cert. Swayne is a hot commodity in Britain at the moment, and fits the mould of the clever, technically brilliant British choral composition tradition, having studied with Harrison Birtwhistle and Olivier Messiaen. Galbraith has written a number of strong works for choir, including commissions for several British Columbian choral outfits and Toronto's Massey College and St. Clement's Church. In their inimitable style, Soundstreams has once again partnered a complimentary pair of composers for the comparison, contrasting and delectation of its audience. These types of choral "summits" are invariably tough to fit in for university choirs, as they're immersed in their own concert preparations and day-to-day classes. Grumbling abounds as professors and directors re-arrange rehearsal schedules and struggle with tough new music in a vacuum. There's no doubt about it that preparation AUDITIONS for the 2004-2005- season The Lachan Jewish Chamber Choir announces auditions for all voice parts on Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 5. We are looking for qualified singers who can read music proficiently and commit to all rehearsals and concert dates. Lachan is a 30-voice choir, committed to the highest level of artistry and to the accessible and passionate performance of all kinds of music that comes out of the Jewish culture. Please contact Laurence Jacobs at 416 630-1259 for more information and audition appointments. Conductor Robert Sund for these kinds of events are hard work, but the rewards are manifold for the visiting choirs: the chance of a lifetime to work with a legend such as Robert Sund, the opportunity to frolic with fellow students from across the country, and the connection - perhaps for the very first time - with the creative process of bringing a new work to the stage. I'm glad there are months like November when organizations are willing to take a chance and make time to tackle something new, challenging and different. That should be an integral part of the performing arts: the joy of discovery. JOIN ME FOR "VOICES JOINED" On Monday, November 1 at the Music Gallery in Toronto, at 8pm, I will be hosting the second of WholeNote's nine salons, marking the magazine's tenth season. This particular event will be centred around choral music, and features a number of talented singers, conductors and composers connected with the magazine. The evening will begin with an example or two of the simple, direct and profound style of 16th century counterpoint (Palestrina, etc.), delivered one-on-a-part. The first half continues with the dynamic husba.nd and wife team of Alan Gasser and Becca Whitla. Alan leads a World Music ensemble at the Royal Conservatory of Music and has a strong interest in the extraordinary choral music of the Republic of Georgia. He'll be on hand to tell us a bit about his interests and demonstrate a wide variety of folk traditions of singing together. Becca Whitla will talk about the strong tradition of women singing collectively and the power behind that tradition. My father, John Beckwith, a renowned Canadian composer, will speak with me about the challenges of writing for choir. After a short break, I am happy to say that we will be joined by David Fallis and his Toronto Chamber Choir for a short performance of excerpts from the Bach and Sons program that they will have delivered as part of their Kaffeemusik series at Christ Church Deer Park, the day before (Oct. 31). They will then serve as a wonderful "core choir" as we all (audience included!) try out our singing in a joint piece to end the evening. Hopefully, by the end of the program, we will have been exposed to many different traditions of singing together and be inspired to keep singing whenever we can! See you there. Larry Beckwith ·.HE BACH ELGAR CHOIR 1905-2005 ,, Join us for the opening concert of our 1 O(fh anniversary lf Ian Sadler, Conductor lmre Olah, Accompanist VERDI'S REQUIEM Stacie Carmona, soprano; Rebecca Hass, contralto Darryl Edwards, tenor; Martin Elliott, Bass Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday, November 6 at 8pm, Hamilton Place, Great Hall HANDELS MESSIAH Janet Obermeyer, soprano; Gaynor Jones, contralto Lenard Whiting, tenor; Robert Hall, bass Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday, December 11 at 8pm Christ's Church Cathedral, 252 James St. N., Hamilton Tickets & Children under 12 free (some restrictions apply) Call 905 527-5995 for tickets www.bachelgar.com The Lingonberries Audition Notice! The Lingonberries - a Swedish Canadian a cappella quartet - are looking for a soprano in the Toronto area. Are you: A soprano with a Swedish connection • interested in performing in a group • willing to travel• an ABBA fan? If so, send us an e-mail at lingonberries@rogers.com or call Helene Hagelstam at 416-670-9987. For more information visit www.thelingonberries.com Any Pictures in your Programs? Use one of our reasonably priced packages to add colour, pictures, and quality design to your concerts. Choose from a selection of papers and layout styles. Include advertising and logos from your sponsors! Program notes and composer bios also available. invites applications for the position of Conductor/ Music Director, effective in the 2005-2006 season. For information, go to www.geocities.com/mcmasterchoir WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM Tvpe:morrisI From desi n to deliver 1071 King Street West • Suite 104 • Toronto • ON tt}4;,, - 'Lt%0 NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7 2004
