26 St. James Cathedral's music programs are as diverse and as rich as the community we serve - combining the reverence and rich history of the Anglican Church choral tradition with the dramatic counterpoint and contemporary influence of opera, orchestral, jazz, and interpretive performance. We announce several professional vocal vacancies in the following sections: COUNTERTENOR • TENOR BASS/BARITONE Contact Cathedral Organist and Director of Music Michael Bloss for further information and to schedule an audition. The Cathedral Church of St. James King & Church, Toronto 416-364-7865 ext 231 music@stjamescathedral.on.ca www.stjamescathedral.on.ca MUSIC DIRECTOR WANTED Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir This 60-member choir, formed in 1995, seeks an experienced Music Director to commence duties in 2006. The Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir is a not-for-profit corporation committed to maintaining a male choir of world class reputation. Our goa l is to promote Welsh cu lture through music, and to delight aud iences with our joy of singing. The choir's repertoire includes Welsh hymns , folk songs from around the world, spirituals, operatic choruses and Broadway show tunes . We perform 10-12 concerts each season, mostly within GTA, and rehearse each Wednesday from 7.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. at Dewi Sant Welsh Un ited Church, 33 Melrose Avenue (Lawrence & Yonge) . In addition to the Music Director, the Choir has 3 professional music staff. The successful candidate must be dynamic, and be able to work in harmony with the Choir in developing music programs in keeping with Welsh choral tradition . Knowledge of Welsh music would be an advantage, but not necessarily a requirement. Salary is to be negotiated . Qualified applicants should submit their resume before 5 pm on 15° January 2006 to the General Secretary - David Riches, 25 Carlton Road , Unionville, Ontario, L3R 1Z4. For more information , consult our Website at www.twmvc.com or call David Riches at 905-477-3257. himself to come and conduct a sing-along performance at Massey Hall on December 18th. Dust off your score and give it a whirl. There are many other events I have not had room enough to mention. I mostly want to congratulate Toronto's choirs and thank them for their hard work. You are encouraged to go out and hear as much choral music as you can this month, and , try singing yourself. Most of us have vocal chords that vibrate. Most of us have the abil i ty to breathe in and out. Most of us carry around too much stress in our bodies. Try singing, if only in the shower. .. . I can almost guarantee it will bring you joy. Wishing us all a season of peace, hope, meaning, good times with loved ones ... .. and lots of music! A Multitude of Messiahs by Catherine Muir Handel is reported to have said "I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God himself' about the 24 days in the late summer of 1741 he spent, at the suggestion ofa friend , composing his most beloved piece, Messiah . Messiah was performed for the first time in Dublin, April 13, 1742, and since then has become one of the most widelyperformed pieces of music of all time. Messiah is divided into three parts representing Christ's birth, death, and resurrection, each part comprising a series of arias and choruses based on Biblical passages. After the initial Messiah, Handel toured Great Britain and Ireland performing the piece, often changing elements of the oratorio to suit the librettos or the concert location. In WholeNote's region, Toronto and southwestern Ontario, there are so many versions of Messiah in so many different locations available to attend in December that even Handel would be hard-pressed to tour them all . This month there are over 35 performances, in whole or in part, by 20 organizations. In our QuickPicks section (page 63), we give a short listing of each of these, so they can be hunted down in our comprehensive concert listings, commencing page 36. A few quotes about Messiah performances around town from audience members of years past conjure some of the magic, and devotion, the work evokes. An audience member at Arcady's Messiah said "After three Arcady Baroque Messiahs in eight days I was still disappointed that there would be no more until next year. Each had a life and personality of its own. Each revealed something new about Arcady and about the work itself. And Arcady's Messiah has become an essential part, possibly THE essential part of my advent experience and preparation." An attendee at Fanshawe Chorus London's Messiah reported afterwards that "[Fanshawe's] Messiah is truly a masterpiece. It has everything a concert goer would want - fabulous soloists, world-class choir, an insightful conductor, gorgeous orchestration. Londoners are very fortunate ". A fan of Tafelmusik's Messiah: "I knew what to expect but for me it meant something more. I heard this beautiful work in a beautiful setting and performed by the ONE group that I know that plays and sings so beautifully, and for me, it was a worship service. " If you have never attended a Messiah concert, consider going this year. If you are a seasoned veteran, thinking of abandoning ship, you would do well to remember this quote above all others about the Messiah this season: "Despite its popularity, the Messiah is a masterpiece. " Michael J. Ierullo Concert Tuner I Technician Sales - Service - Tuning - Restoration Serving Toronto's Major Concert & Jazz Venues Tel: 4 16-889-8667 I Fax: 866-7 11-31 65 I E-mail: pianomd @sympatico.ca WWW . THEWHOLEN OTE. COM D ECEMBER 1 2005 - F EB RUARY 7 2006
