio Keith j arrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette as well as The Toronto Blues Society's 18'k Annual Women's Blues Revue. Annual traditions continue with the 17 RBC Seniors' Jubilee, the Massed Military Band Spectacular. the IO'b Anniversary season of Salute To Vienna, and Directions in Music: Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, and Michael Brecker. The holidays are celebrated with John McDermott, the Canadian Brass Annual Christmas Concert, and the choral splendour of the Toronto Children's Chorus. 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto MSJ 2H5 416-593-4822, Ext. 207 Fax: 416-593-7680 Belinda Baugniet, Marketing & New Media Associate belinda.baugniet@rth-mh.com www.roythomson.com; www.masseyhall.com ROYAL CANADIAN COLLEGE OF ORGANISTS (Toronto Chapter) Founded in 1909 as the Canadia Guild of Organists, The RCCO is Canada's oldest musicians' association. Today, the RCCO is a nationwide interdenominational community ol professional and amateur organists, church musicians, choral conductors, and others sharing an interest in the organ and church music. Examinations are held annually and RCCO Festivals offer opportunities to hear and meet world-class recitalists and clinicians. The RCCO works across Canada in support of line church music and organ playing. For all who care about these arts, regardless of background, skill level or religious alliliation, the College has a place. The Toronto Centre maintains an active program. The October event is a Hallpween recital Friday, October 29 at !Opm, at Metropolitan United Church, Queen and Church Streets. University of Toronto Faculty of Music organ students will play a variety of scary music! The Centre has published "Organs in Toronto" - a wonderful book of pictures and descriptions of many of the pipe organs in Toronto. Check the up-to-date website for details on the 2004-05 program and for membership information. Norma Brub.acher, Toronto Centre President 905-832-1600 David Rosevear, Membership Secretary 905-773-4024 www.globalserve.ae1/chubb/rcco ROYAL CONSERVATORY OF Music COMMU NITY SCHOOL The RCM Community School is the largest communitybased music school in North America. Designed for people of all ages and levels of ability. it is recognized for its outstanding private lesson teaching, group classes and ls comitment to lifelong learning. The high quality mstruchon offered by The RCM Community School represents a constantly evolving selection of musical traditions, including early music, classical, popular, folk, jazz, and world music. With a faculty of over 270 professional music educators, The RCM Community School offers something for everyone: classes for pregnant morns. classes, choirs and ensembles for children, classes in music theory, history and appreciation, music technology, DJ techniques, electric and acoustic guitar. world music and internationally recognized certification courses in teacher training. In addition to the large variety of lessons and classes offered, The Royal Conservatory of Music Community School presents a jazz and world music concert series performed by award-winning and internationally celebrated musicians. Artists featured in the 2004/2005 season include: the Orchid Ensemble, autorickshaw, the Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble (Taiko). Heather Bambrick, Kurt Elling and Quinsin Nachoff. Dean: Jeff Melanson Marketing Manager: Jacquelyne Beriault 273 Bloor St. West, Toronto, M5S IW2 416 408 2824 Fax: 416 408 3096 communityschool@rcmusic.ca www.rcmusic.ca (Temporary location alter January 2. 2005 90 Croatia St. Toronto, M6H 1K9) ROYAL OPERA CANADA La Traviala - Eugene Onegin - Cavalleria Ruslicana & I Pagliacci - Madama Bullerfly Tradition - Quality- International Royal Opera Canada's mission is to present to diverse audiences the best-loved operas with traditional sets, costumes, and staging, featuring national and international artists. Dedicated to performing the most wellknown, largely l 9th Century operas, and Mozart, Royal Opera Canada remains true to the composers' intentions, providing high quality traditional performances. Royal Opera Canada, founded in March 2003 is an extension of the prototype for presenting traditional opera developed by Opera Mississauga, formed in 1985. All performances take place in the grand Main Stage of the Toronto Centre !or the Arts (North York), or in the renowned acoustics of Hammerson Hall at the Living Arts Centre (Mississauga). For more information about La Traviata, Eugene Onegin, Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci, or Madama Butterlly please call or visit our website. Dwight Bennett, General & Artistic Director 5040 Yonge Street, Toronto, M2N 6R8 Subscriptions - 416-322-0456 or 905-306-6000 Single Tickets via Ticket Master Administration: 416-322-0456 or 905-306-0060 Fax: 416-482-7044 or 905-306-9976 inlo@royaloperacanada.com www.RoyalOperaCanada.com • • R OYA L I O P F R!\ CANAD A I 18 Wblllllll MEMBERS' PROFILES 2004-2005
