generating opportunities for dynamic encounters betweencreators, performers and audiences.Soundstreams has presented hundreds of unique andcompelling concerts, from intimate chamber music eventsto multi-choral spectaculars, operas, music-theatre worksand 8 highly successful international festivals.The 25th Anniversary season includes Patricia Rozarioand the Elmer Iseler Singers performing Byzantineinspired music by John Tavener, Jonathan Harvey, ChristosHatzis and Michael Oesterle; The Hilliard Ensemble andTafelmusik Chamber Choir performing a premiere by BrianCherney; Moscow's Academy of Choral Arts performingRachmaninov's Vespers; the premiere of The Journey byTomson Highway and Melissa Hui; the premiere of 7 LastWords by Paul Frehner paired with James MacMillan's(UK) work on the same theme, and the 2008 CoolDrummings International Percussion Festival.Soundstreams offers extensive outreach programs inschools throughout the GTA, including student performances(The Young Artist Overture) before most concerts.Lawrence Cherney, artistic director416-504-1282soundstreams@soundstreams.cawww.soundstreams.caSOUTHERN ONTARIO CHAPTEROF THE HYMN SOCIETY (SOCHS)The Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society (SOCHS)is a vibrant organization- this year celebrating its tenthanniversary-supporting congregational song inSouthern Ontario. Each season SOCHS offers three eventsto the city and surrounding region. Anyone with an interestin hymns and congregalional song is invited to join theChapter and I or to participate in its public activities. Pleaserefer to the website http://www.sochs.org for informationon membership and upcoming events and a summary ofour past few seasons.In recent years we have brought to Toronto twointernational voices in the persons of John L. Bellrepresenting the Iona Community in Scotland and JimmieAbbington from the United States representing AfricanAmerican music to our Centre. We have also hosted eventsfeaturing internationally recognized hymn writers CarlDaw, Brian Wren and Mary Louise Bringle.This season, our first event is at 2:30pm on 28 Octoberat Grace Lutheran Church, Oakville and features anentertaining and enriching look at the new (2006)Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship.647-722-1618inlo@sochs.orgwww.sochs.orgST. CLEMENT'S ANGLICAN CHURCH CHOIRSSince 1897 at the early mission, St. Clement's Choirs hasbeen presenting special services to mark Christmas, Easterand other festival days, and given concerts throughout theyear. Highlights of the 2007-08 musical season include:Nov.4, 4:30pm Commemoration of All Souls, music MesseSolennelle, Louis Vierne; Dec 2, 4:30pm Advent CarolService; Good Friday, March 21, 2008, 2pm Music forPassion tide including The Sacrifice by Antonin Tucapsky.Details can be found on the Church's website under MusicThe Psallam Spiritu Choir is a treble voice choir forboys and girls between the ages of 8-17 who lead the musicat the 9:15 am Sunday liturgy. Vocal training with emphasison sight-reading is given. Rehearsals take place everyThursday afternoon 4:30 - 5:30 pm from September to theend of May.The Senior Choir is an auditioned mixed-voice choir ofabout 25 singers that sing a wide range of sacred repertoirefrom plainsong and 16th century to music of the 2 lstcentury. The choir sings at the I lam Sunday liturgy andthe occasional Choral Evensongs.Thomas Filches, organist & director of music416-483-6664lfitches@stclemenls-church.orgwww.stclemenls-church.orgST. }AMES CATHEDRALThe Cathedral of St. James has three choirs serving themusical requirements of its Sunday and special liturgies.The Parish Choir sings at the Sam Holy Eucharist andconsists of four section leads and a group of volunteers. Itrehearses on Thursday evenings during the year and at8: I Sam on Sundays, just prior to the service. Singersinterested in volunteering their lime are most welcome tocontact Andrew Ager, Interim Music Director at 416-364-7865 #224.The St. James Singers, with a core group of eight leads,and a large complement of volunteers, rehearses Tuesdayevenings and sings two Evensongs per month, and joinswith the Cathedral Choir for the main concerts of the season.Anyone interested in inquiring about either section lead orvolunteer positions in this ensemble is also welcome tocontact Andrew Ager.The Cathedral Choir is a fully professional group ofeighteen singers who sing at the Sunday 11 am HolyEucharist, and at two Evensongs per month, as well asnumerous