Volume 20 Issue 3 - November 2014

FOR OPENERS | DAVID

FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMANFor Whose Benefit?Above all else, a disclaimer: The WholeNote attests and affirms thatno real clarinet choirs were harmed in the making of the licorice stickjoke (page 36, col 1, para 5) in Jim Galloway’s Jazz Notes column thisissue. Welcome back, Jim!Youthanized: It’s amazing how the keepers of various public artsand cultural purses (arts and cultural councils and funds) have thepower to send the spirits of their clients and would-be clients soaringto the heights or plunging to the depths. We only qualify for one ortwo of these, a situation not likely to change unless “survival arts”becomes a discipline like “visual arts” for example. And at the bestof times, such as right now, the money that we receive from thesesources never exceeds more than five or six percent of what it takes tokeep this enterprise swimming doggedly towards the economic safetyof some distant (and perhaps imaginary) shore.Starting with soaring, we are chuffed beyond measure to announcethat the Ontario Media Development Corporation has agreed tosupport our proposal to develop an online “Listening Room” asan adjunct to our DISCoveries CD/Record Review Section. We’llbe tweaking and testing starting this coming month, with a fullscale launch in the spring. Stay tuned, And welcome aboard, ThomMcKercher, who will be piloting this initiative.The “sinking feeling” side of things is a little harder to nail down,because it’s not specific to us but rather something that the wholemusical milieu we serve is going through to some extent. It is theresult of the fact that, despite the emergence of new creative organizationsall the time, the governments that supply the aforesaid artscouncils and funds with cash are hugely resistant to increasing theamount of money available. The Ontario Arts Council, for one, has hadits budgets flatlined for years. So the money available must be sharedamong more recipients. Older organizations find themselves threatenedwith “youthanizing” - letters announcing little cuts here andthere, and threatening larger cuts unless the organizations in questionaddress themselves to newer or younger or more diverse audiences.Would it not be better to have the resources to fund directly thearts and culture arising organically from these new constituencies asthey emerge?It’s not the fault of the councils and funds. It’s the chronic lack ofrespect that arts work gets from dumb politicians at every level.Election reflections, Ontario October 27 2014: Speaking of dumbpoliticians, make no mistake, there’s no worse feeling after an electionthan to have voted fearfully (“strategically” it’s sometimes called)for the lesser of two evils. And it’s especially sour when the stratagemfails. That’s what happened in my small town the last time round. Thebigger bully got elected anyway, and I had the taste of it in my mouthfor a long time.So this time round I said “strategy be damned” and voted with ahopeful heart. (So how did that work out for you, Dave?)Well, definitely no sour taste so far; and a bit less fear in the air,because it appears the strategic voters carried the day, even withoutmy help, which is a bit of a blow to the ol’ ego.Mine is just a small town, mind you, but I suspect that even in whatare colloquially referred to as “world class cities” the same dynamicapplies: you vote, then wait, en masse, to see who the real beneficiariesof the power you have awarded will be.Best chat I had along the way during this election campaign, by far,The WholeNote VOLUME 20 NO 3| NOVEMBER 1, 2014 – DECEMBER 7, 2014Centre for Social Innovation720 Bathurst St., Suite 503, Toronto ON M5S 2R4PHONE 416-323-2232 | FAX 416-603-4791Publisher/Editor In Chief | David Perlmanpublisher@thewholenote.comChairman of the Board | Allan Pulkerdirectors@thewholenote.comEDITORIALManaging Editor | Paul Enniseditorial@thewholenote.comRecordings Editor | David Oldsdiscoveries@thewholenote.comSocial Media