PHOTO CHRIS
PHOTO CHRIS HUTCHESONSCREENINGS! ... ET CETERASounds of SilentsAhas yielded such celebrations as the second annual TorontoSilent Film Festival, taking place in various venues frominvariably featured live musical accompaniment, a tradition thisfestival keeps alive.Among the featured musicians this year will be WilliamO’Meara, one of Toronto’s preeminent organists, who has to dateWhat is it about silent film that speaks to O’Meara?“I studied improvisation just as thoroughly as composed musicand was lucky to have a teacher, William Wright at U. of T., whoseinstruction methods in improvisationclass required disciplinedapplication of form, structure andcounterpoint to improvisations.I’ll never forget the thrill ofbeing able to improvise a decentfour-part fugue, keeping all theparts, structure, counterpoint andharmonic progressions organizedin my head a few bars ahead ofmarriage of my improvisationthrough two events: a requestfrom the ROM in the late 1980’sto accompany some Easternthe Precious Legacies exhibitORI DAGANWilliam O’Meara.accompanying. Not seeing any opportunities though, I produced aenjoyed the experience, received positive feedback, and the rest asand fascinating part of my career as a musician for over 20 years.”How does O’Meara prepare for these gigs? preparation. Just like a soloist who practises his/her repertoire daily,whether there is a concert engagement in a week or two months,I likewise practise my improvisation skills regularly. Harmonictricks, chord progressions, melodic patterns – the list is endless andlimited only by imagination. The second form of preparation is moresome musical themes or motifs relating to characters or situationsform to my improvisations and linking them together. The mostDreyer, Lang and others. The universality and timelessness of thesubject matter is like a porthole to musical imagination.”O’Meara’s advice: improvisation or a composed score should play off of the rhythm,The WholeNote ETCeteras cover announcements, lectures,masterclasses, screenings and more! Send items of interest by the15th of the preceding month to etc@thewholenote.com.ANNOUNCEMENTSCanadian Opera Company.Summer Youth Intensive July 4-8. Canadian Opera Company.Youth Opera Lab. International ResourceCentre for Performing Artists/Toronto Centrefor the Arts/Italian Cultural Institute.Opera Week: May 5-11. Music Monday. New Adventures in Sound Art.Birthday Sound Bash Fundraiser Installation.Canada Sings!/Chantons Canada!Toronto-Riverdale. Neighbourhood Singalong. Portrait Societyof Canada Exhibition Opening: The Art ofCanadian MusicCanadian FluteAssociation.Second Annual Flute Competition.Mostly Waltz Dance. Soundstreams. Salon 21:Breathe with the Trio Mediæval. Canadian Flute Association.Second Annual Flute Competition.D. The ETCeterasTimmins Symphony Orchestsra.London’s Calling! Timmins. Toronto Early Music Circle.Vocal Circle. OrchestraToronto Concerto Competition. 2011 MartaHidy Prize for Violin. CARAS/Art Gallery of Ontario.Art That Sings. LECTURES/SYMPOSIAUniversity of Western OntarioDon Wright Faculty of Music. MusicAlumni Speakers Series. London. Soundstreams. John Adams.Royal Conservatory. Jumpin’to Jazz featuring the Monty Alexander Trio. University of Toronto. Composer’sForum. Toronto Gilbert and SullivanSociety. Talk with music. Toronto Mahler Society.Mahler 6th and Strauss Alpine Symphony. 50 thewholenote.comMarch 1 - April 7, 2011
Academy for Lifelong Learning.FreePlay Duo. Toronto Wagner Society. EricDomville. Toronto Gilbert and SullivanSociety. Voices of the Past. GenderBenders.MASTERCLASSESUniversity of Toronto. St.Lawrence String Quartet Master Class. Ontario Vocal Festival. MiddayMusic with Shigeru. Barrie. University of Western OntarioDon Wright Faculty of Music. VoiceFridays. London. Royal Conservatory.Piano Masterclass with Leon Fleisher.Royal Conservatory.Piano Masterclass with Leon Fleisher.Singing Studio of DeborahStaiman. York University Departmentof Music. Masterclass by Violinist CharlesCastleman. University of Western OntarioDon Wright Faculty of Music. VoiceFridays. London. York University Departmentof Music. Masterclass by Tenor Colin Ainsworth.University of Western OntarioDon Wright Faculty of Music/UndergraduateGift Fund/Rolfe Master ClassFund. Historical Piano Masterclass with MalcolmBilson.London. Singing Studio of DeborahStaiman. The WholeNote MarketplaceKen Page Memorial TrustMasterclass. Tara Davidson: Confessions ofa mid-career artist. Li Delun Music Foundation.Masterclass with Sa Chen, piano. Royal Conservatory.Piano Masterclass with Leon Fleisher.Royal Conservatory.Piano Masterclass with Leon Fleisher.Singing Studio of DeborahStaiman. SCREENINGSSt. John’s York Mills AnglicanChurch. Eighth Annual Silent Film Festival:Buster Keaton. TIFF Bell Lightbox. The FreeScreen: Mantler’s Visual Music. Toronto Silent Film Festival.The Wild, The Beautiful…and The Damned, Part1. Toronto Silent Film Festival.RaritiesToronto Silent Film Festival.Beloved Rogue. St. John’s York Mills AnglicanChurch. Eight Annual Silent Film Festival. Toronto Silent Film Festival. AThousand Laughs: Roach Clips. Toronto Silent Film Festival/Toronto Theatre Organ Society. Comprehensive · . ResidentialSoundproo?ng Solutionsleon 416-995-4016March 1 - April 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 51
