SOME THING New by Jason van Eyk For a while in Toronto, November became known as New Music Month for which the focal point of interest and attention was the Masse; Hall New Music Festival (later given the ,catchy titl~ "Nu MuFest"). For one week, a core group of Toronto s new music pr7- senters took to the Massey Hall stage to present the best of new music from at home and abroad; and top national awards, like the Jules Leger Prize for New Chamber Music, were publicly awarded. There was buzz and energy - a truly lively celebration of Toronto's new music scene. But, like all good things, NuMuFest came to its end. And in the past four years little has come to fill its place. Well, there is a smattering of smaller festivals around town, such as the TSO's New Creations Festival in March and the University of Toronto's New Music Festival in January (look for more on these two in future columns). But there is still no sizable festive gathering of the whole community. Ah well, at least this magazine continues to provide a virtual festival for Toronto new music every November in its pages and online. Perhaps that last comment offers us the trick, then. Rather than bemoan the loss of NuMuFest, why not use the magazine's New Music concert quick picks (on page 63) to create your own " virtual" new music festival? There is a vast array of contemporary concert activity in the city throughout November (indeed, throughout the whole year). And with many of our more prominent new music ensembles launching their seasons this month, there is good reason to celebrate. MADLY FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS On November 6th Continuum opens their 20th concert season at the Music Gallery with a programme titled "In the Asylum" . Curated by composers James Rolfe and Juliet Palmer, the concert mixes work by composers from Ireland and Canada, as performed by the Continuum ensemble under conductor Daniel Warren. The con- Continuum celebrates 20 years of bold music-making. A signal season of new works from Canada, Ireland, Italy, France and the USA played by the virtuosic and fearless Continuum ensemble. IN THE ASYLUM Music from the gritty to the sublime: Allison Cameron, Rodney Sharman , Andrew Hamilton, Jennifer Walshe, Gerald Barry Sunday, November 6, 2005 8pm Music Gallery, St. George the Martyr, 197 John Street PLAYING IN TONGUES Sunday, February 5, 2006 8pm Music Gallery TOUCH SPACE Thursday, June 8, 2006 8 pm soundaXis festival The Lesile L. Dan Pharmacy Building, U of T Tickets: I seniors+arts workers I students Subscriptions: I seniors+arts workers Music Gallery box office: 416 204 1080 Continuum office: 416 924 4945 www.continuummusic.org Back to Ad Index WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM cert takes its title from noted Irish composer Gerald Barry's unflinching piano trio , which will open the evening. Toronto-based composer Allison Cameron's sparse yet richly detailed work Pliny will receive its world premiere, as will the alluringly beautiful Moments , composed by Vancouver-based Rodney Sharman. Music from the next generation of Irish composers completes the context, from Andrew Hamilton's energetic bursts of ordered madness to Jennifer Walshe's gritty exploration of found sounds. For details , please visit www . continuummusic.org TALISKER TAKES ON COATES The Talisker Players, known for their vocal and instrumental collaboration in chamber music, explore timely topics in their season-launch concert on November 9th at Trinity St. Paul's Centre. Entitled "Rumours of Peace", the programme focuses on works that retell accounts of the cost of human contl ict and the hope for lasting peace. Guests vocal soloists Teri Dunn (soprano) and Jason Nedecky (baritone) tackle modem standards such as Samuel Barber's Dover Beach and John Adams' The Wound Dresser alongside works by other great talents like Osvaldo Golijov. A special treat is the programming of Voices of Women in Wartime by little-heard but very talented Berlin-based American composer Gloria Coates. A world premiere In Flanders Fields by emerging Toronto-based composer Stephanie Moore rounds out the programme. For more information, including programme notes, please visit www.taliskerplayers.ca. ARRAY ON NEW GROUND On November 10th theArraymusic Ensemble ventures out into a new venue to launch both their 2005-2006 season and a new ensemble CD "ArrayLive!" In the funky club atmosphere of the Lula Lounge, the Arraymusic ensemble will give you a taste of completely different works from the same fine international cadre of composers featured on their new CD release, including Jo Kondo 's Standing , James Tenney's Harmonium #7, Linda C. Smith's Knotted Silk, Walter Zimmerman' s20 Figurentanze and Christian Wolff's For Five Or Ten People. As an added bonus, the ensemble will perform Henry Kucharzyk's much acclaimed arrangement of Claude Allison Cameron, Array premiere Vivier's Pulau Dewata. Come out and sample the Lula Lounge's cool environment and tasty menu before the concert starts at 9:30 PM. For info visit