Editor | Sara Constanteditorial@thewholenote.comListings Editor | David Perlman (acting)listings@thewholenote.comClub Listings Editor | Bob Benjazz@thewholenote.comSALES, MARKETING & MEMBERSHIPConcerts & Events/Membership | Karen Agesmembers@thewholenote.comRecord Industry Sales/Marketing | Thom McKercherthom@thewholenote.comAdvertising/Production Support/OperationsJack Buell | adart@thewholenote.comClassified Ads | classad@thewholenote.comWebsite/Systems | Bryson Winchestersystems@thewholenote.comCirculation/Subscriptions | Chris Malcolmcirculation@thewholenote.comSUBSCRIPTIONS per year + HST (9 issues)THANKS TO THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORSBeat ColumnistsHans de Groot, Jack MacQuarrie, Benjamin Stein,Paul Ennis, David Olds, David Podgorski,Ori Dagan, Wendalyn Bartley, Jim Galloway,mJ buell, Christopher Hoile, Andrew TimarFeaturesSara Constant, Paul Ennis, Leslie AshworthCD ReviewersAlison Melville, Andrew Timar, Bruce Surtees,Christina Petrowska Quilico, Daniel Foley, Hans deGroot, Janos Gardonyi, Jim Galloway, KenWaxman, Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, MichaelSchwartz, Richard Haskell, Robert Tomas, RogerKnox, Stuart Broomer, Tiina Kiik, Wallace HalladayProofreadingJohn Sharpe, Paul Ennis, Sara ConstantListingsDavid Perlman, Bob Ben,Tilly Kooyman, JennieLea McLeish,Ruth Atwood, Simone DesiletsCirculation TeamAbram Bergen, Andrew Schaefer, Beth Bartley,Bob Jerome, Dagmar Sullivan, Dave Taylor,Garry Page, Gero Hajek, Jack Buell, Jeff Hogben,Joan Andrews, John Dodington, Lorna Nevison,Mark Clifford, Micah Herzog, Niamh Malcolm,Patrick Slimmon, Paul Ennis, Randy Weir, RobertFaulkner, Sharon Clark, Tiffany Johnson, TomSepp, Vicki Stainton, Wende BartleyLayout & DesignBryson Winchesteran Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’OntarioUpcoming Dates & DeadlinesFree Event Listings Deadline6pm Saturday November 8Display Ad Reservations Deadline6pm Saturday November 15Classifieds Deadline6pm Monday November 24Advertising Materials Due6pm Tuesday November 18Publication DateTuesday December 2Volume 20 No 4 coversDecember 1, 2014 to February 7, 2015WholeNote Media Inc. accepts no responsibility orliability for claims made for any product or servicereported on or advertised in this issue.Printed in CanadaCouto Printing & Publishing ServicesCirculation StatementNovember 2014: 30,000 printed & distributedCanadian Publication Product Sales Agreement1263846ISSN 14888-8785 WHOLENOTEPublications Mail Agreement #40026682Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:WholeNote Media Inc.Centre for Social Innovation503–720 Bathurst StreetToronto ON M5S 2R4COPYRIGHT © 2014 WHOLENOTE MEDIA INCthewholenote.com6 | November 1 - December 7, 2014 thewholenote.com

was not with a candidate but with a super-fine young vocalist whoshowed up at a fundraiser/party for a particularly hopeful mayoraltycandidate in the old home town. We chatted away, while an evening’sworth of fine musicians added their musical hearts and skills to theevening’s hopeful hullabaloo.As is so often the case, the fundraiser fell further and further behindschedule the longer it went, and our conversation had time to wanderover the whole range of galas, fundraisers, benefits and the like –events that as you know run the gamut from “pay what you can” tohundreds of dollars a plate; and from spontaneous uprisings, organizedat lightning speed in response to calamity, to events plannedmonths in advance with military precision all the way though tohuge events.Where music and musicians fit into such events is as varied as therange and scale of the events. “Sometimes, as in a case like this” mymusical companion said, “I am doing it because I would give thiscandidate money myself if I had money to give. And it’s funny ... I amhappier sitting around here waiting my turn even if we are an hourand a half behind, than I would be if the same thing was happeningat an event for which I was being paid scale or more and was just partof the decor, arriving and departing through the kitchen door like therest of the hired help.”