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Volume 13 - Issue 7- April 2008

World Viewby Karen

World Viewby Karen AgesThis month's musical journey opens andcloses with visits to India, with stops inScandinavia and the Orient along the way .April 5 at U of T's Medical SciencesAuditorium, a concert of Indian classicalmusic features sitarist Ustad ShahidParvez Khan, along with Toronto-basedVineet Vyas and Montreal's ShubhojyotiGuha (tablas). Performing since the age ofeight, Khan represents the seventh generationof an illustrious musical family . He isa "Top Grade" artist of Air India Radioand the recipient of numerous awards, andhas released over 50 recordings. The Torontoperformance is part of a 20-concertNorth American tour.A somewhat unusual and eclectic ensemble, Canada's "ArcticFusion" band Ensemble Polaris performs twice this month: April10 at the COC's Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and April 12(through the Chamber Music Society of Misssissauga) at First UnitedChurch (151 Lakeshore, Mississauga). Founded in 1997, thegroup explores the music of Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Denm~rk,Estonia, Latvia, Scotland and Canada in innovative ways. Their firstCD Midnight Sun was named "disc of the month" by UK's ClassicCD magazine, and their second CD Not Much is Worse than a Trollcontains much of the band's self-created repertoire. The ensembleincludes Kirk Elliott (violin, harp, mandolin, bowed psaltery, bagpipes,"etc"), Margaret Gay (cello), Ben Grossman (hurdy gurdy),Katherine Hill (voice), Marco Cera (guitar), Alison Melville (flute,recorders, seljefl0yte), Colin Savage (clarinets, recorders), and DebashisSinha (percussion).Part of the sixth annual South Asian Music Series, Small WorldMusic presents a two-night celebration of the guitar: April 13,steeped in the Indian raga tradition, slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharyaperforms at the Lula Lounge; the next evening.at Hu~h'sRoom, Canadian slide guitarist Doug Cox teams up with Indian .counterpart Salil Bhatt to create a fusion of blues and Indian music.Cox specializes in the dobro , while Bhatt performs on the 20-stringed satvik veena. . . .One of the highlights of this month's offermgs, the mternat1onallyrenowned Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble gives two performancesin the area; they'll be at the Music Gallery April 25, andRichmond Hill Chinese Community Church (9670 Bayview) April26. Founded in 1989, they have given hundreds of concerts on traditionalinstruments throughout Canada and the U.S., blending popularand traditional Chinese music with Western classical and contemporarymusic . Their repertoire includes traditional music from variousregions of China, adaptations of Canadian folk songs, as well ascontemporary compositions. They have two CDs, TransplantedPurple Bamboo (2000), and New Frontiers (2006), which featurescommissioned works by five Canadian composers. The ensembleincludes Ji Rong Huang, Artistic Director and erhu (Chinese "violin")with instrumentalists on zheng (zither),yangqin (hammeredGeo~,& Co. LimitedCONSERVATORS & PURVEYORSOF Fine & Rare Violins20 ! Church St.. Toronto, ON. MSB IY7 Email: ghcl@idirect.comTel , 416-363-0093, """ 416-363-0053www.georgeheinl.comCanada ·s foremost violi n experts .Proud of our heritage. Excited about the futurl.!.The internationally renowned Vancouver ChineseMusic Ensemble gives two performances in the GTAdulcimer) ruan (Chinese guitar),pipa (lute), dizi (flute), suona (doublereed), sanxian (banjo) , liuqin(mandolin) and percussion.As part of a cross-Canada tour incelebration of the 80th anniversaryof diplomatic relations betweenCanada and Japan, the JapanFoundation presents Infinite Echoes:New directions in traditionalmusic from Japan, April 26 atGlenn Gould Studio (3 and 8 pm).At the time of writing, details ofthe concert were not yet finalized,however, program officer NobiNakamura tells me that the perfomersare from the "cream of thecrop" of Japanese traditional musiciansand dancers, from both thenorth and south of Japan. Instruments likely to be featured in theconcert are the guitar-like Shamisen, the six-foot-long 13-stringedKoto, the end blown Shakuhachi, double reed Hichiriki, and Taikodrums.We conclude with music from India once again, presented by theMalhar Group of Hamilton, on May 3 at the Downtown Arts Centre.The concert, in celebration of South Asian Heritage Month,features percussion ensemble "The Tabla House" of Brampton,South Indian violinist Mrs Thannadevi Mithredeva (Toronto), NorthIndian vocalist Mrs Ramneek Singh (Oakville) and sitarist Mrs AnupamaBhagwat (India). The audience is asked to bring non-perishablefood items for Hamilton Food Share.Karen Ages is an oboist who has also been a member of several worldmusic ensembles. She can be reached atworldmusic@thewholenote.comI.j! · the §!l!!.t!!! postViolins, violas, cellos, and bowsComplete line of strings and accessoriesExpert repairs and rehairsCanada's largest stock of string musicFast mail order serviceDuring April 's Gibson Guitar Month.Vi sit any Long & McOuade location orwww .long-mcquade.com for detail s.l!:J Long & McQuad;w w w. Ion g -m c quad e. co m16 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE,COM APRIL 1 - MAY 7 2008

\~Distillery Drummings - FREESun., May 18@ 1 pm - The HistoricDistillery District II Steve Reich's NagoyaMarimbas and Music for Pieces of Wood.Community Artist Overture - FREEWed., May 21 @ 6:30 pm· Philosopher'sWalk, U ofTFOR MORE DETAILS VISIT WWW.SOUNDSTREAMS.CASOCAI\I 01l p1'I ., I ~1,i~i:;:J.1i1::~ J fH~;-;~1 !;~~ ... ,..... S:.,.~f* ~tc:..~AIRc ..,r,,xl,;i luundl C:Onk,l J i:-~ Arb~ lorl.hcAru. du(.,1ru,d,>C R E :\ 'J' i V E 'l' R L: S 'JComing Together· World Premiere!Wed., May 21 @ 8 pm - MacMillan Thealre,U ofT II Fred Rzewski's Coming TogeLherand George Antheil's Ballet Mechanique.Community Artist Overture - FREEWed., May 21 @ 6:30 pm - Philosopher'sWalk, U ofTLatin American RhythmsThurs., May 22@ 8 pm - Walter Hall, U ofTMinimalist ClassicsFri. 1May 23 @ 8 pm - Walter Hall, U ofTWired PercussionSal., May 24@ 3 pm - Walter Hall, U ofTWorld BeatsSat., May 24@8 pm- MacMillan Theatre, U ofTTickets - available at the door orthe St. Lawrence Centre Box Office.CALL 416-366-7723 or visit www.stlc.com.Featuring: Liam Teague with Toronto's Afropan.U ofT and McGill University Percussion Ensembles,Capoiera Camara, Tambuco (Mexico),Grammy-winning Glen Velez, Nexu,, PatriciaO'Callaghan, Suba Sankaran, Toca Loca, SalF'erreras, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan,Suba Sankaran, Jennifer Moore, Raging AsianWomen Taiko Drummers and more!torontca rtaoouncllMETCALF,ouNOATIONJulie-Jigys Foundation I Lloyd Carr Harris Foundation I The l(oerner Foundation I Rayer D. Moore I Hal Jacl

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