WORLD View by Karen Ages Before launching into my usual "what's coming up" in world music as we head into winter, a significant congratulatory mention is in order. Dr.George Sawa On November 18 in Cairo, our own Dr. George Sawa was presented his native country's highest lifetime achievement award in recognition of contributions to Arabic music. Past winners of this award have included the likes of the great Egyptian vocalist Oum Kaltsoum (1904-1973). Many know Dr. Sawa as the inspiration behind the careers of Toronto musicians such as the members of Arabic/Greek ensemble Maza Meze, Maryem Tollar and others. In addition to having taught at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, the Arabesque Academy and privately, Dr. Sawa's scholarly work includes a book on Music Performance Practice in the Early Abbasid Era (750-932 AD), dealing with aspects of performance around mediaeval Baghdad, another on the Theory and Practice of Rhythm in Mediaeval Arabic Music (750-950 AD), and an ongoing project with his wife Suzanne, on the 10th century anthology The Grand Book of Songs. Congratulations Dr. Sawa on your achievement! Also on a congratulatory note , Toronto's Ensemble Noir, led by South African born music director and composer Bongani Ndodana, makes its New York debut on January 20. The Ensemble, whose mandate is to perform contemporary works with an emphasis on African composers (see Whole Note Nov 04) has been invited to perform at the world-renowned Miller Theatre. The program will feature selected works ofNdodana, who, at the tender age of only 30, has numerous compositions under hi s belt including symphonies, operas, chamber and vocal music, with performances all over the globe. Closer to home, the Indian fusion ensemble Tasa, led by tabla player Ravi Naimpally, performs December 1 at Walter Hall (part of U of T's Faculty of Music noon hour concert series) and December 9 at the Red Guitar (603 Markham St.); December 1 at halfpast noon, York University' s Cuban and African drum ensembles perform in McLaughlin Hall, and December 2, the York University Orchestra and Chinese Orchestra perform in the same venue. Husband and wife team Vineet Vyas (tabla) and Bageshree Vaze (Kathak dance) present Taalworks, An Evening of Rhythm and Dance from North India, December 4 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Both have trained with some of the top artists in their fields, and Bageshree was recently named MTV India's "rising star" . Also on December 4, The Great Holiday Mega Launch, so called because it features 6 different groups all of whom have new CD's to release, takes place at The Great Hall (1087 Queen St. West); of interest to readers of this column, the program includes Irish music duo Deborah Quigley (uillean pipes) and Martin Gould (guitar), both active in Toronto' s Celtic music scene. December 5 at noon, U of T 's Faculty of Music presents its anual end-of-term world music ensembles concert, in Walter Hall; PHILIP L. DAVIS Luthier Formerly with}). Schroder: Frankfwt, West Germany 416-466-9619 67 Wolverleigh Blvd., Toronto ON M4] 1R6 The Echo Women's Choir performs on December 11 at Church of the Holy Trinity this year's line-up includes tabla, Balinese gamelan, Japanese taiko drumming and the Georgian choir. The Koffler Salon Series presents a Chanukah concert featuring the Lachan Jewish Chamber Choir and Sisters of Sheynville, December 6 at the Leah Posluns Theatre; the same evening, On Stage at Glenn Gould Studio presents "East Meets East", as Juno award winning Punjabi ghazal singer Kiran Ahluwalia shares the stage with Cape Breton musician Mary Jane Lamond and others. The 70-plus member Echo Women's Chamber Choir presents "Songs of Resistance and Hope", December 11 at Church of the Holy Trinity. On the program are anti-apartheid songs from South Africa, songs of the Armenian exile, songs in Hebrew and Tamil, and two Roma songs: Oshwitsate (Auschwitz) is a musical memorial to the Roma population nearly wiped out in the second world war; and Dureme Zhe is a song that calls for inclusiveness, first sung at demonstrations against the ultra-right in 1990's Eastern Europe. December 16, Toronto's traditional Bluegrass band, The Foggy Hogtown Boys , (see www.foggyhogtownboys .com) present "A Very Foggy Christmas" at the Silver Dollar Room; donations to the Food Bank get you reduced admission. Described as an "Arctic fusion band", Ensemble Polaris, specializing in Nordic music, performs at the Edward Day Gallery on December 21. Well known Toronto musicians that you will recognize from other ensembles play a variety of instruments including harp, mandolin, bowed psaltery, hurdy gurdy, recorders, seljet10yte and percussion, with singer Katherine Hill. Visit www .ensemblepolaris.com for more info. Further ahead, on January 28, OnStage presents "Horn of Africa", with traditional and contemporary music on oud, bongos and krar (5 or 6 stringed lyre), featuring musicians from Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. And, fun for the whole family on January 28, the RCM Community Concert Series presents children's entertainers, singer/songwriter/actor Rick Scott and Harry Wong, Hong Kong musician, magician and educator, who celebrate cultural understanding in English and Cantonese through a variety of musical styles. Wishing you all a happy holiday season! See you in February. 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 by e-mail at worldmusic@ thewholenote. com. Violins, violas, cellos, and bows Complete line of strings and accessories Expert repairs and rehairs Canada's largest stock of string music Fast mail order service @, ,,---rww w. the sound post.com info@thesoundpost.com DECEMBER 1 2005 - F EBRUARY 7 2006 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM 27
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