s SACRED Music SOCIETY Celebrating Traditional Sacred Music The Sacred Music Society (SMS) is comprised of two large choirs, one chamber choir and a professional symphony. What makes the organization particularly special is its unique commitment to performing great sacred repertoire in the context of unity, friendship and charity. Now beginning its 9th season, the 100-voice SATB, Sacred Music Society Adult Choir performs at many liturgical and concert events in the GTA. The World Youth Day Choir was established to satisfy the need for choral accompaniment during events taking place at World Youth Day 2002. The formation of this 500-voice SATB youth and young adult choir resulted in international acclaim. The Society's Chamber Choir of about twenty semiprofessional voices performs regularly in the GTA, and Southern Ontario, and is especially known for its cutting edge interpretations of Palestrina's Masses. New in 2004 is our unique after-school program for children. The "Sacred Music Society Sparrows" children's choirs have been established in the communities of Scarborough, Whitby and Oshawa and are open to all school aged children. For more information call the SMS office. 582 Sherbourne St. Toronto, M4X 1L4 416-515-0767 Toll Free: 1-877-692-4647 Fax: 905-571-3255 inlo@sacredmusicsociety.com www.sacredmusicsociety.com SCARBOROUGH PHILHARMONIC The Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, celebrating its 25'1 anniversary, will be presenting a subscription series of 5 concerts. October 2, 2004 guest conductor Michael Newnham leads the orchestra in the festive Overture by Ron Royer (our composer-in-residence), Sibelius' Symphony No. 5, and the Grieg Piano concerto. Howard Cable conducts a pops concert November 6, (Postcards from the Sun and Sand). Lee Willingham and the Bell' Arte Singers will be our guest artists for a Baroque Christmas concert on December 4, 2004. Rennie Regehr will conduct a concert of works featuring principal players of the orchestra and Mozart's Jupiter' Symphony on February 26, 2005. Our gala anniversary concert, "Come Dance with Us" will take place May 7, 2005 with guest conductor Daniel Swift, including works by Ron Royer, Weber, Saint-Saens, Borodin's 'Polovtsian Dances', and Rachmaninoff' s 'Symphonic Dances'. The concerts October 2, November 6 and May 7 are at Birchmount Park C.!.. The concerts December 6 and February 26 are at St. Boniface Church, 142 Markham Road, Toronto. All concerts are at 8pm, and are preceded by pre-concerts talks for subscribers. Artistic Advisor: Rennie Regehr General Manager: Ana Ferraro 3007 Kingston Road, Suite 209, Toronto, MlM lPl 416-429-0007 Fax: 416-429-6070 spo@total.net www.spo.ca · SHOW ONE PRODUCTIONS INC. Show One Pr-0ductions Inc .. founded by Svetlana Dvoretskaia is a production and promotion company based in Toronto. We are an all inclusive, mainstream presenter in Toronto and surrounding regions, reaching out to bring the best classical and popular entertainment today's international touring scene has to oiler. We are proud to collaborate with organizations such as Columbia Artists Management International and many other production companies in Europe and North America. In addition to promotion of well-established artists, we are taking steps to become a producer of new, dynamic, multicultural theatre and music. For the upcoming season, we are proud to present the world-renowned chamber orchestra Moscow Virtuosi, conducted by highly celebrated Russian violinist Vladimir Spivakov (please see concert listings), as well as soon to be listed presentations, such as an evening with the gifted children players from Vladimir Spivakov' s Charity Foundation in collaboration with the newly formed Toronto Chamber Orchestra, followed up by The Deutsche Oper Berlin Chamber Orchestra in Spring 2005 and Gelikon Opera from Moscow in Spring 2006. Svetlana