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Volume 12 - Issue 3 - November 2006

  • Text
  • Theatre
  • Toronto
  • November
  • Jazz
  • Arts
  • Musical
  • Orchestra
  • December
  • Glenn
  • Gould

World Viewby Karen

World Viewby Karen Ages24While last month's world music offeringsheavily favoured the Spanish/Portuguese/Brazilianvariety,November features a number ofconcerts of Celtic music and folkfiddling traditions, plus a real mishmashof music from the far corversitywas knownas an exciting placeon the cutting edge ofnew and experimentalmusic. Today, itsgraduate program inEthnomusicology hasput it on the map, andin recent years it hasners of the globe.On November 4, the music seriesat St. Mark's Presbyterian Church(I Greenland Rd.) presents A CelticFeast, including fiddling, flutes,drums and songs of several Celtictraditions, with Loretto Reid, KellyHood, Anne Lederman and others.The next evening, Appalachian fiddlerErynn Marshall and claw hammerbanjoist Chris Coole performnew tunes and songs from their upcomingnew CD. This is a houseconcert in the Bathurst/St. Clair area,so please reserve in advance ( 416-516-3796, or erynnmarshall@yahoo.com). November 17, the touringshow Cape Breton Live performsat the Markham Theatre, however,according to the Theatre's website,the show is sold out, so pleasecall in advance. November 25, Alliston'sMillpond Centre for theArts presents 24 year old fiddlingsensation Shane Cook, winner ofsome of Canada's top fiddlingawards. Performing Celtic, FrenchCanadian, Texan and Bluegrassstyles, he 'II be joined by other musiciansas well as stepdancer SarahRobinson. Veteran Canadian fiddlerNatalie MacMaster performs severaltimes in the area this month:she'll be at Brampton's Rose TheatreNovember 14, Mississauga'sLiving Arts Centre December 2 andat Brantford 's Sanderson CentreDecember 4. Lastly in this category,St. Paul's United presents A CelticChristmas, featuring traditionalmusic and dancing from the BritishIsles, at the Assembly Hall ( 1 ColonelSamuel Smith Park Dr.).Back in its early days, the fledglingMusic Department of York Unibecomea small hotbedof world musicactivity.Ge~o~ ;~ & Co. LimitedConstantinople: Left to right: Ziya Tabassian, percussion; Kiya Tabassian, setar,Jose Angel Gutierrez, requinto, voice; Teresita de Jesus Islas, jarana, voice;Betsy MacMillan, viola da gamba; and Matthew Wadsworth, baroque guitar.York launches its new Faculty Re- Two Japanese Taiko ensembles three organizations in Palesti.ne/IsracitalSeries with a concert of South perform this month: if you missed el: The Gaza Community MentalIndian music on November 2, fea- the Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble's Health Program (www.gcmhp.net);turing long-time professor and world October concert, there's a second The Families Forum - Bereaved Famrenownedvirtuoso mrdangam play- chance to see them perform at Mc- ilies Supporting Peace, ReconciliaerTrichy Sankaran and his per- Master University's Convocation tion and Tolerance, who do outreachcussion ensemble, who will be Hall on November 17. Another Ca- in their communities aimed at edujoinedbyKarnatak vocalist Madurai nadian ensemble, the Yakudo Tra- eating people about each others' re­R. Sundar. November 7 to 9 York ditional Japanese Drummers eel- alities (www.theparentscircle.com);hosts a World Music Festival, di- ebrates its 15th anniversary with a and Project Hope, a volunteer orrectedby professor Rob Simms. performance November 18 at Glenn ganization providing youth withed­Events take place at 12:30 and 7:30 Gould Studio. This 13-member en- ucational and recreational activities,pm and include York's Middle East- semble presents traditional Taiko practical training, and humanitarianem, Klezmer, Balkan, Chinese, Jap- pieces as well as their own original relief (www.projecthope.org).anese and Korean ensembles (Nov compositions, some of which will Recently back from a tour of Aus-7), Afro-American pianist Catherine be premiered at tliis performance. tralia, the Toronto Tabla Ensem-Wilson, Celtic, Guitar, and Cuban And there are more events that ble performs November 24 and 25ensembles (Nov 8), and Caribbean, night: London Ont's Karen at Glenn Gould Studio, with guestSamba and African drum & dance Schuessler Singers presents Around Jeff Martin, former guitarist/vocalensembles(Nov 9).the World in 80 Minutes!, a musical ist/songwriter with rock band TheFurther south, U of T's Faculty world tour with Grace Lou, erhu, Tea Party. The Toronto Mandolinof Music holds its end-of-term and the Szikra Zither Ensemble; U Orchestra (Shevchenko Ensem­World Music concert, December 1 of T Scarborough presents Toronto ble) celebrates its 50th Anniversaryat noon, including African drumming based Indian-jazz fusion ensemble with a concert November 26 at Glennand dance, Balinese gamelan, Japa- autorickshaw; and the Overseas Gould