WORLD View by Kare11 Ages ENSEMBLE NOIR The November chill is here, buc there is plenty of opportunity IO head indoors to hear music from warmer climes. This month brings a few season openers and CD releases by local favourites, as well as concerts by visiting anises. The classical music of North India feacures prominently chis month: Nov 2, Hamilton's Mc Master University presents a lunchtime concert, featuring sitarist Parta Bose and vocalist Esha Bandyopadhyay, with tabla accompaniment by Torontonian Ravi Naimpally (see further afield listings); November 6, M-Do and che Toronto Tabla Ensemble present two artists on tour from Calcutta, sitarist Debajit Chakraborty and tabla player Subhajyoti Guha (50 Spadina); Nov 11. U of T's Faculty of Music presents a free noonhour concert in Walter Hall. featuring Montreal and India based sarod player Aditya Verma, and his brother Sanjay Verma on tabla. Aditya has studied under great masters including sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar, sarod masters Ustad Aashish Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and has performed throughout India, Europe and North America. Departing from tradition but springing from the music of India, the Royal Conservatory of Music Community School presents Toronto based autorickshaw (Suba Sankaran. Ed Hanley, Rich Brown & Deb Sinha), November 27 at the RCM's new temporary location at 90 Croatia St. This concert will feature South Indian classical compositions, jazz standards, and the group's own Inda-jazz originals. Prior to autorickshaw, the RCM kicks off its World Music concert series Nov 6 with GaPa, consisting of percussion duo Ganesh Anandan and Patrick Graham, who perform on an array of instruments (some of which they have designed themselves), exploring new techniques and finger drumming styles in particular. Their original compositions are inspired by Irish, Arabic, South Indian and Japanese music. For this concert they will be joined by Ben Grossman on electro-acoustic hurdy-gurdy. Hugh's Room presents "flutes of the world" specialist Ron KOJb November 2 (see CD review this issue), and classically trained singer/songwriter Maria Antonakos on Women master dnunmers of Guinea November 16. The latter's latest CD, Mystras: Siren Songs of the Medirerranea11 (see CD review September issue), released in June, is inspired by Ms. Antonakos' journey to Greece to explore her heritage. November 9, the all-female African Women Masterdrummers of Guinea come to the Hummingbird Centre for a one-night only spectacle of energetic dance, colourful costumes and powerful rhythms. These women. chosen from some of the poorest living conditions in Africa, have mastered the djembe drum, once strictly the domain of male players, using it to rise above their socio-economic status through membership in this ensemble.Together since 2002, this show is part of their first world tour. The Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan has its season premier November 16. They will present works by Linda C. Smith (Canada) and Dieter Mack (Germany), to be recorded the next day for the ensemble's seventh CD, "A Light Snow". This concert will also feature Evergreen arrangements of traditional Sundanese repertoire, from their newly released Naxos CD, "Sunda Song". Looking ahead to December, U of T's Faculty of Music presents "Christmas Gahu," December 4, with the MacMillan Singers, Nathaniel Dett Chorale, and Ghanaian master drummer K wasi Dun yo in an Afro-centric evening of singing, dancing and drumming; and December 6 at noon, the annual end-of-semester world music ensembles concert will present Japanese taiko drumming, traditional Chinese music, and African drumming and dancing, in the lobby of the Edward Johnson Building. Please consult the daily listings for details on all of the above. Karen Ages is a freelance oboist who has also been a member of several world music ensembles. She can be reached at 416-323-2232 or worldmusic@thewholenote. corn. · Sonic Revival Jan - May 2005 Tickets (adults) - (seniors/ students) Subscribe to all 4 events for or for seniors/students. To book call 416 923-9400 t 1. CONTACT · Jan 22, 2005 - 7:30 PM · Winchester Theatre, 80 Winchester St. A sonic explosion of music by African composer Kevin Volans, set against the avant-garde music of his teacher Karlheinz Stockhausen. Africa meets Europea'n avant-garde meets Asia. 2. AFRICAN ALCHEMIES Mar 20, 2005 - 7:30 PM Winchester Theatre, 80 Winchester St. Ensemble Nair presents African composer Martin Scherzinger with his Rochester-based ensemble for an exciting evening of music from Africa including transcriptions of mbira music (Zimbabwean thumb piano). World premieres of new piano trios and string music by Kevin Volans, Martin Scherzinger and Bongani Ndodana. 3. EASTERN REVIVAL May 8, 2005 - 7:30 PM Winchester Theatre Music by Patricia Morehead, Ruth Lomon, Keiko Abe, Yi Liding. Evocative music with inspiration from China and Japan, spiced up with Native American influences. 4. THE ORPHAN BOY Co-produced with dancelmmersion Choreography: Vivine Scarlet & Germaul Barnes Ndodana .. Music: Bongani May 26 - 28; SPM Artword Theatre, 75 Portland St. An African Masai tale of transformation told through music and dance. (Programs may change) NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7 2004 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM 25