Dvoretskaia 745 New Westminster Drive, Suite 1006 Thornhill, L4J 819 416-737-6785 inlo@showoneproductions.com www.showoneproductions.com SINE NOMINE ENSEMBLE FOR MEDIEVAL Mu SIC Sine Nomine is an ensemble of talented, versatile singers and instrumentalists, passionate about the music of the Middle Ages and about bringing it to life for moderri audiences. Since 1991. the group has performed in Toronto and other Ontario centres, and has toured in Alberta, Quebec, the Maritimes, the eastern U .S.A, and England. Concerts take place Fridays at Saint Thomas' s Church, 383 Huron Street, at 8 p.m. Christmas in Court and Chapel, on December l 7th, presents international late Gothic music as it might have been heard in aristocratic settings, performed by groups of singers, and by both soft and loud instruments. Medieval Roots and Branches, on February 25th, traces the enigmatic connections between medieval music and folk song. A Pilgrimage to Compostela, on April 22rd, features music for the pilgrimage to St. James of Compostela. Sine Nomine has produced three recordings: an independent cassette, the CD-ROM The Art of the Chant (PBS/Jasmine), and the CD A Golden Treasury of Mediaeval Music (Saydisc/AmonRa). Sine Nomine is the ensemble-in-residence at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Contact: Andrea Budgey 59 Queen's Park Crescent East, Toronto, M5S 2C4 416-638-9445 Fax: 416-926-7292 rosenfel@chass.utoronto.ca www.pims.ca/sinenomine.html SINFONIA TORONTO Sinfonia Toronto's seven Main Series concerts are at Glenn Gould Studio. A lour-concert Young People's Series is at the Walmer Road Baptist Church (188 Lowther Ave.). The annual Strauss & Swing Ball takes place Wlllllltl MEMBERS' PROFILES 2004-2005 19 April 9, 2005. The orchestra also travels, broadcasts on CBC and holds a biennial Concerto Competition. Sinfonia Toronto's strings often perform standing, in the tradition of great chamber orchestras, blending soloistic energy into a brilliant ensemble style under Music Director Nurhan Arman. A roster of winds and percussion joins the strings for programs drawn from the full range of chamber orchestra repertoire. Soloists for 2004-2005 include pianist Katherine Chi, violinist Judy Kang, cellist Andras Weber, clarinetist Darko Brlek, and guest conductor/composer Rista Savic. Sinfonia Toronto has been acclaimed by critics. The Toronto Star writes of "a remarkable range of colour," "ample eloquence" and "gripping authority." It praised Grieg's Holberg Suite and the Dvorak Serenade, "both of which Arman led in an affectionate, unhurried manner, with an appreciation of their singing qualities," while La Scena Musicale declared, "Nurhan Arman and his orchestra literally conquered us." Music Director and Conductor: Nurhan Arman Administrator: Margaret Chasins 264 Bloor Street W. Box 52545, Toronto, M5S 3C5 416-499-0403 sinloniatoronto@sympatico.ca www.sinloniatoronto.com SOUNDSTREAMS CANADA Soundstreams Canada, established in 1982 by Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney, fosters and promotes Canadian creation in chamber and choral music, and music theatre. Soundstreams' Encounters in New Music chamber concerts are co-produced al Glenn Gould Studio with CBC Radio Two. Encounters concerts pair a significant Canadian composer with an international counterpart, often premiering specially commissioned works. The 2004-2005 series presents music of Pou! Ruders, Harry Freedman, Allan Gordon Bell, Erkki-Sven Tiiiir, Andre Ristic and Hanna Kulenty. Performers include The Gryphon Trio, flutist Robert Cram and double bass player Joel Quarrington. Soundstreams' Viva Voce choral series features two exciting projects. The first is University Voices- a gathering of 250 exceptional choral singers from across Canada performing under the baton of renowned Swedish conductor Robert Sund. In March, the Hilliard Ensemble (U.K.) will perform music by Estonian Arvo Part and a premiere by Canadian Omar Daniel with Tafelmusik Chamber Choir. Soundstreams oilers extensive outreach programs in schools throughout the GTA, including student performances before selected concerts. Artistic Director: Lawrence Cherney 219 Dullerin Street, Suite 307B Toronto, M6K 1Y9 416-504-1282 Fax: 416-504-1285 soundstreams@soundstreams.ca www.soundstreams.ca CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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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!).