Studio, featuring a retrospecneseTaiko, Klezmer, and Steel Pan Chinese Music Society presents its tive of its fmest repertoire of Ukrainensembles.10th Annual Gala Concert, at the ian, Russian and Canadian folk mu-Turkey's best known musical en- George Weston Recital Hall. sic. Toronto's Goethe Institutesemble Yeni Tiirkii performs at the Montreal's early music ensemble presents a talk and concert titledGeorge Weston Recital Hall, Novem- Constantinople makes its Toronto "Heine and Yiddish Song", November5. Established in 1978, the group debut November 19 atHarbourfront. ber 29. Singer Adrienne Cooper andhas toured worldwide and has re- They will give a preview of their pianist Marilyn Lerner explore theleased many recordings. Traditional ninth recording project for the influence of German-Jewish poetand modern instruments, as well as ATMA label, TerraNostra, ajour- HeinrichHeine(l797-1856), in songpoetry of contemporary Turkish po- ney into the Mexican Baroque. settings by the poet's musical conetsare used to create a repertoire Recent events in the Middle East temporaries as well as newly comrootedin tlie traditions of Anatolian have inspired dancer/musician Roula posed versions by Canadians Davidand Byzantine cultures but with a Said to organize fundraising events Wall, Marilyn Lerner and Israelipop music flavour. for Gaza and Lebanon. The first, in songwriter Chava Albershteyn.CO"iSERVMORS & PURVEYORSOF Fine & Rare Violins201 Cf.urd. S·_., Toronto. ON. M5B IY'. Email: ghcl@idirect.comTr.L 416-363-0093·Fax:1116 J63 0053www.georgeheinl.comCanada's foremost v10lrn expertsProud of our heritag~. Ex~it~d abo1Jt th~ futur~ .August, raised ,000 for the Hu- And lastly, there are a number ofmanitarian Coalition. The second dance events at Harbourfront thistakes place November 22 at the Lula month featuring world traditions orLounge, and will feature an Arab- instrunlents. Please see our daily and/Jewish fusion band made up of some or Music Theatre listings for detailsof Toronto's best musicians, includ- on: Janak Khendry Dance ComingRoula 's husband trumpeter David pany (Nov 9-11); Esmeralda En­Buchbinder, Arabic singer Maryem rique Spanish Dance CompanyTollar and her multi-instrumentalist (Nov 16-19) ; Jeng Yi Koreanhusband Ernie Tollar, bellydancers Drum and Dance Ensemble (NovRoula Said and Mayaal-Samry and 18-19); SooRyu 2006 Dance Fesothers.The event will also feature a tival (Nov 23-25); Susan Lee/Evscreeningof two films from bh ergreen Club ContemoraryYael's thought provoking "Palestine Gamelan (Nov 25-26); ArabesqueTrilogy". Funds raised will go to Dance Company (Nov 29-Dec 3).WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE.COM N OVEMBER 1 - D ECE MBER 7 2006

SoME THING Newby Jason van EykWhat a difference a year makes!Last November there was still gloomover the loss of NuMuFest as a focusfor celebrating new music in thecity - a sense of loss further exacerbatedby the crisis at the Music Gallerychronicled in last November'sWholeNote. But the shadow is lifting.The Music Gallery has made aremarkable recovery, and the resoundingsuccess of this past summer'ssoundaXis has quietened lamentationsfor NuMuFest.The success of soundaXis as acollaborative model has also inspiredsimilar events. A case in point isthis month's Gubaidulina festival.Sofia Gubaidulina, alongside AlfredSchnittke and Edison Denisov, is amajor Russian composer of the post­Shostakovich era whose work, bothspiritual and dramatic, uses daring,original colours. Among the earliestSoviet composers to show a deepinterest in religious themes, her musicis both improvisatory and strictlyorganized on ancient mystical principles.Her interest in Russian folkand ritual instrun1ents, especially thebayan (a type of Russian accordion),furtl1er broadens the scope ofher oeuvre. Gubaidulina came to internationalattention in tl1e 1980stl1rough the advocacy of violinistGidon Kremer, to whom she dedicatedher violin concerto, Offertorium.The current Toronto festival celebratesher 75th birtl1day.The genesis of this festival wascollaborative. As Soundstreams artisticdirector Lawrence Cherney describesit "The Gubaidulina projectcame out of two separate initiatives,combined into one. In November2003, I went to Berlin to hear theRIAS Kanunerchor perform Gubaidulina's Jetzt Immer Schnee for soloists,choir and chamber orchestra.It's truly one of tl1e great masterworksof our time, tl1ough tl1ere arefew choirs that can perform it. I metGubaidulina at that time, and suggestedshe come to Toronto in conjunctionwith RIAS and her 75tl1birthday in tl1e fall of 2006.""Independently, accordionist JoeMacerollo and New Music Concertsapproached Gubaidulina about comingto Toronto early in 2006, in conjunctionwitl1 a planned visit by thebayan player Friedrich Lips. Wedecided to combine these efforts fortl1e fall of 2006. I also held discussionswitl1 tl1e TSO for more