Beat by Beat | BandstandSummer Floodjack macquARRIEIn last month’s column I speculated that many bands in ourarea would have a wide variety of events for the summer months.Nothing like the way it was,of course, when I started playing ina band many years ago, shortly after the dinosaurs had departedfrom the local scene. For us back then it was all about band tattoosin towns throughout Southwestern Ontario. There were the boysbands and the company bands (both now almostextinct) and the town bands. I rememberwell the Pressey Transport Company band, theChatham Kiltie band and, most impressive of all,the White Rose Oil Company band from Petrolia,Ontario, in their elegant white uniforms. Atthe end of the summer it was, more often thannot, the long bus trip to the Canadian NationalExhibition to compete with other bands on theold North Bandstand. Local town band tattoosare now very rare, and the CNE no longer hostssuch band events, but I had an inkling it wouldbe a summer of relative plenty. So I sent a briefsurvey questionnaire to a number of bands locatedwithin an hour’s drive of Toronto. Are theytravelling far afield for special events or are theyhosting concerts on home territory?Initially there was little response. So little,in fact that I started a “Plan B” column about acouple of events in which I was involved sincelast month’s column was written. The first ofthese was the York University Concert Band Festival. A series of individualworkshops in the morning was followed by band workshopswith coaching from a York University professor. This was followed bya reception where keynote speaker Bobby Herriot regaled the participantsin his inimitable style. His very appropriate topic: Benefitsof Being Involved in a Community Band. During the evening each ofthe participating bands performed short concerts with members ofthe other bands in the audience. The entire event was organized byYork University music graduate students. Let’s hope that this will bethe first of many such events.The second event was a concert entitled “The Beat Goes On andon …” by the Toronto New Horizons Bands. Started in September 2010with one daytime band, the local New Horizons program now hasgrown to two daytime and two evening bands. For their end ofseason event they returned to the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio. Inthe formative stages I watched many people checking out variousinstruments to determine which should become their musical soulmate. Now, with over 80 members in the four groups, the spectrumof required instrumentation is well covered. Yes, they even haveoboe, bassoon and bass clarinet, but alas the tuba has been neglected.So, you guessed it, yours truly was invited to participate as a guest.What an experience to play with each of the four groups individually,and then with all 80-plus members on stage. I didn’t see an emptyseat in the hall. There were a lot of very proud family members in theaudience that night.So, what do our community bands do during the summer months?Just as I was about to give up, the flood gates opened. From a newband less than a year old to one celebrating 140 continuous years ofserving its community, they responded. Rather than risk any suggestionof favouritism, here is a synopsis in alphabetical order.The Aurora Community Band, still in its first year of operation, hasperformances slated for the Aurora Farmer’s Market and a moreformal concert at Trinity Church, Aurora.The Brampton Concert Band and their companion Jazz Mechanicsgroup have a host of special events in and around Brampton in addi-tion to their regular Thursday Night Concert Series in Gage Park. Aswell as the regular concert series, the Jazz Mechanics Big Band willbe playing at The Rex in Toronto and at the 24th annual BeachesInternational Jazz Festival. The Brampton Concert Band will alsobe hosting the Rocky Mountain Concert Band from Calgary. One oftheir last concerts will be entitled “O Canada: A Memoir” featuringthe Pipes and Drums of the Lorne Scots.The Clarington Concert Band has announced appearances in PortHope, Orono and Bowmanville, so far.The Columbus Centre Concert Band, now completing its second year,will be at Vaughan City Hall for Heritage Month on June 2, and thenoff to the Waupoos Winery in Prince Edward County for a wine andcheese celebration the following