www .arraymusic.com. RALL YING TO TI-IE GALLERY Most lacking from any "virtual" new music festival constructed of what happens to be going on is an anchored sense of place, a focal point of activity, much like what Massey Hall gave to NuMuFest. During the regular concert season, this role has been handily played for the last thirty years by the Music Gallery, Toronto's home for new and unusual music. The Gallery has occupied many homes in this city, perhaps the most successful being the creative hub it brought into being on Richmond St. But that was sold years ago by its owners to build more condos. Since then, the Gallery has been making a temporary but fully functional home for creative music at St. George the Martyr Church, all the while looking for the next great new music hub. Unfortunately, this temporary situation and the continued search have all built up to mark the Gallery's 30th season with mounting financial and operational challenges, leading to the suspension of its education-based Music Gallery Institute and the scaling back of programming by almost 50%. Still, the Music Gallery's role as a centre for the creation and performance of new music and music-related arts cannot be overstated. Its commitment to both incubating and anchoring the new music community, its position as a highly respected node on an international network , and its mandate to create the space to celebrate all that is new and creative in music, is all essential to the development of the musical arts in our city and beyond. But what may seem like crisis can lead to opportunity, with the right support. The Gallery is N OVEMBER l - U ECEMBE R I LUU:>
working hard to move towards these opportunities, and can achieve a bright future with the proper support. SoUNDAXJS And what hope of a new NuMuFest for Toronto? Montreal just completed the second installment of its new Montreal Nouvelles Musiques festival in the early spring of2005 to much applause, so we know it is possible to successfully launch a New Music festival in a major city with success. In the festival heavy landscape of Toronto, surprisingly there is still room for a sizable festival devoted to new music, a high-profile one that celebrates the whole community. And with this being the Year of Creativity, as decreed by the City, the time seems ripe for action. Indeed it is. The action in question is being taken by the newly formed New Music Projects, which is gearing up to present the SoundaXis Festival of music, architecture and acoustics in June 2006, with concerts, events, conferences, lectures and exhibitions contributed by 29 different organizations, and taking the entire city of Toronto as its platform. Keep your eyes and ears open for this one. Until then, visit www. soundaxis .ca for more info. So, support and celebrate the city 's wealth of new musical experiences. Stimulate and be stimulated by some thing new. (Jason van Eyk is the Canadian Music Centre 's Ontario Regional Director. He can be reached at 416-961-6601 x. 207 or jasonv@musiccentre.ca.) News Roundup Coalition of New Music Presenters by Keith Denning For thirty years, the Music Gallery has provided a venue in Toronto dedicated to nurturing new music . For the past several years, the Music Gallery has shared a space at the Church of St. George the Martyr. This arrangement, while amenable and positive, was meant to be a temporary solution to the sudden crisis brought on by the loss of their venue on Richmond St. Four years later, the Music Gallery is still there, searching for a new , permanent, home. Watching a new opera/ballet hall being constructed, and seeing terrific dance spaces such as the Premiere Dance Theatre and Harbourfront Centre thrive, I am forced to wonder whether or not new music is a kind of poor cousin in the arts in Toronto. There are hundreds of venues throughout the city for dance, theatre, classical and pop music, but a dedicated centre for new music is something that we have always struggled to have and to keep. The Music Gallery's role as a creative engine in the new music community simply cannot be overstated. Speaking for myself, as a part of Earshot Concerts, our group simply wouldn't exist without the early nurturing of the Music Gallery. Even now, when the Gallery is in crisis, they continue to provide a focal point in the community for new music. I, for one, believe that it is an essential component of the new music scene in Toronto, Canada, and beyond. When the Coalition first convened several years ago, the quest for a new home for new music was high on the agenda. The quest has been ongoing, but the discussion somewhat muted. On the Coalition website, torontohearandnow.com, we have established a forum for the CONTINUES NEXT PAGE Visit www.torontohearandnow.com to: • learn about the Toronto Coalition of New Music Presenters • view listings of new music events in Toronto and beyond • join the mailing lists ofToronto's exciting new music groups and more! Your ears deserve more than they've been getting. Back to Ad Index WWW,THEWHOLENOTE, COM