special services.This year the Cathedral Choir/St. James Singers areperforming, amongst many other works, the Faure Requiem,Vivaldi's Gloria, and a concert of Venetian Master workswith the English Cornetta and Sackbut Ensemble.416-364-7865music@stjamescalhedral.on.cawww.sljamescathedral.on.caSr. MICHAEL'S CHOIR SCHOOLThe treasury of Roman Catholic sacred music can beencountered every week at St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto,where a fine choral tradition has been maintained since1937 when St. Michael's Choir School was founded. Threetreble and SATB boys' choirs sing at the Saturday eveningand Sunday morning Masses and for all the solemnliturgies of the Christmas and Easter seasons, as well asimportant archdiocesan and civic events.Our 2007-2008 concerlizing begins with a benefit concert"A Gift of Music" on October 15, 7:30pm at Roy ThomsonHall, with Kevin Hearne and the Barenaked Ladies,Matt Dusk, John McDermott, Stewart Goodyear and MichaelBurgess - all alumni of the school. On December 14 at8pm and December 15, at 3pm we present "A ChristmasCelebration" at Massey Hall.The choir school provides an enriched learningenvironment for boys in grades 3 to 12, with daily choralrehearsals, and individual instruction in piano, organ,voice, strings, and guitar. For admission information,please visit our website or call the school's music secretary.Dr. Jerzy Cichocki and Marie-Claire Liptay,conductorsRev. John-Mark Missio, director416-393-5518johnmark.missio@tcdsb.orgwww.smcs.on.caSYRINX SUNDAY SALONSSyrinx Concerts Toronto was created in 1986. In 2005,Syrinx Sunday Salons was established. Our focus is toencourage and promote Canadian artists and to introducethe works of one Canadian composer each year. The pastfive seasons have featured the works of Srul Irving Glick,Walter Buczynski, Oskar Morawetz, Steven Gellman, andJean Coulthard.818 Wholenote MEMBER PROFILES 2007-2008This year we will celebrate the music of Anton Kuerti,integrating within each concert a substantial chamber workof his, along with the more familiar repertoire. Anton Kuertiis known throughout the world as an outstanding pianist,composer, teacher and humanist. His enormous repertoireincludes familiar and modern compositions, many of whichhe has premiered. Kuerli devotes his lime to performingand composing and giving master classes. He has receivedmany honorary doctorates and is an Officer of the Order ofCanada.Our six-concert series will include performances byRea Beaumont, The Duke Trio, The Cerberus Ensemble,Peter Longworth, The Angela Park Quartet, Shalom Bard,Rafael Hoekman, and Anton Kuerti.The 6-concert subscription is $ !00. Single tickets are-.Dorothy Sandler-Glick, contact416-654-0877dorolhyglick@hotmail.comwww.syrinxconcerts.orgTAFELMUSIK BAROQUE ORCHESTRA &CHAMBER CHOIRA Season of Greats!Experience the music of great 17th and l 8th centurycomposers performed by Tafelmusik, Canada's nine-timeJuno Award-winning baroque orchestra and chamber choir.Join Tafelmusik in 2007 /08 for two premieres: the Canadianpremiere of a Bach suite played on a viola da spalla (Feb13- 17), and Tafelmusik' s Toronto premiere of Beethoven'srevolutionary Symphonies 7 and 8 guest conducted byBruno Weil (March 27- April I). Also not to be missed isHandel's opera arias with countertenor Daniel Taylor andsoprano Carolyn Sampson (April 9- 13), and Mozart'sRequiem (May 7- 11).Complete the holiday season with Bach's ChristmasOratorio and Magnificat (Nov 29- Dec 2) and Handel'sMessiah (Dec 19- 22 at Trinity-St. Paul's, and Sing-AlongMessiah at Massey Hall Dec 23).Tafelmusik continues its 3-concert series at the GeorgeWeston Recital Hall: Sound the Trumpet' (Sept 25); BachChristmas Oratorio and Magnificat (Nov 27); andBeethoven Symphonies 7and 8 (April I) .The new and revamped Face the Musik programmestill offers 18-30 year-olds some of Tafelmusik's hottestconcerts for -25; but now includes a Pay-What-You-Cannight.Jeanne Lamon, music directorTricia Baldwin, managing director416-964-9562, 416-964-6337 (box office)inlo@tafelmusik.orgwww.talelmusik.orgTALISKER PLAYERSTalisker Players is a unique ensemble of instrumentalistsdedicated to working with singers. It was founded in1995 as a choral music orchestra, and has earned anenviable reputation for excellence in the art of choral accompanying.A flexible-size group, it is available for performancewith choirs large and small, in repertoire rangingfrom baroque (on original or modern instruments) to2 lst century.
