that, as a teenager, he played in the Ayr ParisBand, but claims that the Fergus Brass Bandis much older. Apparently they have continuousrecords of band activities dating back to1855. He has sent us copies of some photographsof band activities in the late 1800's.Unfortunately most of the copies which wereceived are not of publication quality. Wehope to receive copies of one or more of thesephotos, suitable for publication, in the nearfuture . Stay tuned. (Needless to say, we areless concerned about determining a winner,and more interested in learning more of ourmusical heritage. So keep the photos coming).Coming Events -Please see the listings section for full detailsSunday, May 4 3:00 pm The MarkhamConcert Band presents An Afternoon at theBandstand. Just like a summer afternoon inthe park, but with comfortable seats. Specialguests will be the clarinet quartet Apack-0-Lips Now who will perform both on theirown and with the band. Markham Theatre.Friday, May 9 8:00 pm The EtobicokeCommunity Concert Band presents OlympicFanfare in a salute to the Olympic spirit andSummer Games of the 29th Olympiad. Asspecial guests, the band welcomes the youngmusicians of the Toronto Cultural YouthOrchestra . Led by Maestro Tak Ng Lai.Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium, 86 MontgomeryRoad .Saturday, May 24 7:30 pm The SalvationArmy's two longest serving bands in NorthAmerica present Brass 125, A Celebration!The Meadowlands Corps Band from Hamiltonand The London Citadel Band fromLondon will team up to celebrate 125 Yearsof brass banding in Canada. Featured soloistwill be Mark Ridenour, Assistant PrincipalTrumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.Hamilton Place, The Great Hall.Saturday, May 24 7:30 pm The LydianWind Ensemble presents its third concertsince reformation in October 2007 under thebaton of guest conductor Andrew Cherry.Featuring a varied repertoire, this concertwill transport the audience on a musical journeythrough the descriptive Kensington Overture,Cameo Suite, Irish Rhapsody, and Variationson a Shaker Melody. Theatre and filmare represented by music from Show Boat andDances With Wolves . Whitby Free MethodistChurch, 1916 Rossland Rd . East.Sunday, May 25 3:00 pm The HannafordStreet Silver Band presents Making Overtureswith guest conductor, Alain Trudel.The concert will feature James Campbell,Canadian clarinet soloist and Artistic Directorof the Festival of the Sound. He and the Bandwill present the Toronto premiere of HowardCable's Georgian Bay Reflections, inspiredby the paintings of Canadian artist DorisMcCarthy. Other overtures on the programinclude Mozart's Marriage of Figaro , HectorBerlioz's Le Corsair, and Domenico Cimarosa'sImpresario. This final concert in theHSSB 's 2007/08 season will also feature newovertures performed by finalists who answeredthe HSSB's call for compositions inthe form of an overture. The three finalists,chosen by Gary Kulesha, will each receive acash prize. The Jane Mallett Theatre, St.Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front StreetEast.Down the RoadSaturday, June 14 The Brass Conspiracywill present their Playful Pops summer concert!Please write to us:bandstand@thewholenote.comLAMENT FOR AN ORCHESTRA, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17The CBC Radio Orchestra, through the elegance of a national broadcasting network,has reached people across our country. In September 2007, we performed a speciallydeveloped program live in Iqaluit on Frobisher Bay. Months later, we went to WhiteRock, B.C. We have received invitations from large and small communities across Canadaand even from major concert halls in Europe. All of this, alas, we are now unable toentertain.I have been fortunate in my career to work extensively in both English and FrenchCanada, having thereby a truly national perspective. To my great joy, in recent monthsthe French services of the Corporation have not only become more aware of the finework of the CRO, but have expressed a desire to embrace it. This also is a path that wecannot now pursue. However, the role of the Orchestra in building bridges across ourcountry is something we must never forget.Many things have been made clear in the work of the Orchestra and in your response toits closing: the importance of music in our lives, the importance of nurturing, supportingand broadcasting the diversified and astonishing talent we