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Volume 20 Issue 4 - December 2014

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  • December
  • Toronto
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Eric Paetkau and

Eric Paetkau and hisgroup of twentysevenPAUL ENNISBO HUANGEric Paetkau, tall and lean, appeared confident, serious andenthusiastic on a mid-November visit to The WholeNote’s officeas he described the program for group of 27’s January 30 concert“Journey.” He characterized it as “ a wonderful mix of music,”from Mozart’s beloved Symphony 35 “The Haffner” to the lyrical DvorakRomance and Andrew Staniland’s Voyageur, with Beethoven’s rarelyperformed, delightful 12 Contredanses broken up and interspersedbetween the three works. Each piece is a kind of journey, he explained,“taking you to a different place.”Staniland’s dates from 2007 and was inspired by the adventurous,boisterous spirit the composer believed the early voyageurs must havehad as they searched for a water route over the Rocky Mountains tothe Pacific Ocean. “Composers at their best embody this very spirit:exploring the new and unfamiliar, charting new courses of statementand expression,” Staniland wrote at the time.Then there were Mozart’s own travels around Europe and Dvorak’sRomance which went on a specific musical journey, beginning lifefirst as a movement of a string quartet, only to be fleshed out andre-orchestrated when the quartet was discarded.Paetkau began group of 27 (g27) -- “a supergroup [led by] a freelanceviolist with really good friends,” he called it -- with a singleconcert in 2007. Drawing on a base of TSO and COC orchestral playerswith a coterie of freelancers – he’s clearly very well connected – to addto the talent pool, he was able to cobble together additional concertsin 2009 and 2011. Two concerts in 2012 were a springboard to four in2013 and 2014. An added recital series featuring friends or members ofthe group provided even more programmatic opportunities.The latest in g27’s recital series takes the form of a holiday partyDecember 10 in the intimate Heliconian Hall. After mezzo-sopranoKrisztina Szabó, a friend, sings, accompanied by another friend,pianist Gregory Oh, she will lead the audience at this PWYC eventin song in what promises to be a celebratory evening of music, foodand fun.That kind of audience participation offers a hint of Paetkau’s moreambitious outreach aims. Whether it’s working with students fromthe Regent Park School of Music and Dixon Hall Music School (eight ofthem played side-by-side with g27 in selections from Grieg’s HolbergSuite at the recent November 7 concert), contemplating pop-up openrehearsals at public spaces or toying with the idea of setting a concertin a bar à la England’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment pubshows, there’s no shortage of innovative thinking when it comes tocommunity involvement.The group’s first two CDs garnered two 2014 JUNO nominations:Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and Norbert Palej’s The Poet and the Warand Rorate Coeli, with soprano Shannon Mercer; and the CanadianConcerto Project, Volume One, with bassoonist Nadina MackieJackson and trumpeter Guy Few.The Mercer disc received raves inside and outside Canada. LynnRené Bayley wrote in the February 2013 Fanfare magazine: “I wasimmediately captivated by Mercer’s singing and could not stoplistening or write a single word of comment until the entire cycle wasfinished. Yes, she’s that good. This is the work of a master artist.“In some places, it’s almost difficult to realize that it is only beingplayed by 27 musicians, so full and rich are the textures, and Paetkaushows how good he is in shaping and pacing this music. In short, thisis a “must-get” item if you are a fan of Les nuits d’été, modern musicin a lyrical vein, or just plain outstanding performance quality. Withthis disc, Shannon Mercer shoots to near the top of sopranos I will beon the lookout for in the future, and Paetkau a conductor I’ll makenote of as well.”Fanfare’s Raymond Tuttle wrote in July 2013: “This CD introduced meto Eric Paetkau, group of 27, Shannon Mercer, and Norbert Palej. I amlooking forward to my next encounter with any of them, or with all ofthem together, and I hope I do not have to wait too long. This is WantList material.”Paetkau’s methodical route to making g27 viable sprang out of hisvast experience as a freelancer himself, from his early days playingviola in the Nuremburg Symphony, TSO, COC, National Ballet ofA Recording Of New TranscriptionsBeethoven - Spring Sonata | Ravel - Le Tombeau De Couperin | Schumann - DichterliebeJulie Baumgartel violin | Leslie De’Ath piano | Carol Lynn Fujino violin | Margaret Gay ’celloPatrick Jordan viola | James Mason oboe | Douglas Miller flute | Timothy Phelan classical guitarJoseph Phillips double bass | Brett Polegato baritone | Peter Shackleton clarinetEybler Quartet: Julia Wedman violin, Aisslinn Nosky violin, Patrick Jordan viola, Margaret Gay ’celloON SALE NOWwww.galleryplayers.cafind us onfacebook& digitally at many retailers including iTunes16 | December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Aurora Cultural Centre presents2015 Great ArtistMusic SeriesEnjoy a dazzling concert series featuringinternationally-acclaimed performers inthe intimate salon setting of Brevik Hall.HENDERSON-KOLKguitar duoJanuary 23, 8pmBach, Mozart, Rodrigo & PiazzollaMOSHEHAMMER violinAngela Park pianoMarch 6, 8pmBrahms, Franck & SarasateJUEWANG pianoMay 1, 8pmLiszt, Strauss & Gershwin3-Concert Subscription Series Adult Senior (60+) & Student (18 and under)Receive a free Naxos CD with subscription purchase!Single Concert Adult Senior / StudentAvailable in person, or over the phoneHST applicable on all ticketsAll sales final; no refund or exchange.General Admission seatingFully accessible building – enter at north doors.Generously sponsored by Bonnie & Norbert Kraft.22 Church St. Aurora905 713-1818auroraculturalcentre.cathewholenote.com December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 | 17

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