The ensemble also presents its own series of vocalchamber music concerts, which take its skills in vocal/instrumental collaboration into a more intimate realm. Thisseason again offers three fascinating programmes, eachbuilt around a theme, in which core members of the groupare joined by some of Canada's leading vocal soloists."Harp of Fire" (November 20 & 21) is a celebration ofthe great Indian poet, mystic, musician and peacemaker,Rabindranath Tagore; "Perfect Propriety" (February 26& 27), takes a wry look at matters of the heart in the urbanage; "The Voyage Out" (May 27 & 28) is concerned withexploration, both of the mind and of the spirit.Mary McGeer, artistic director I managerElizabeth Shannon, administrative coordinator(Chamber Music Series)Phone & Fax: 416-466-1800words.music@taliskerplayers.cawww.taliskerplayers.caTALLIS CHOIROver the past 28 years, the 36-voice Tallis Choir has earneda reputation for its innovative programming and polishedperformances. Best known for its interpretation ofRenaissance music, it has presented the first Canadianperformances of many rarely heard masterpieces of theperiod."Splendours of The German Renaissance", on October20, features a cappella masterpieces of court and cathedralfrom l 6th century Germany. Palestrina: "High Mass forChristmas Day", with choir, organ and brass is a recreationof a high mass as ii might have been celebrated inpapal Rome on December 25, 1607.On March I, 2008, the intense mysticism of RussianOrthodox choral music is explored in the "All Night Vigil",(Vespers) by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Concluding the seasonon May 3, in "Music For The Chapel Royal", choir, violsand organ combine for music of the Jacobean Chapel Royal.All four concerts will be lake place in the luxuriantacoustic of St. Patrick's Church, 141 McCaul St. Toronto,just north of Dundas, two blocks west of University Ave,and the St. Patrick subway station.Peter Mahon416-533-6179inlo@tallischoir.comwww.lallischoir.comTAPESTRYTapestry is the leading Canadian company dedicated lothe development and production of originalCanadian opera and music theatre. The 2007-2008 season includes three productions, variousworkshop presentations and the formation of aIS-member Studio Company.On September 28/29 at 8pm in The ErnestBalmer Studio Tapestry opened its season withOpera Briefs 7, an evening of 5-minute shortsfrom the Composer-Librettist Laboratory.Tapestry produces Opera to Go for a fourthlime this season at the Enwave Theatre,Harbourfront Centre February I 0- 24, 2008.With Theatre Direct Canada, Tapestry isthrilled to co-produce "Sanctuary Song", byMarjorie Chan & Abigail Richardson, at theCanStage Berkeley Street Theatre May 24- June 8."Elijah's Kite", by Camyar Chai & James Rolfe continuesto tour Ontario schools in 2007-2008 and a specialperformance is scheduled for October 23.Workshop presentations of new works in developmentwill be held in The Ernest Balmer Studio periodicallythroughout the season. Schedule information is availableal www.tapestrynewopera.com.Wayne Strongman,managing artistic director416-537-6066information@tapeslrynewopera.comwww.lapeslrynewopera.comTHEATRE OF EARLY MusicThe Theatre of Early Music (TEM) is comprised of fineinstrumentalists and singers sharing a passion for earlymusic. The core of TEM is a Montreal-based ensemble ofyoung musicians whose distinctive style, under DanielTaylor's leadership, results in captivating readings ofmagnificent but often neglected works. In 2007, DanielTaylor founded the 17-voice professional Choir of the Theatreof Early Music, made up of leading Canadian singers.TEM recently signed a long-term contract with the BISlabel. Their first BIS recording was Couperin' s Le~ons withRobin Blaze, followed by the Renaissance disc featuringactor Ralph Fiennes and duets with James Bowman andDaniel Taylor. Their next release features Daniel with DameEmma Kirkby.The 2007 /2008 season includes lours to the UK Germanyas well as concerts in Canada: "Music for Hope andConsolation" starts in Montreal Oct 3, then tours Toronto,Ottawa, Lennoxville, and West Brome Oct 4-14; PergolesiStabat Mater lours Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, andEdmonton Nov 16-21; Bach Cantatas is Dec 3 in Montreal;and late February the Choir and Orchestra are featured in"Path to Paradise" with the Dance Company "Coleman &Lemieux".Marie-Pierre Bielle/Genevieve Plantetemadmin@holmail.com514-982-2535TIMOTHY EATON MEMORIAL CHURCHTimothy Eaton Memorial Church presents Music atTimothy's- a series of musically diverse concertspresented in our sanctuary.Music al Timothy's features professional guest artistsfrom across Canada. The music presented in this series isunlike any