;J 9 TORONTO SUMMER MU S
;J 9 TORONTO SUMMER MU S ICARTISTIC DIRECTORAsne-s Gronm,1nnJULY 21 - AUGUST 172008ACADEMYPROGRAMFOR MUSICIANS AT THE THRESHOLD OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREERSMASTER CLASSESPIANO STRINGSCHAMBER MUSIC OPERACOMPOSITIONMARC DURAND, pianoANTON KUERTI, pianoANDRE LAPLANTE, pianoMARIETTA ORLOV, pianoJAMES PARKER, pianoMENAHEM PRESSLER, pianoANNALEE PATIPATANAKOON,violinMAYUMI SEILER, violinJAN SWENSEN, violinTERENCE HELMER, violaANDRE ROY, violoSTRAtlSS'SAriadneaufNaxosOPERA STUDIOROMAN BORYS, violoncelloDEIUS BROTT, violoncelloPAUL KATZ, violoncelloJANOS STARKER, violoncelloR. MURRAY SCHAFER,compositionGRYPHON TRIOLEIPZIG STRING QUARTETMOLINARI STRING QUARTETAGNES GROSSMANNmusical directianLOTfl MANSO.URIstage dlredionARE YOU AN EXPERIENCED AMATEUR?Consfderour Chamber Music Workshop for Experienced Amateurs!NEW THIS YEAR: COMPOSITION AND STRING QUARTET WORKSHOPS!(artl~ts subject to chOnge)APPLY NOW ATWWW.TORONTOSUMMERMUSIC.COMAUDITIONS FOR SINGERSt 11 King·so/oicesDavid J. KingProfessionalandAniateurand ACCOMPANISTwww.allthekingsvoices.ca 416-225-2255Choral Sceneby Allan PulkerFrom spring chickens to early canariesYouthful VoicesI suspect that if you surveyed adult choristers you would find that themajority of them sang in choirs when they were children and teenagers .The fact that there are so many fine children's and youth choirs in thecommunity certainly bodes well for the future of choral music and itsharmonising influence. One of these, the Univox Choir, Dallas Bergen'schoir for young adults, (see October WholeNote) sings a program ofRenaissance and Baroque motets on February lst. On the same day theBell' Arte Singers are bringing together three local high school choirs toperform together at Christ Church Deer Park. Kudos to the folks atBell' Arte for this, enriching the lives of the members of the three choirsinvolved and strengthening our choral tradition. Other performances bychildren's and youth choirs are: February 14 - the women's choir of theUniversity of Western Ontario Faculty of Music; February 15 - theWomen's Choir and St. Cecilia Singers of the U of T Faculty of Music;February 24 - the Toronto Children's Chorus Boys' Choirs and TrainingChoirs; February 28 - the Bach Children's Choir; February 29 - theMaster Chorale of the U of T Faculty of Music.Choral Concert ProgrammingThere are really two types of choral concerts - the ones composed ofmany short compositions related to a theme and those built around largelandmarks, so to speak, of the choral repertoire. It is interesting howmany of the latter appear in this issue of WholeNote. There are, forexample, three performances of Rachmaninoffs Vespers: February 22& 24 by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir with the Victoria Scholars;and March l by the Tallis Choir. Two masterpieces of the EnglishRenaissance - William Byrd's Great Service and Thomas Tallis' Lamentationsof Jeremiah - will be performed: the former by TACTUS ChamberChoir in Guelph on Feb. 23; the latter by the Grand PhilharmonicChamber Singers on Feb. 23 & 24. The Grand Philharmonic Choir willperform Rossini's Petite Messe Solonnelle on Feb. 2 and on Feb. 21 theSt. James' Singers will perform Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. A recent largescalechoral work, Derek Holman's Requiem, will be performed by theOrpheus Choir on March 2.The program of many short compositions also has much to recommendit, as each work has a character and atmosphere of its own, creatingfleeting but memorable moments, and giving the audience lots ofvariety and changes of pace. The Timothy Eaton Memorial ChurchChamber Choir on February 15 and the Peterborough Singers on the16th have programs built around a Valentine's Day theme. The AmadeusChoir's March 1 concert has a Celtic theme, the Gerald FaganSingers and Fanshawe Chorus' program on March 2 is about travel, theToronto Welsh Male Voice Choir March 1 concert is programmedaround St. David's Day, and