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Volume 12 - Issue 2 - October 2006

  • Text
  • Toronto
  • October
  • Theatre
  • Choir
  • Concerts
  • Jazz
  • Choral
  • Arts
  • Singers
  • Symphony

Concerted efforts(and

Concerted efforts(and disconnects)One kind of "concerted effort" I want tomention this month is the work it takes tocome up with a concert season. Every singleevent, as presenters know, is an aggregationof minutiae - logistic and artistic, creativeand laborious. As you sweep through our177 member profiles this issue, slow downenough to imagine the collective effort (fromthe high artistic to the mundane) compressedinto each of those 175-word capsules. "Grassroots" comes to mind, for once, as a powerfullyaccurate description.I also want to mention the effort put outthis production cycle by WholeNote's sturdystaff. The same hardy little band that bringsyou WholeNote each month, added the compilationof the blue pages to their alreadyoverburdened schedules. And still, somehow,made it all happen.And there's a third sense of the phrasethat rears its head this issue: the rather wryersense of Jim Galloway's column, in whichhe reflects on the things that make a venue"disconcerting" for a jazz performer (and forsome audience members as well).The disconnectHad things gone as planned, this is whereI'd have launched into a little discursus onthe difference between "concerted" and "orchestrated",with a plea to our cultural czarsto get beyond the lazy thinking of relying onthe latter. "Orchestrated" is easier, nodoubt. Declare a festival to best all festivals.Throw money. Buy hype. And expect theworld to beat a path to our newly painted"world-class" front door. (Only to find out,after the fact, that the world was alreadyhere, quietly, concertedly, working away.)But I'll have to wait to shout at the czars.Fate intervenes in the form of a handful oflistings left out of this issue, but spotted intime to slow down, if not stop, the presses.While some of the events at the Music Gallerythis month made it into our listings, thefollowing six, all at the Gallery didn't:Oct 07 8:00: Trio Tarana +Jesse StewartOct 08 and 9: 8:00: Matmos, with So PercussionOct 13 8:00: Morris Patter: Play What You Mean!Oct 14 8:00: Metasax/DRUMthingsOct 26 8:00: Toca Loca: Love Her Madly;Oct 28 8:00: The Lollipop People Halloween ShowFor details, refer to the Music Gallery's ownwebsite at www.musicgallery.org.David Perlman, editorFootnote from our listings coordinator:Presenters, note that in this case the listings werenot sent to listings@thewholenote.com. Most misaddressedemails are forwarded, but do you want totake the chance that yours isn't? ... Don't send themto "info" or "editor" or "publisher". Send them tolistings@thewholenote.com. While you think of it,why not go and check your mailing lists, now?10Back to Ad IndexThis month's coverSophie Milmanhas spent the last year and half touring, andthere seems to be no end in sight for the 23-year old jazz vocalist who reached numberone on iTunes in both France and the USAthis summer. She has performances bookedin Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohamathis year, and European and Americanengagements booked well into 2007.Milman came to Canada at the age of 16- the second move for her family in less thana decade, and she recalls how unhappy shewas upon her arrival. "When I went to highschool here, I was the weird immigrant kidthat had no money, read a lot and was prettyresentful of my surroundings .... I totallyimmersed myself in academic pursuits andmusic." Through the school choir, shediscovered the emotional release ofperformance, and through the pursuit offurther performance opportunities, she wasable to make Canada feel like home.Milman still pursued her academicinterests, after high school, studyingcommerce at U of T. She also found time torelease her self-titled debut album, whichhas now been released internationally and isdoing well in Japan and parts of Europe. Shehas been hailed for her deep emotionalconnection to the songs that she chooses, aswell as for her stellar musicianship.On October 28, Milman touches down inher hometown of Toronto for a specialconcert at the historic Winter GardenTheatre, a performance which should berevealing for Milman's fans; the constanttouring schedule can be gruelling, but it hasalso meant time for Milman with her band toworkshop new material.While most of her musical influencesstemmed from "traditional" jazz, she findsthat her band, whom she describes as a"fresh, young and energetic group ofmusicians", has encouraged her to branchout and explore a wider range of sounds andstyles. "Over the past year and a half oftouring," she says, "the band and I haveworked out quite a bit of repertoire. Over thepast summer of American performances, wehave been doing 40% album stuff and 60%new material, so I really can't wait to go intothe studio and play around with that stuff."Milman also has a love of cabaret, broadwayand gospel -- influences which can be heardin her music.Other musicians who inspire Milmaninclude pianist and organist Doug Riley. "Ialso heard a killing bass player with JoeLovano: her name is Esperanza Spalding.Hypothetically speaking, it would be great tohave another girl on the road; now it's meand 5 guys which can get a bit much."Tickets for the Toronto show are availablethrough Ticketmaster or at the WinterGarden box office.Sophia PerlmanWWW. THEWHOLENOTE .COMSophie Milman coming to the Winter Garden:exactly the kind ofjav. venue that Jim Gallowayis not complaining about (Jazz. Notes, page 26)Also on the coverThe drummer on the left is part of TheKiyoshi Nagata Ensemble (KNE), enteringWholeNote's annual October Blue Pages forthe first time. KNE has been based inToronto since its formation in 1998, touringwidely, and seeking through their music to"create a new voice for the taiko" that isnevertheless "rooted in the ancient folk drumtraditions of Japan". The Ensemble kicks offthe season October 13 & 14.Smiling from the centre is Mike Petersenwho "animates the audience as thecolourfully-costumed MC, Papageno" atMooredale Concerts' interactive Music andTruffles series, aiming to launch childrenfour and up "on a lifelong journey of lovefor classical music". M&T's fourth seasonkicks off Sunday October 1 with What is aConcerto?(coinciding with parentMooredale's 18th season opener featuring aconcerto -Mendelssohn's "other" concertofor violin (the d minor).(These are only two of the 177 stories in themember profiles in this month's annual BluePages.)To the right is Helmuth Rilling, returning tothe International Bach Festival, which isquietly becoming a Toronto fall fixture withits extraordinary opportunities for students,performers and public (as often as not alllumped in together), to hear and to overhear.As cooked up by U of T-based artisticdirector Doreen Rao, it's a tasty spiritualstew. Just ask any of the little legion ofdevotees who put as much of the week asthey can aside, rolling up daily to WalterHall, to watch a cantata being crafted andthen sung.OCTOBER 1 - NOVEMBER 7 2006

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