other: don't miss this wonderful opportunity lohear instrumental and choral music that will challengeand inspire.We are pleased lo present: "Big Band Jazz!" featuringCaitlin Smith and "The Tiny Alligator Large Band"November 2, 2007- 7:30pm; Annual Christmas Concertfeaturing our Sanctuary Choir and the Salvation ArmyNorth York Temple Band, led by Glenn Barlow- DecemberI, 2007, 4pm; "Songs of Love and Passion" featuring theTEMC Chamber Choir in opera arias, duets and chorusesFebruary 15, 2008- 7:30pm; "Pipe Organ Spectacular!"featuring Marty Smyth playing our magnificent 5-manual,7,000-pipe Casavant organ - March 28, 2008- 7:30pm;"Choral Masterworks" featuring the TEMC Concert ChoirsMay 9, 2007- 7:30pm.Tickets / Group/Student/Senior, available al thedoor or by calling the box office. For more information, visitthe website.Marty Smyth, director of musicTimothy Eaton Memorial ChurchBox Office 416-925-5977www.temc.net.Wholenote MEMBER PROFILES 2007-2008 819TORONTO CHAMBER CHOIRWell known for its interpretations of Baroque andRenaissance music, the Toronto Chamber Choir is a 40-voice SATB ensemble marking its 40th season performingearly music masterpieces in period style. Our inspiredleader, David Fallis, has led the choir for 23 years. We alsosponsor a mentorship program for students at our partnerschool, Rosedale Heights School for the Arts.During this season, TCC will present four concertscelebrating St. Cecilia, Buxtehude's 300th anniversary,England's Golden Age of music, and the great Baroquecomposer, J.S. Bach. All events are held at Christ ChurchDeer Park. The choir has two CDs available, "Welcome MyLord Sir Chrislemas", and "The Voice of My Beloved".TCC rehearses Monday evenings from 7:30- !0pm.Auditions are held in the spring but may be requested atany lime during the season.David Fallis, music directorMary Ella Magill, presidentinlo@toronlochamberchoir.cawww.torontochamherchoir.caTORONTO CHILDREN'S CHORUSOne of the world's leading choral ensembles for children,the TCC's artistry inspires audiences and critics alike.Now entering its 30th season, "From Across the Seasand SeasoNZ" celebrates our connection to New Zealand,homeland of new artistic director Elise Bradley. Repertoirebased on the sea and seasons includes works of Canadianand New Zealand composers plus Vaughan Williams,Debussy, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and more.Concert highlights include concerts on October 28 atTimothy Eaton Memorial Church and November 3 al theMetropolitan United Church; "A Chorus Christmas" onDecember 15 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring all choirs,the TCC Alumni Choir, and guests Judy Loman and RussellHartenberger; a February 24 concert at Timothy EatonMemorial Church.On February 15, the TCC joins the Bach Consort loperform St. Matthew Passion; on April 9, the TCC presentsa joint concert with the National Children's Choir of GreatBritain. The final concert of our 30th season will be onMay 3 at Toronto Centre for the Aris.For more details, please visit the TCC website.Elise Bradley, artistic directorLisa Griffiths, manager of artistic administrationJohn Peltier, manager of business administration416-932-8666info@toronlochildrenschorus.comwww.loronlochildrenschorus.comTORONTO CHORAL SOCIETYEstablished in 1845, the TCS nurtures musical ability al alllevels. Under the direction of conductor Geoffrey Butler,accompanist William O'Meara and assistant conductor,Jenny Crober, the TCS is comprised of three groups: theTCS Community Choir, North 44° Ensemble and the StreetHaven Women's Choir.The TCS Community Choir is a non-auditioned 130-voicechorus offering the chance lo sing, learn and have fun.The Community Choir performs al least two major concertsper year. Repertoire ranges from traditional favourites suchas Handel's Messiah to Ariel Ramirez' Misa Criolla. Thisseason, the Community Choir presents a RemembranceDay tribute on Saturday, November 10 and a ChristmasConcert on Wednesday, December 12 featuringCharpentier's Messe de Minuit par Noel, Poulenc's Gloria,and French carols. The spring concert, Wednesday, May28, 2008, features Bruckner's Te Deum.
Choral Scene: Uncharted territory: three choirs finding paths forward; Music Theatre: Loose Tea on the boil with Alaina Viau’s Dead Reckoning; In with the New: what happens to soundart when climate change meets COVID-19; Call to action: diversity, accountability, and reform in post-secondary jazz studies; 9th Annual TIFF Tips: a filmfest like no other; Remembering: Leon Fleisher; DISCoveries: a NY state of mind; 25th anniversary stroll-through; and more.
Online in flip through here, and on stands commencing Tues SEP 1.
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