have in our country, the role ofa national broadcaster in bringing us together, and much more. We will each have ourpersonal reflection on the meaning of all of this, but one thing is certain: the CROreminds us of what it is we cherish most in music and in our country.Respectfully yours, Alain Trudel, Principal Conductor, CBC Radio OrchestraWE ARE AllMusic's CHILDRENby mJ BuellMAY's Child ...Sunshine, orange trees,sugar cane, pigeon peasWho am I?photo circa 1955, in TrinidadThink you know MAYs child?Send your best guess tomusicschildren@thewholenote.com(be sure to send us your mailingaddress, just in case your name isdrawn!) Winners will be selected byrandom draw among correct repliesreceived by MAY 15 2008.!!Tickets & Recordings!!CONGRATULATIONS TO OURAPRIL WINNERSAnnie Odom and Karen Kitchen have eachwon a pair of tickets for the AldeburghConnection's first Sunday Series concert TheEnchanted Garden - The Songs of Ravel(Sunday, October 26, 2:30 pm, at WalterHall).Deirdre Warren, Hans de Groot, & BeckyCarpenter will each receive the Aldeburgh' srecent recording Schubert among Friends (aJuno nominee this year) featuring sopranoGillian Keith, tenors Colin Ainsworth andMichael Schade, and baritone Gerald Finley(Marquis Classics: 81365)and for Joanne Morningstar and JohnWedge ... Our Own Songs: this CD is justout, commissioned works by Beckwith,Greer and Holman; with sopranos AdriarmePieczonka and Monica Whicher, mezzoElizabeth Turnbull, tenor Colin Ainsworth,and baritone Mark Pedrotti (MarquisClassics: 81381)Know someone whose photo shouldappear in this contest?musicschildren@thewholenote.com28WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COMM AY 1 - ] UNE 7 2008
APRIL's Child ... was Stephen Ralls,pianist, accompanist, conductor, coach,mentor and Aldeburgh Connection artisticco-director, who is stepping down as AssociateProfessor and Musical Director of theUniversity of Toronto Faculty of MusicOpera Division after 12 years."If the lift wasn't working you'd see StephenRalls on the stairs juggling music, talkingwith students, but always surprisinglycalm ... We worked with him one on one forcoaching through opera roles, and on ouroverall repertoire. The busiest person in theplace ... but somehow he always seemed to bethere when we were performing, and couldbe relied on for feedback on areas of growthand matters of detail...His ear is really sharp: he hears when yousang a crotchet not a quaver, and his graspof "which edition said which" is so detailed... Young singers are often so focused just onopera ... without meeting him I wouldn't haveknown about Noel Coward or Robbie Burns.Because of him I developed a curiosityabout...fascinating music ... unusual thingsthat fit my voice rather well. He just hasthis way of finding what areas you'll shinein .... " (lyric tenor Paul Williamson, graduatingfrom the U of T Opera School thisspring).ACROBAT Music 57COUNTERPOINT CHORALE 42ADI BRAUN 50EAST YORK CHOIR 39ALL THE KING'S V DICES 54 ELMER ISELER SINGERS 42AMADEUS CHOIR 55ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2AMERICAN SOUND COMPANY 57 ETOBICOKE YOUTH CHOTT 31AMOROSO 64EXULTATE CHAMBER SINGERS 38ANALEKTA 59ART OF JAZZ 70ATMA CLASSIQUE 5AUTORICKSHAW 41BACH CHILDREN'S CHORUS 34BLUE BRIDGE FESTIVAL 21BORDERLESS SONG 37CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 25CANCLONE SERVICES 57CATHEDRAL BLUFFS SYMPHONY 41 HIGH PARK CHOIRS 39, 55CHARLOTTE KNIGHT 37 HOUSE FOR SALE 57CHRIST CHURCH DEER PARK 23,30 JUBILATE SINGERS 45, 56CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO 35 KLEZFACTOR 49CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH 54 LONG & MCQUADE 16Civic LIGHT OPERA 25MARJORIE SPARKSFIRST UNITARIANCONGREGATION 54GEORGE HEINL 18GRAND PHILHARMONIC CHOIR 47GRAND RlVER BAROQUE 19HANNAFORD STREETSILVER BAND 11HARKNETT MUSICAL SERVICES 27HELICONIAN HALL 58Stephen Ralls studied atMerton College, Oxford,and at the Royal Academyof Music in London. Heplayed the solo piano partin Britten's last opera,Death in Venice (with theEnglish Opera Group) forits first performances andon the London/Decca recording.Recital appearanceswith Sir Peter Pearsat the Aldeburgh Festivaland on the BBC led toStephen's 18 years as coachand accompanist at theBritten-Pears School in Aldeburgh.Jn 1978 Stephen emigrated to Canada. Hebegan teaching at the Faculty of Music,U of T Opera Division, where he has conductedmany productions, including