'Doos Yo1er So1t lilto to Si1t9'1 Would he like to become part of an ongoing tradition of choral excellence? We are looking for boys aged 7-15 who enjoy music & singing, and parents who want an enriching experience for their son. Your son will: • Receive professional-calibre training in the fundamentals of music • Perform with the Choir of Gentlemen & Boys in weekly services • Participate in recordings, tours, festivals and concerts • Earn money, earn medals, have fun! • Become an excellent chorister - just leave the training to us Call Melva Graham, Director of Music, at 416-788-7884 ext. 17 or email gracemusic2@rogers.com MfH • 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto CHORAL Scene by Larry Beckwith As a keen observer of the choral landscape of Toronto and environs, I've noticed' over the years that November and February - for some reason - seem to be the months when choral organizations tend to experiment with major new repertoire or avant garde offerings. Two major choral events this coming month bear out this trend, though one is on the fringe of "standard repertoire" and one is produced by Soundstreams, an organization which remains at the forefront of innovative and vital choral programming. BOSLEY REAL ESTATE 1.LtY H.ol.L UTATf LT[J .• l£ALTO.t Noel Edison -steady hand On November 2, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will open its Etobicoke Centennial Choir Harris Loewen, Conductor Mississauga horal Society ' hrys A. Bentley-Artistic Director Oth Anniversary Season Capture tfze Spirit of Cfzristmas! ajora Canamus David Passmore unday, December 12, 2004, 3:00 PM Sharla Nafziger, Soprano Lynne McMurtry, Mezzo Soprano Michael Downie, Baritone merson Hall, Living Arts Centre 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga
season with a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Missa Solem- . nis at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. This work is a 'mammoth undertaking, featuring as it does fiendishly difficult virtuosic writing for the choir. I get impatient with those who feel Beethoven didn't know how to write for the human voice. I think he knew exactly what he was doing - though the writing of the Missa Solemnis took him several years. Powerful. dramatic, bleak and poignant, the piece stands as another in a long line of late Beethoven works that stretched - and continue to stretch - the limits of music. The Mendelssohn Choir has proven, under Noel Edison's confident and steady direction, that they are more than up to the task. Featuring an interesting collection of soloists -including the brilliant mezzo Krisztina Szabo and busy tenor John Tessier - this is a program well worth taking in. Lawrence Cherney's Soundstreams Canada has established itself on so many musical fronts, from composer "encounters" to major music theatre productions. And for many years now, they have presented leading international and Canadian choirs in concert. Often these events take the form of extravaganzas and the upcoming University Voices gathering on November 14 is no exception. Soundstreams is bringing together the best choirs from six universities across Canada and putting them in front of master conductor Robert Sund for a program of new and unfamiliar music. 'From Heavenly Harmony .. .' Handel at Saint Anne's We'll hear pieces by leading Swedish, Norwegian and Estqnian composers, as well as Mahler's Ich bin der Welt and music by Brahms. In addition, UK composer Giles Swayne and the young local composer Craig Galbraith are contributing major new works for the con- The 300th anniversary of Handel's rarely performed Johannes Passion and Handel's rich setting of Dryden's ··: . .. i