the Victoria Scholars' program on March 2consists of works by Spanish composers, ancient and recent. Speakingof Spanish composers, on the program of Nordic Voices' February 3Walter Hall concert, presented by Mooredale Concerts, will be rarelyperformed compositions by the Spanish composer, Cristobal Morales(1512-53).Extraordinarily two of our three professional choirs are expandingtheir activities into opera this month: The Elmer Iseler Singers as part ofthe world premiere February 15 of The Journey (Pimoteewin) with librettoby Tomson Highway and music by Melissa Hui; and on March2 the Elora Festival Singers in a staged production of Purcell's Did andAeneas.Early canaries sighted! Finally, here's a two-fold opportunity: first, tohelp WholeNote get in fighting form for our annual spring Choral Canarypages; and, second, the chance to win tickets to the world renownedHarlem Gospel Chorus. See page 53 for details!WWW. THEWHOlENOTE.COM F EBRUARY 1 - MARCH 7 2008
A Choral Life Q&ACOMPILED AND EDITED BY MJ BUELLfeaturingJulie WinnWhat was your first everchoral experience?I was 7 years old, in grade2, and living in Montrealwhen my first choral opportunityarose. I heardover the school's PA systemthat anyone in grade 3or older was welcome toaudition for the schoolJulie Winn (centre), with fellow Amadeuschoristers, Jane Gorman (left)and Debbie DeChastelain (right).choir. I ran home at lunch time and implored my mother to phone theschool and ask if I might be allowed to join, even though I was 'underage'! Either my enthusiasm was endearing, or my major scale, sungfor Mr. Gutmanis in relatively decent tune, was considered adequate,and I was allowed to join as a soprano. On a somewhat humorousnote, after a few rehearsals, I realized that the altos were being assignedMUCH more intriguing things to do. In a completely uncharacteristicallysubversive move, I slithered over to the alto section, andstayed there, undetected, for the remainder of the year, blissfullyhappy.What choirs have you sung with?I have sung with school choirs wherever I was studying: from mygrade 2 experience, through Beaconsfield High School in Montreal,the Mount Allison (University) Choral Society and Women's Chorus,the Seton Chorale at Mount Saint Vincent University, a communitychoir in Ajax , and the Amadeus Choir, where I have 'resided' mosthappily for 18 years.Are you currently singing with a choir?I have been singing with the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto sinceI moved to the Toronto area in 1990. I had been looking for an SATBchoral opportunity, and chose to audition for the Amadeus Choir afterattending a Christmas concert that really made an impact on me. Thesongs presented through the Amadeus Choir's Christmas Carol andChanukah Song Writing Competition were wonderfully innovative, andthe singing was exceptional. I could tell by the way the singers threwthemselves into the performances that they had a real passion for whatthey were doing and a unique rapport with Lydia Adams, their conductor.Where does your choral singing fit into other aspects of your life?The real question here is, "Howdoes the rest of your life fitaround your choral singing?"The choral experience has beenmy passion for decades. It hasprovided me with an artistic outlet,an intellectual challenge, thecamaraderie and rewards foundin collaborating with people whoshare my interest, and at times,an escape from life's dingiermoments. My family supportsmy obsession with choir; theyknow it makes me happy!What kind of concerts do you liketo attend? How often?Because my own singing activitiestake me away from homefrequently, I don't attend concertsas often as I'd like. This ismy dilemma; ultimately, I'd rather(HORAL Q & A CONTINUES ON PAGE 54BOSLEYREAL ESTATEDOSLEY UN.LEST ATE LTD .. RE;.LTOP.PETER MAHONSales Representative416-322-8000pmahon@trebnet.comwww.petermahon.comFOUNDED 1894THE TORONTOMENDELSSOHNCHOIRNOEL EDISON, ARTISTIC DIRECTORF EBRUARY 1- M ARC H 7 2008 WWW. TH EWHO LENOTE.COM 21