tl1an ayear to find a way to include a largeorchestra work within the festival,and we finally worked out that theywould perform Rider on a WhiteHorse. Esprit Orchestra agreed toperform a smaller orchestral work.Among the four organizations, awide spectrum is covered."The resulting Gubaidulina Festivallaunches on Wednesday November22 with tl1e Canadian premiereof Rider on a White Horse by theTSO under tl1e baton of GianandreaNoseda. (This progranune repeats onNovember 23.) For details and ticketsvisit www.tso.ca or call 416-598-3375.)November 24 Soundstreams Canadapresents the first of two Gubaidulinaconcerts with tl1e RIAS KammerchorBerlin, making its Nortl1American debut tour. The highlightof tl1e programme is Gubaidulina'sJetzt Immer Schnee. The evening alsosees RIAS joined by the Studio demusique ancienne de Montreal ina range of antiphonal works, includinga world premiere from Montrealbasedcomposer Brian Cherney. Fordetails visit www.soundstreams.ca.For tickets visit www.stlc.com orcall 416-366-7723 .A late entry into tl1e festival, saxophonistWallace Halladay reassembleshis collective devoted to themusic of20tl1and21st century masters(e.g. his Scelsi Centenary Projectand Franco Donatoni Project). Wallaceand his crew tackle Gubaidulina's chamber music November 25at the Music Gallery, focussing onthe composer's later works, includingIn Erwartung for saxophonequartet and six percussionists; Verwandlungfor saxophone quartet, basstrombone, violoncello, double bassand tam-tam; and Duo-Sonata fortwo baritone saxophones. Halladayshares the stage witl1 saxophonistRobert Carli, percussionist RyanScott and trombonist Scott Good, allconducted by Gregory Oh. TheMcGill University Percussion Ensembleunder Aiyun Huang alsomakes an appearance. Details areonline atwww.musicgallery.org orcall 416-204-1080.On Sunday November 26th,Soundstreams returns to MetropolitanUnited Church with RIAS in amixed programme featuring twoshort Gubaidulina works and a rangeof German Romantic repertoire. Andtl1e Esprit Orchestra takes to tl1e JaneMallett stage with bayan soloist FriedrichLips to perform Seven Wordsfor bayan, cello, and string orchestrawitl1 Paul Widner as cello soloist.Lips will also perform De Profundisfor bayan solo. Two Canadianworks complete the programme:Brian Current'sConcertina for flute solo,three flutes and string orchestra,written for flautistRobert Aitken, and theToronto premiere of SergeAcuri's La foret desclameurs, a concerto forpiano and string orchestra,with Louise Bessette assoloist. For details visitwww.espritorchestra.com.For tickets, v1s1twww.stlc.com or call 416-366-7723.The festival closes November 27that tl1e Glenn Gould Studio with amixed programme of chamber musicfrom New Music Concerts. NMCGeneral Manager David Olds explains:"We discussed a variety ofrepertoire with Mr. Lips, Ms. Gubaidulina(through her publisher atSikorski) and Esprit Orchestra. AtLips' request NMC is including Silenziofor bayan, violin and cello andIn Croce for bayan and cello, forwhich he will be joined by FujikoImaj ishi and David Hetherington.Robert Aitken will join Steve Dannand Erica Goodman to perform TheGarden of Joy and Sorrow forflute, viola and harp, and at Ms.Sofia GubaidulinaGubaidulina's request we have invitedPatricia Green to sing Hommagea T.S. Eliot for soprano andoctet. The concert will also featuretl1e world premiere of Abigail Richardson'sConcerto for Violin andString Quintet, with soloist MichaelSchulte."For details visit www.newmusicconcerts.com. For ticketscall 416-205-5555.Come out and celebrate tl1e powerof collaboration. Explore a leadingvoice of our generation in sometl1ing new.Jason van Eyk can be reached at416-961-6601 x. 207 orjvaneyk@musiccentre.cathu nov 2 •the urban arts brass ensemblenew music for brass quintet+ drums• new works byoesterle, god in, downing, ringas, underhill - 8pm, / Osun nov 5 •new music concerts: slowind quintetslovenian ensemble plays ligeti, aitken, globokar - Bpmfri nov 10 • tyft trio + eric chenauxfrom iceland/nyc: hilmar jensson (guitar), jim black (drums),andrew d'angelo (reeds)- Bpm, //thu nov 16 • idiolalla - cd releasevocalists/improvisers db boyko + christine duncan with percussionistjean martin - workshop 4pm, concert Bpm, //fri nov 24 electronica unpluggedcontact contemporary music performs the music of aphex twin,bowie, eno, glass, part, southam, tavener- Bpm, sat nov 25 the gubaidulina chamber projectwallace halladay, greg oh +friends explore later chamber musicof the russian master - 3pm, //fri dee 1 the hylozoists + whippoorwilltoronto's post-rock/surf-pop orchestra • with live loops fromgreat bob scot! & chris gardner +live video - 8pm, $12/du ( Mlildo1f11t· .\()("A:\ ' J."m iJttli1ti.ur ~ o ront ca i-ts :: o un ci lt•;!\ • •!:· · li11 '.',1e1·. 1NOVEMB ER 1 - D ECE M BER 7 2006 W W W .THEWHO LENOTE. 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