Canadianor Toronto premieres of Chabrier'sL'Etoile and Britten's Paul Bunyan and AMidsummer Night's Dream. With Tafelmusik'sJeanne Lamon he began a series ofHandel projects, including the Toronto stagepremieres of Alcina, Ariodante and Semele.Stephen Ralls accompanies Canada's finestsingers - much of this in relation to theAldeburgh Connection, founded with BruceUbukata, which celebrated its 25th anniversaryin 2007. Jn June 2007 Stephen andBruce began The Hayfield Festival of Song-a summer festival on the shores of LakeHuron .Earliest musical memory? my mother givingpiano lessons at home, usually some easypieces called "Scenes at a Farm".Other musicians in your family?My father was a keen amateur tenor, myelder brother was a fine amateur organist,my sister (also older than me) was a goodpianist and organist, studied music at EdinburghUniversity and taught in school.First experiences of making music?From 5 to 7, I studied with my mother.played the piano and sang a lot at our localindex of advertisersBaptist Church. At primary school, a lot ofcountry dancing!At the time the picture was taken ... ?I had been having piano lessons locally,since the age of 7, with a teacher who hadbeen a pupil of Tobias Matthay, the renownedteacher in London.The point at which you began to think ofyourself as a musician?I won a national composing competition onChildren's Hour (BBC Radio) at about 8 or9, for an Allegro in C, 8 bars long.Do you remember ever thinking you woulddo anything else?Music was always my preoccupation. Fromabout the age of 17 to 19, I rebelled againstthis, and began studies at Oxford inGeography. After about 2 months, in the fallof 1963, I realized my error. The authoritiesat Merton College were very accommodatingin allowing me to change, basically saying,"We told you so!" I read Music for the remainderof my time there, and played andsang in choirs. I intended to be a musicologist,however, and began research into early17th century English consort music, before Idecided that I needed to be a performer, so Iwent to the Royal Academy of Music for 2years to brush up my piano skills. I had noidea that a career in accompanying and operawas possible - I drifted into it more or lessaccidentally after leaving the RAM.Face-to-face with little Stephen in that photo,is there anything you'd say?I would give the little person in my childhoodpicture 5 words: firstly, what Sir PeterPears said in 1978 when I told him I wasleaving England to live and work in Toronto(with Bruce Ubukata): "Don't be scared!"Secondly, what ltzhak Perlman gave as hisadvice at a Julliard School graduation ceremony:"Slow practice."Music's Children gratefully acknowledgesthe gracious participation of The AldeburghConnection, Jim Tennyson, Eddy Aitken,Ariel Fielding, and Michelle LynneGoodfellow.TAFELMUSIK 69TALISKER PLAYERS 40TAPESTRY NEW OPERA WORKS 11MIKROKOSMOS 57 0RIANA WOMEN'S CHOIR 34MONTREAL BAROQUE FESTIVAL 66 ORPHEUS CHOIR 35Music AT SHARON 48PASQUALE BROS. 58Music GALLERY 12PAX CHRISTI CHORALE 56TIMOTHY EATON MEMORIALMusic PAD 57PENTHELIA SINGERS 44CHURCH 33Music TORONTO 9, 31PETER MAHON 16TORONTO ALL-STAR BIG BAND 39MUSICIANS IN ORDINARY 36 PETERBOROUGH SINGERS 56TORONTO CHAMBER CHOIR 31MUSIC-ON-THE-HILL 36 RCM CoMMNNITY ScHooL 51 TORONTO CHAMBERNATHANIEL DETT CHORALE 42 REMENYI HOUSE OF Mus,c 22 OPERA PRODUCTIONS 25NEW ADVENTURES IN RIVERDALE YOUTH SINGERS 55 TORONTO CHORAL SOCIETY 40SOUND ART 14 ROEL OLAY INVESTMENT TORONTO CLASSICAL SINGERS 32NEW Music CONCERTS 14 ADVISOR 57 TORONTO JEWISH FOLK CHOTT 43No STRINGS THEATRE RoY THOMSON HALL 4 TORONTO OPERA REPERTOIRE 56PRODUCTIONS 50 SAMANTHA TAYLOR 39 TORONTO SWEDISH SINGERS 34NORTHMINSTER UNITED CHURCH 55 SINFONIA TORONTO 17, 33 TORONTO SYMPHONY 680AKHAM HOUSE CHOIR 34 SMALL WORLD Music 21 ULYSSEAN SOCIETY OF TORONTO 530AKVILLE C HILDREN'S CHOIR 39 SOUND PosT 20 UNIVOX CHOIR 34OFF CENTRE Mus,c SALON 18 SOUNDAXIS 6, 41 , 42 , 44, 45 , 52 VIA SALZBURG 44OLD MILL INN AND SPA 23OPERA BY REQUEST 24, 39, 43OPERA-IS 24ORCHESTRA TORONTO 40SouNDSTREAMs 13ST. JAMES ' CATHEDRAL 37ST.PAUL'S BLOOR ST. ANGLICANCLASSICAL 96.3 FM 67 VOICE STUDIO 51CHURCH 43CosMo Music 27 METROPOLITAN UNITED CHURCH 52 0RGANIX 7 SYRINX CONCERTS 32VICTORIA SCHOLARS 45VIVA! YOUTH SINGERS 38WHOLENOTE MARKETPLACE 58WINDERMERE STRING QUARTET 40YAMAHA CANADA 15MAY 1 - JUNE 7 2008 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COM 29