day. In July they will present a seriesof outdoor concerts at Villa Colombo in Toronto.The Festival Wind Orchestra will present thefinal concert of its 15th anniversary season onSunday, June 17, at the Betty Oliphant Theatre,404 Jarvis St., Toronto. We have not heard of anyother events for the balance of the summer. Theprogram, titled “Then to Now: Celebrating 15Years of Music,” is a trip back and forth throughtime, featuring music that was relevant from1997 and 1998, the orchestra’s first full season,up to the present day.Grand River New Horizons Music is anotherNew Horizons group serving Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area. They havefar too many events to list here, but a fewhighlights deserve special mention. Saturday,June 23 is the Teddy Bear Parade in Listowelwhere they will play at the park as the teddyYourstruly.bears are marched up the street toward thepark. Everyone is invited to join the paradewith their teddy bears. Canada Day sees themat Doon Heritage Village dressed as an 1914costume band with players wearing straw boater hats. Men will bein long sleeved blue and white striped shirts and baggy trousers.Women will be wearing white middy tops with blue trim and longblue skirts. The band will also be in 1914 costume in Palmerston forthat town’s 100th anniversary of its Pedestrian Bridge.The Markham Concert Band will be going to the Orillia AquaTheatre once again this summer and also will be traveling toFenelon Falls for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Fest. Last year, thisband introduced a series of afternoon concerts on Markham’s MainStreet with duties shared by several visiting community bands. Thisyear there will be a similar series but they will shifted from theinflatable bandshell on Markham’s Main Street to the UnionvilleMillennium Bandstand.The Milton Concert Band is gearing up for a busy June and Julywith several performances planned for both the concert band andtheir swing ensemble; Then the band will take a rest for the monthof August. In addition to their free summer concert series at VictoriaPark Gazebo in Milton, they will be appearing in the BurlingtonSound of Music Festival at the Burlington Art Centre. On July 5, theyplay host to the Rocky Mountain Concert Band of Calgary, Alberta.The Toronto New Horizons Band, after its successful concert atthe Glenn Gould Studio will be gearing down somewhat. After oneconcert at Ryerson University, and a band party, there will be a fewsporadic performances at retirement residences with ad hoc rehearsalsas required. The band is already receiving calls from potentialmembers wanting to know when the next new band will be starting.The beat does go on.The Newmarket Citizens’ Band started this season off early with aparade for the opening of the local baseball season. As in past years,it will be participating in a variety parades and festivals and willmake their appearance again at the Orillia Aqua Theatre. Early inJune the band will be leading a “Stroll” down Newmarket’s MainStreet to the town museum to herald the opening of an exhibit featuringthe Band’s 140 years in the town. More anniversary eventshave yet to be finalized. In the meantime, if you are near Newmarket,28 thewholenote.com June 1 – July 7, 2012
drop around and have a look at the band’s 140 year history at theElman W. Campbell Museum located at 134 Main St. S., Newmarket;hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to noon and 1pm to 4pm andadmission is free; call 905-953-5314 for more information.The Northdale Concert Band reports only two major out of towncommitments, so far, for the summer: an evening performance at theOrillia Aqua Theatre and a Sunday afternoon concert at the StratfordOutdoor Theatre.The Pickering Community Concert Band, with many members awayfor most of the summer, has chosen to close down for the summerwith no performances after July 8.The Richmond Hill Concert Band will be at a Canada Day celebrationfor Richmond Hill at Richmond Green Park, and at the MarkhamSummer Concert Series at Unionville Bandstand.The Scarborough Concert Band has told us of performances at theScarborough Civic Centre and at a festival in Port Union.The Thornhill Community Band will be performing at The Taste ofAsia Festival, in the Markham Summer Concert Series at UnionvilleBandstand and at Mel Lastman Square.The Uxbridge Community Concert Band, now in its 21st season, is asummertime only band and they have just had their first rehearsal.As in past years their first performance will on Decoration Day atUxbridge Cemetery with subsequent concerts at Palmer Park in PortPerry and at Trinity United Church in Uxbridge.DEFINITION DEPARTMENTThis month’s lesser known musical term is Tempo Tantrum: whatan elementary school band is having when it’s not following theconductor. We invite submissions from readers. Let’s hear yourdaffynitions.Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments andhas performed in many community ensembles. He canbe contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.INDEX OF advertisERsAlexander Kats 47Amoroso 60ATMA 5Bayfield Festival ofSong 7Brott Music Festival 7Canadian Children’sOpera Company 12Canadian OperaCompany 22Cantemus 34Christ Church DeerPark Jazz Vespers 27Church of St. MaryMagdalene 31Claim Your VoiceStudios 45Classical 96 72Cliff Ojala 47Conrad Chow 36Cosmo Music 29DCAT Chorus 46Elora Festival 26Festival of the Sound55Gallery 345 31Gary Topp / ConsulGeneral of CzechRepublic 35Hamilton Philharmonic38Heliconian Hall 46Jean-Paul Reymont 33Kindred SpiritsOrchestra 36Laptopolist 47Liz Parker 47lizPR 43Long & McQuade 25Meredith Hall 36Midland SummerSerenade 29Mississauga SymphonyOrchestra 18Mooredale Concerts 13Music at Metropolitan23Music at Sharon 11Music Gallery 19Music in the Orchard /City of TorontoHistoric Museums 15Music Mondays /Church of the HolyTrinity 20Music Toronto 9Musique Royale 58New Music Concerts30, 32NO Strings Theatre 46Norm Pulker 47nyCO 45Ontario Philharmonic15Our Lady of Sorrows 23Pasquale Bros 46Pattie Kelly 47Peter Mahon 24Remenyi House ofMusic 4Scarborough ConcertBand 35Schola Magdalena 33Sheila McCoy 46Sinfonia Toronto 16Sphere Music 68St. Philip’s JazzVespers 27St. Stephen in-the-Fields AnglicanChurch 14Steve’s Music Store 19Sue Crowe Connolly 47Tafelmusik 2TD Sunfest 21TD Toronto JazzFestival 39, 41The Sound Post 17Thornhill ChamberMusic Institute 44Toronto Centre for theArts 31Toronto ConcertOrchestra 33Toronto Consort 4Toronto MendelssohnChoir 44Toronto OperaRepertoire 45Toronto Summer MusicAcademy andFestival 71Toronto SymphonyOrchestra 3Victoria Scholars 32VOCA Chorus 33Westben 12Women’s Musical Clubof Toronto 17Yamaha Music School47You and Media 47July 6July 13July 15July 20July 22July 27July 29Aug 3Aug 6Aug 10PRESENTSMidland’s SummerSerenade 2012Artistic Director John FrenchSinfonia TorontoThompson & FrenchBuzz BrassDavid JalbertWolak & DonnellyBax & ChungVesuviusZodiac TrioAnton Kuerti &Afiara String QuartetCecilia String QuartetMidland welcomes visitors to the shoresof beautiful Georgian Bay in the heart ofhistoric Huronia.Sunday concerts are at 2pm at thenewly opened Midland Cultural Centre.All other concerts are at 8pm atSt. Paul’s United Church.For tickets call 705-528-0521More info: www.brooksidemusic.comJune 1 – July 7, 2012thewholenote.com 29
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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.
Following the Goldberg trail from Gould to Lang Lang; Measha Brueggergosman and Edwin Huizinga on face to face collaboration in strange times; diggings into dance as FFDN keeps live alive; "Classical unicorn?" - Luke Welch reflects on life as a Black classical pianist; Debashis Sinha's adventures in sound art; choral lessons from Skagit Valley; and the 21st annual WholeNote Blue Pages (part 1 of 3) in print and online. Here now. And, yes, still in print, with distribution starting Thursday October 1.
Alanis Obomsawin's art of life; fifteen Exquisite Departures; UnCovered re(dis)covered; jazz in the kitchen; three takes on managing record releases in times of plague; baroque for babies; presenter directory (blue pages) part two; and, here at the WholeNote, work in progress on four brick walls (or is it five?). All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Tuesday Nov 3.
In this issue: Beautiful Exceptions, Sing-Alone Messiahs, Livingston’s Vocal Pleasures, Chamber Beethoven, Online Opera (Plexiglass & All), Playlist for the Winter of our Discontent, The Oud & the Fuzz, Who is Alex Trebek? All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Friday December 4.
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!).