SING! This year’s third annual SING! Vocal ArtsFestival (May 30 to June 1) is a good example:devoted to a cappella music, it falls betweenbeing part of the mainstream choral scene, andcatching the attention of a public interested in theart of song.Its curator is Aaron Jensen, an accomplishedvocalist, arranger and choral conductor. Jensenfirst came to my attention as a member of a vocalensemble called Cadence, renowned not just fortight and tricky arrangements of repertoire, bothstandard and new, but also for laying down astonishing“instrumental” tracks for those arrangementsusing only voice for the instruments.The first two SING! festivals took place atHarbourfront Centre – a fantastic incubator for afledgling festival, because, like any federal agency,Harbourfront has all kinds of clear-cut operationaldo’s and don’ts which are a relief in the early years.But like any incubator, what was comforting in theswaddling years becomes suffocating when thefledgling tries to spread its wings: this year’s SING!has flown the coop, so to speak, to the Distillerydistrict – a move that allows for weekend andday passes and a more chaotic and varied mix ofticketed and unticketed events. Taking place whileschools are still in session, drawing on an extraordinaryrange of vocal ensembles and styles, andputting the unadorned collective human voice inthe spotlight, this is an event worth attending now,and supporting as it grows.The Kinsey Sicks headlines the SING! festival.Cantemus, Latin for “Let Us Sing” is a verypopular choir name. A quick internet search showsit in use on the north shore of Massachusetts, inCardiff, Lincolnshire, Canterbury, County Cork,Nyiregyhaza (Hungary), Sweden, Lithuania and onand on. But the 16-voice Toronto choir that bearsthe name, the Cantemus Singers, has its ownunique voice print. Originally based in the Beaches,the 16-voice ensemble, under the direction ofMichael Erdman now rehearses in the High Parkarea and performs mainly Renaissance and earlyBaroque repertoire, both secular and religious.Back on March 22, they presented a giant of theirchosen repertoire, a concert version of Purcell’ssemi-opera The Faerie Queen at the Church of theHoly Trinity (alongside the Eaton Centre). Choral?INDEX OF ADVERTISERSAcademy Concert Series 53Orchestra 59Off Centre Music Salon 23Toronto Chamber Choir 54Amadeus Choir 62,72Exultate Chamber Singers 61Orchestra Toronto 59Toronto Chinese OrchestraAnnex Improv 72Gallery 345 48Organix 5456Aradia Ensemble 19Gary Relyea 66Oriana Women’s Choir 63Toronto City Opera 72Art of Time Ensemble 19Harmony Singers 61Orpheus Choir 50,71Toronto Classical Singers 64Associates of the TSO 61Heliconian Hall 70Pasquale Bros 70Toronto Consort 3ATMA 5High Notes Gala 55Peter Mahon 25Toronto Mendelssohn 72Aurora Cultural Centre 61I FURIOSI 56Royal Conservatory – 21C 3Toronto Summer Music 11Bach Children’s Chorus 53Jazz Bistro 48,51,55,60, 62,71Schmidt Piano and Organ 27Toronto Symphony OrchestraCanadian Children’s OperaJubilate Singers 58Schola Magdalena 5955,65,85Company 25Kindred Spirits OrchestraSheila McCoy 73Toronto Welsh Male VoiceCanadian Friends of Finland55,66Show One 51Choir 5357Liz Parker 73Sinfonia Toronto 52,66TorQ Percussion Ensemble 52Canadian Opera Company 20Lulaworld 57,60,65SING! 62,64,88Union Events 28Cantemus Singers 23Luminato 17Sound in the Land 22Victoria Scholars 65Cathedral Bluffs SymphonyMateca Arts Festival 13Soundstreams 21VIVA! Youth Singers 64Orchestra 58MGS Marketing 25St. James’ Cathedral 24Voca Chorus 63Christ Church Deer Park JazzMississauga Symphony 52St. Philips’ Jazz Vespers 27We Are One Jazz Project 70Vespers 27Moeller Organs 73Steinway Piano Gallery 7Westben Arts SummerCivic Light Opera 21Music at Metropolitan 53,55Stephen Satory 61Festival Theatre 18Continuum ContemporaryMusic Toronto 9,87Syrinx 50Windermere String QuartetMusic 51Nagata Shachu 14Tafelmusik 2,51,60,63,6550Dim Sum Ensemble 57Nathaniel Dett Chorale 25,57Talisker Players 60Women’s Musical Club 16,50Elmer Iseler Singers 49New Music Concerts 12,56,57Tallis Choir 52Wychwood Clarinet Choir 59Esprit Orchestra 4,60Norm Pulker 73TD Toronto Jazz FestivalEtobicoke PhilharmonicNYCO 628,13,15,16,23,26thewholenote.com May 1, 2014 – June 7, 2014 | 7