“And somewhere in between,” she said, “there are the events whereyou know that a lot of the people involved are being paid a standardwage or fee, for the flowers, or the catering, or the invitations, butsomehow, as a musician, I’m expected to do my work for free becauseas an artist I should understand that it’s for a good cause. Or evenmore grating, that I should be grateful because I am being given theopportunity to perform for a ‘real’ audience.”It wasn’t an embittered rant; just a bit of gentle back and forth onhow it takes all kinds to make a world. And to make the world better.MUSIC THEATREIN THEWHOLENOTE?MORE THAN ACINDERELLASTORY?Choosing what to list, andwhere, is a constant debatehere at TheWholeNote. Doesone cut smaller venues orthose further afield moreslack in terms of the genresone lists? In print, do we list,day after day, shows that runfor weeks, and sometimeseven months on end? What’suseful to our readers?Nowhere is the discussionmore heated or furtherfrom a satisfactory solutionthan in the realm ofMusic Theatre. This monthwe’re trying something a bitdifferent again, and askingyou what you think. Pleaseturn to page 65.Please see page 62INDEX OF ADVERTISERSAcademy Concert Series- 28Alcan String Quartet - 73Amadeus Choir - 25Amici Ensemble - 47Aradia Ensemble - 29Art of Time Ensemble - 10Associates of the TSO - 17ATMA - 5Aurora Cultural Centre - 43,55Bach Children’s Chorus - 25Bach Consort - 30, 49Baroque Music By TheGrange - 43Bloor Street United Church- 49Brock University - 21Canadian Brass - 52Canadian Children’s OperaCompany - 63Canadian Opera Company- 14Canadian Sinfonietta - 44Cantemus Singers - 29Cathedral Bluffs SymphonyOrchestra - 16, 40Chamber Music Society ofMississauga - 43Christ Church Deer ParkJazz Vespers - 35Coalition for MusicEducation - 69Counterpoint CommunityOrchestra - 53, 63Dim Sum Ensemble - 44Dmitri Levkovich - 41Eastman School of MusicBach Chamber Orchestra -49Eglinton St. George’s UnitedChurch - 55Elmer Iseler Singers - 26,52Elora Festival Singers - 58Esprit Orchestra - 33, 47Etobicoke PhilharmonicOrchestra - 47Exultate Chamber Singers- 52Fridays @ 8 | RCCO Toronto- 42Heliconian Hall - 62International Divas - 19, 48International ResourceCentre for PerformingArtists - 66Jubilate Singers - 49Kindred Spirits Orchestra- 42Kira Braun - 40Liona Boyd / MostonConcerts - 48Liz Parker - 66Long & McQuade - 12Mississauga Symphony - 47Mooredale Concerts - 54Music at Metropolitan - 38,49Music Toronto - 9, 45, 48Music Toronto/ShoestringOpera - 69Musical Arts Academy - 46Musicians In Ordinary - 43Nathaniel Dett Chorale - 22National Youth Orchestra ofCanada - 71New Music Concerts - 44Nine Sparrows ArtsFoundation - 40Norm Pulker - 66Oakham House Choir - 50Off Centre Music Salon - 55Opera York - 39Organix - 15, 42Oriana Women’s Choir - 46Orpheus Choir - 23, 27, 41Pasquale Bros - 62Pax Christi - 24Peter Mahon - 24Prostate Cancer Canada- 45Roy Thomson Hall - 4, 17, 48,51, 80Royal Conservatory - 11, 51,63Scarborough PhilharmonicOrchestra - 50Schmidt Piano and Organ -16Show One - 46, 87Sinfonia Toronto - 43Sound Post, The - 13Soundstreams - 31Southern Ontario ChapterHymn Society - 63St. James Cathedral - 27St. Michaels Choir School- 54St. Olaves Church - 51St. Philips’ Jazz Vespers - 36Steinway Piano Gallery - 7Syrinx Concerts - 16, 54Tafelmusik - 2, 3, 45, 52, 64Tallis Choir - 50Tapestry Opera - 33That Choir - 24, 41Timothy Eaton MemorialChurch - 44TMJazz - 62Toronto Chamber Choir - 55Toronto Classical Singers -55Toronto Consort - 29, 30, 40Toronto Mendelssohn Choir- 26Toronto SymphonyOrchestra - 48, 85Toy Piano Composers - 50Trio Arkel - 44U of T Faculty of Music - 13Unitarian Congregation ofMississauga - 51Village Voices - 53Voca Chorus of Toronto - 53Voicebox | Opera in Concert- 34Windermere String Quartet- 45Women’s Musical Club ofToronto - 42Wychwood Clarinet Choir- 44Yorkminster Park BaptistChurch - 25thewholenote.com November 1 - December 7, 2014 | 7